Headwater Gold Plans Drill Program with OceanaGold at Jake Creek Project, Nevada

(TheNewswire)

Vancouver, British Columbia, -TheNewswire - May 12, 2026: Headwater Gold Inc. (CSE: HWG) (OTCQX: HWAUF) (the “Company” or“Headwater”) is pleased to announce it has received drill permitsand is planning an initial drill program at its 100%-owned Jake CreekProject (“Jake Creek” or the “Project”) in Nevada. The programis fully funded by OceanaGold Corporation (“OceanaGold”) (TSX:OGC, NYSE: OGC) pursuant to the earn-in agreement announced October15, 2025, with drilling expected to commence in late May 2026.

The program is anticipated to consist of approximately3,500 metres of drilling in 8 to 10 holes, utilizing a combination ofreverse circulation (“RC”) and core drilling to test multiplehigh-priority target areas identified through the integration ofgeological mapping, geophysics, surface geochemistry and re-analysisof historical drilling data.

Highlights:

• Drill Permits Received: Permits have been approved for the initial program at JakeCreek with drilling expected to commence in late May 2026; 

• 3,500 Metre Drill Program Planned:The planned program consists of 8 to 10 holesdesigned to test multiple high-priority targets across theproperty; 

• Discovery Corridor Target:Core drilling will focus on the area of blindmineralization discovered by historical drilling which has not beenadequately followed up; 

• New Target Areas: The majority of drilling will test newly defined and untestedtargets, including Pete’s Vein and additional structurallycontrolled zones across the property; and 

• Expanded Land Position: An additional 23 claims have been staked, bringing the totalto 212 claims across the district-scale opportunity. 

Caleb Stroup, President and CEO of the Company,states: “We are excited tomove Jake Creek into the drilling phase following completion of ourinitial targeting work and receipt of drill permits. Historic drillingdemonstrated the presence of blind gold mineralization, but thestructural framework controlling that mineralization was notunderstood and it was never adequately followed up. Over the past yearwe have focused on building that geological understanding throughmapping, relogging, geochemistry and geophysics and we are now in aposition to test that model with drilling.  The Discovery Corridor isthe highest-priority target, where we will use angled core holes tobetter understand the geometry of mineralization and test for feederstructures beneath the broad zone intersected in historical drilling.The majority of the drill program will be testing new targets thathave seen no historical drilling.  We view Jake Creek as adistrict-scale epithermal system with multiple opportunities fordiscovery and this initial program is designed to begin systematicallytesting that potential.”

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Figure 1:  District-scale mapshowing the proximity of the Jake Creek Project to the Turquoise RidgeComplex and target areas to be tested in the upcoming 2026 Headwaterdrill program.

2026 Jake Creek Drill Program:

The initial drill program at Jake Creek represents thefirst systematic drill campaign focused on epithermal goldmineralization and is designed to test multiple high-priority targetsacross the property.

A portion of the program will focus on the DiscoveryCorridor, where historical drilling intersected broad zones of goldmineralization at the Tertiary unconformity (Figure 1), including11.30 g/t Au over 1.53 m within a broader interval of 45.73 m grading0.98 g/t Au (hole JC-0051). This mineralization was not adequatelyfollowed up, and the current program integrates new geological andgeophysical datasets to guide targeted core drilling of thiszone.

West-directed angled core holes will be drilled in thisarea to better define the geometry of mineralization and test forpotential feeder structures beneath or adjacent to the knownmineralized zone.

The majority of the planned drilling will be directedtoward newly defined target areas across the broader land package.These include Pete’s Vein, a zone of outcropping high-levelepithermal quartz veining identified through recent mapping in thenorthern portion of the Project, as well as several additional structurally controlled targets definedthrough geologic mapping, soil geochemistry and geophysicalsurveys.

In total, the program is expected to test approximatelyfive target areas distributed across the property (Figure 1),reflecting the emerging view that Jake Creek represents adistrict-scale epithermal system rather than a single isolatedoccurrence.

Final drill targeting is underway, with drillingexpected to commence in late May 2026.

Targeting and ExplorationModel:

Headwater’s recent work has significantly improvedthe understanding of the geological and structural framework at JakeCreek. Integration of detailed geological mapping, relogging ofhistorical RC drill chips, soil geochemistry and CSAMT and gravitygeophysics has defined a series of structurally controlled targetzones aligned along the western margin of the Northern NevadaRift.

These datasets indicate that mineralization isassociated with a broader epithermal system developed along a networkof northwest- and northeast-trending structures. The DiscoveryCorridor represents the most advanced target within this system, whilePete’s Vein and additional targets provide opportunities to testnew, undrilled structures across the full extent of theProject.

About the Jake Creek Project:

The Jake Creek project is 100% owned by Headwater andconsists of 212 unpatented lode mining claims on BLM land in HumboldtCounty, Nevada, located 65 km northwest of Winnemucca and 8 km east of the Nevada Gold Mines’ Turquoise Ridge MineComplex. A portion of the Project is subject toa 1% NSR, half of which can be purchased for $1,000,000 at any time. For further information see Headwater news release dated March 3,2025.  

The Project covers 2,400 acres (1,000 hectares) on thewestern margin of the Northern Nevada Rift, a north-northwest trendingstructural corridor known for hosting significant precious metalmineralization including Hecla’s past-producing Midas Mine andHollister Mine. The geology is dominated by mid-Miocene bimodalvolcanic rocks, including rhyolite to dacite flows and welded tuffs,unconformably overlying Paleozoic sedimentary rocks at depths of 50 to300 m. Historic drilling by Evolving Gold Corp.in 2010 and 2011 (13 RC holes total) intersected widespread epithermalmineralization at the Tertiary unconformity, with notableintercepts1 such as 11.3 g/t Au over 1.52 m within 45.72 m grading 0.98g/t Au from 210.3 m in hole JC-005. This mineralization, associatedwith silicification, clay alteration and banded quartz veining,suggests a robust low-sulfidation epithermal system with potential forhigh-grade feeder zones at depth or along strike.  

About Headwater Gold:

Headwater Gold Inc. (CSE: HWG, OTCQX: HWAUF) is atechnically driven mineral exploration company focused on exploringfor and discovering high-grade precious metal deposits in the WesternUSA. Headwater is actively exploring one of the world's mostwell-endowed, mining-friendly jurisdictions, with a goal of makingworld-class precious metal discoveries. The Company has a largeportfolio of epithermal vein exploration projects and a technical teamwith diverse experience in capital markets and major mining companies.Headwater is systematically drill-testingseveral projects in Nevada and has strategic earn-in agreements withOceanaGold Corporation on its TJ, Jake Creek, and Hot Creek projects,Newmont Corporation on its Spring Peak and Lodestar projects, andCenterra Gold Inc. on its Crane Creek project in Idaho. In August 2022and September 2024, Newmont and Centerra acquired strategic equityinterests in the Company, further strengthening Headwater'sexploration capabilities.

For more information about Headwater, please visit theCompany's website at www.headwatergold.com.

Headwater is part of the NewQuest Capital Group, adiscovery-driven investment enterprise that builds value through theincubation and financing of mineral projects and companies. Furtherinformation about NewQuest is available atwww.nqcapitalgroup.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Caleb Stroup

President and CEO

+1 (775) 409-3197

cstroup@headwatergold.com

For further information, please contact:

Brennan Zerb

Investor Relations Manager

+1 (778) 867-5016

bzerb@headwatergold.com

Qualified Person

The technical information contained in this newsrelease has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Stephanie Grocke, P.Geo.(EGBC License #58217), an independent “Qualified Person”(“QP”) as defined in National Instrument 43-101 – Standards ofDisclosure for Mineral Projects.

References

1Historicaldrill intercepts included in this release were sourced from primaryhistorical Evolving Gold Corp. data and NI43-101 Technical Report onthe Jake Creek Gold Project Humboldt County, Nevada, June 19, 2012,Effective Date: June 19, 2012, prepared for Evolving Gold Corp., 37 p.Drill results and surface samples have not been independently verifiedby Headwater and are treated by the Company as historical in natureand not current or NI 43-101 compliant.

2NI 43-101Technical Report on the Turquoise Ridge Complex Humboldt County,Nevada, USA,

March 15, 2024, Effective Date: December 31, 2023,prepared for Barrick Gold Corporation, 304

p.

Forward-LookingStatements: This news releaseincludes certain forward-looking statements and forward-lookinginformation (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) withinthe meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Allstatements, other than statements of historical fact, included hereinincluding, without limitation, statements regarding planned drillingat the Jake Creek Project,OceanaGold's anticipated continued funding of the earn-inprogram, and the anticipated business plans and timing of futureactivities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Althoughthe Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can giveno assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Often,but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by wordssuch as “pro forma”, “plans”, “expects”, “may”,“should”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”,“forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates”, “believes”,“potential” or variations of such words including negativevariations thereof, and phrases that refer to certain actions, eventsor results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken orachieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results,performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially fromany future results, performance or achievements expressed or impliedby the forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factorsinclude, among others, risks related to the anticipated business plansand timing of future activities of the Company, the ability of theCompany to obtain sufficient financing to fund its business activitiesand plans, the risk that OceanaGold will not elect to continue withthe earn-in program, the ability of the Company to obtain requiredpermits, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting miningoperations, currency fluctuations, title disputes or claims,environmental issues and liabilities, as well as those factorsdiscussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company'sfilings with the Canadian Securities Authorities, copies of which canbe found under the Company's profile on the SEDAR+ website atwww.sedarplus.ca.

Readers are cautioned not to placeundue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakesno obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements, exceptas otherwise required by law.

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