Gold Explorer Reaches Important Milestone for Aura Project in Nevada

1. Western Exploration Inc. is a billboard sponsor of Streetwise Reports and pays SWR a monthly sponsorship fee between US$3,000 and US$6,000.
2. As of the date of this article, officers, contractors, shareholders, and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Western Exploration Inc. and Agnico Eagle Ltd.
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1. Ownership and Share Structure Information

The information listed above was updated on the date this article was published and was compiled from information from the company and various other data providers.

Western Exploration Inc. (WEX:TSX.V; WEXPF:OTC) announced that the United States Forest Service has accepted the company's Notice of Intent (NOI) to submit a Mine Plan of Operations (MPO) for the Doby George deposit at the company's wholly owned Aura Project in Nevada, according to a January 28 release.

The USFS's acceptance of the NOI initiates the process for submission and review of the MPO. Baseline studies are set to begin in February 2026, covering essential environmental and cultural areas and NEPA environmental reports are expected to be submitted by Q2 2027.

"On December 1, 2025, the Company submitted a Notice of Intent to submit a Mine Plan of Operations (NOI) to the United States Forest Service (USFS)," Western Exploration Chief Executive Officer Darcy Marud sad in the release. "This is an important early milestone and supports the company's objective of advancing Doby George from study-stage toward a development decision."

WEX said it is collaborating with its partners at Stantec Consulting (Stantec) and Kappes Cassidy & Associates (KCA) to finalize the MPO based on the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) announced on May 8, 2025, titled "Western Exploration Announces Positive Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Doby George Resource at the Aura Project."

The company said it aims to file the MPO in Q2 2026.

To facilitate this work, WEX has entered into an additional consulting service agreement with Stantec Consulting to initiate baseline studies over the next 14 months, starting in February 2026. Stantec will lead a comprehensive range of baseline studies, including biological, cultural, paleontological, air, noise, hydrology, geochemistry, and aquatic studies. Where applicable, the program will incorporate relevant previous work completed by the company and Stantec.

As outlined in the PEA, the current development concept envisions a 7,500 tonne per day (tpd) open pit heap leach operation at Doby George. The company said it is working with its partners to submit all environmental reports for review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by Q2 2027.

Tomasina Target Results

Earlier in January, Western Exploration announced results from four additional reverse circulation drill holes conducted down dip of the Saddle Resource in the Tomasina target, situated approximately 1 kilometer west of Gravel Creek at Aura.

"The 2025 drilling expands the known epithermal alteration zone an additional kilometer west of Gravel Creek and has now identified an epithermal footprint of at least 7 kilometers by 2.4 kilometers in size through drilling, surface sampling, and mapping," Marud said at the time. "Western Exploration is encouraged by the initial drill results from the deep extension of the Tomasina Fault Zone. Drilling on wide-spaced centers has intersected +3 g/t Au mineralization on five sections along a 1.5-kilometer strike length of the Tomasina Fault Zone."

Widespread clay and silica alteration, along with local quartz-pyrite-marcasite veins in both the Frost Creek tuff and the underlying Schoonover Formation, confirm the presence of a significant hydrothermal alteration system extending at least 300 meters below the Saddle Zone resource, 1 kilometer west of the Gravel Creek resource. Broad zones within these altered areas show high anomalies in gold and silver, including 1.52 meters of 3.24 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) and 71.1 g/t silver (Ag) within 19.81 meters at 0.45 g/t Au and 11.1 g/t Ag in WG468; and 1.52 meters of 4.68 g/t Au and 10 g/t Ag within 15.24 meters at 0.86 g/t Au and 4.1 g/t Ag in WG471.

Intervals greater than 3 g/t Au (up to 10.9 g/t Au and 308 g/t Ag) have now been intersected across five widely spaced sections testing parts of a 1.5-kilometer-long trend that remains open in all directions, the company reported. Overall results from the 2025 RC drill program support further drilling along the +2.5-kilometer-long Tomasina Trend.

Key areas still to be tested include the highly promising 500-meter-long "GAP Zone" down dip from the Wood Gulch Pit area, bracketed by holes WG467 (3 meters at 7.1 g/t Au) and WG360 (1.52 meters at 7.28 g/t Au); and the entire Hammer Head target (southeast of the notable alteration plume in WG463 and the chargeability anomalies in Line 2023 IP Line 5).

"Further drilling of the 2.5-kilometer-long Tomasina structural corridor, including the highly promising GAP zone down dip from the Wood Gulch Pit area and the Hammer Head target, will be prioritized alongside the 2026 Gravel Creek-Jarbidge drill targeting. All upcoming exploration will concentrate on areas with the greatest potential for resource expansion," Marud said.

The Tomasina target is a 2.5-kilometer-long structural zone extending down dip from the mineral resources in Saddle and Wood Gulch, as well as the mineralized zone at Hammer Head. Western Exploration stated that the goal of the 2025 drilling was to assess mineralization in the Tomasina Fault corridor down dip from near-surface resource areas, both within the favorable Frost Creek tuff (the main host rock at Gravel Creek) and below the Eocene unconformity in the underlying Schoonover Formation. The four RC drill holes (WG468-WG471) reported in early January evaluated targets 150 to 300 meters down dip from the Saddle resource.

'Strong Potential' For Resource Expansion

Writing for The Gold Advisor on January 23, Senior Analyst Jeff Valks noted that Western Exploration had secured new funding to advance its exploration efforts in Nevada, announcing a CA$8 million brokered private placement under the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption (LIFE). The company will issue 8,700,000 units at C$0.92 per unit, resulting in gross proceeds of CA$8,004,000, with Paradigm Capital serving as the lead agent and sole bookrunner.

"This financing comes with roughly 16–17% headline dilution, but it's the constructive kind," Valks wrote. "The capital extends Western Exploration's runway, keeps drilling active at Aura, and removes balance-sheet risk at a point when continuity matters more than perfection. In junior mining, dilution tied to forward motion is often the price of progress — and here it buys time, flexibility, and a clean shot at value creation rather than survival."

Share prices have decreased nearly 6% following the news, but the company has experienced a strong month, rebounding from six-month lows with a 55% increase, he wrote. The financing strengthens Western's balance sheet and extends its exploration runway at Aura.

"With funding in place and a clear focus on advancing the project, the stock is a Buy, with execution remaining the key variable," he wrote. "I've yet to take my first tranche; (newsletter founder) Jeff Clark maintains his overweight position with no plans to sell."

On January 20, Chen Lin of What is Chen Buying? What is Chen Selling? noted that the stock "jumped recently on no news. The key driver I heard is the recent promotion."

He described the Tomasina results as "significant" on November 18 and recommended watching a three-minute video from the company about its discovery. "They have a lot of news coming," he wrote. 

On December 11, 2025, Brien Lundin of Gold Newsletter highlighted that the company had "completed nine reverse circulation holes totaling 3,239 meters in the first phase of drilling at the Tomasina Vein Zone, part of its Aura gold-silver project in Nevada." He added, "The work confirmed widespread alteration and local quartz-sulfide veining along the 2.5-kilometer structural corridor west of the Gravel Creek deposit, indicating a robust hydrothermal system. With assays pending, Western plans to resume drilling after permitting is extended to test additional targets down dip of Saddle and Wood Gulch, offering strong potential for resource expansion. It's a hold for now."

In a research report dated September 30, Don MacLean of Paradigm Capital highlighted significant progress by Western Exploration Inc. at Aura. MacLean noted that "WEX offers leveraged exposure to a district-scale Nevada gold-silver growth story," emphasizing the company's potential to expand its resources across various deposits. He mentioned that Paradigm had been monitoring Western Exploration "for some time now" and was "impressed by the progress it has made in the past year unlocking Nevada's emerging high-grade epithermal potential." MacLean pointed out the company's exploration efforts at the past-producing Wood Gulch deposit, where drilling was being conducted along the untested Tomasina Fault corridor. He summarized Western Exploration's broader goals, stating that the company was "targeting greater than 2 Moz gold and 30 Moz silver in its next resource update."

The Catalyst: Gold Continues Its Ascent

Gold futures began trading at US$5,179 per troy ounce on Wednesday, marking a 1.1% increase from Tuesday's closing price of US$5,120.60, according to a January 28 report by Catherine Brock for Yahoo! Finance.

This was the first time gold opened above US$5,100 per ounce, and the price quickly climbed past US$5,300 in early trading. The precious metal reached new highs after President Donald Trump dismissed concerns about the recent decline of the U.S. dollar, calling it "great."

The U.S. Dollar Index has fallen over 2% in the past five days and nearly 11% over the past year. Changes in U.S. foreign relations may be encouraging a move away from U.S. dollar reserves, which benefits gold, Brock wrote. Trump's tariff threats against allies and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife may have alienated international investors. Domestically, the ongoing investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell is seen as a tactic to limit the Fed's independence, further eroding confidence in the dollar. Additionally, recent strength in the Japanese yen may pose another challenge for the dollar. A weaker dollar makes gold more affordable, increasing demand.

Gold prices could potentially reach US$10,000 per ounce this year if monetary policy becomes more accommodating and geopolitical factors continue to weaken the dollar, according to SBG Securities, reported Peter Nurse for Investing.com on January 28.

A major factor influencing gold prices is the prospect of U.S. interest rate cuts. Currently, markets are anticipating two rate cuts this year, but SBG suggests there could be room for more.

"Three cuts could push gold to US$7,000 by year-end (SBG's base case), and a more dovish Fed may send gold to US$10,000," Nurse wrote.

However, SBG believes that maintaining current rates is the "more prudent" approach, noting that a weaker dollar is already contributing to U.S. inflation, which could be further exacerbated by rising energy prices.

Ownership and Share Structure1

Directors and management own 3% of the company, high net worth individuals hold 9%, Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM:TSX; AEM:NYSE) has 12%, Auramet holds 4%, and Institutions hold 48%. The rest is retail.

Western Exploration has 52.58 million outstanding shares and 24.64 million free float traded shares. Its market cap is CA$48.38 million. Its 52-week range is CA$0.58–CA$1.20 per share.