New Found Gold Corp. (“New Found” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: NFG, NYSE-A: NFGC) is pleased to announce the results from thirty-six diamond drill holes that were completed as part of an ongoing systematic drill program exploring a highly prospective segment of the Appleton Fault Zone (“AFZ”) immediately north of the Keats Zone. New Found’s 100%-owned Queensway project comprises a 1,650km2 area, accessible via the Trans-Canada Highway, 15km west of Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221205005267/en/

Figure 1. Keats, Keats West, and Keats North inclined 3-D plan view map (Photo: Business Wire)

Figure 1. Keats, Keats West, and Keats North inclined 3-D plan view map (Photo: Business Wire)

Keats North Highlights:

Hole No.

From (m)

To (m)

Interval (m)1

Au (g/t)

Zone

NFGC-22-700

165.90

171.15

5.25

7.63

Keats N

Including

168.95

170.55

1.60

18.82

NFGC-22-728

249.20

251.20

2.00

116.93

Keats N

Including

250.15

250.80

0.65

358.07

NFGC-22-754

118.00

122.25

4.25

5.68

Keats N

Including

118.00

118.80

0.80

14.30

Including

121.50

122.25

0.75

11.65

NFGC-22-762

52.50

54.65

2.15

36.49

Keats N

Including

53.35

54.00

0.65

115.00

NFGC-22-796

230.95

235.10

4.15

7.41

Keats N

Including

230.95

231.45

0.50

35.90

Including

234.50

235.10

0.60

10.20

And

240.40

242.65

2.25

17.06

Including

240.40

241.40

1.00

38.10

NFGC-22-825

120.00

122.00

2.00

20.82

Keats N

Including

120.00

121.00

1.00

41.33

And

140.00

142.00

2.00

4.07

And

198.30

200.85

2.55

11.55

And Including

199.90

200.85

0.95

30.91

Table 1: Keats North Drilling Highlights

1Note that the host structures are interpreted to be steepling dipping and true widths are unknown at this time. Infill veining in secondary structures with multiple orientations crosscutting the primary host structures are commonly observed in drill core which could result in additional uncertainty in true width. Composite intervals reported carry a minimum weighted average of 1 g/t Au diluted over a minimum core length of 2m with a maximum of 2m consecutive dilution. Included high-grade intercepts are reported as any consecutive interval with grades greater than 10 g/t Au. Grades have not been capped in the averaging and intervals are reported as drill thickness.

  • The Keats North prospect consists of a complex network of brittle fault zones that host a number of high-grade gold-bearing veins that have been defined over an area 150m wide by 630m strike. Exploration to date has successfully extended the gold mineralization to depths of 200m and has identified several domains of high-grade gold that often occur at structural intersections within this fault system (Figure 1).
  • Several holes into the Keats North prospect contained significant intervals including 117 g/t Au over 2.00m in NFGC-22-728, 36.5 g/t Au over 2.15m in NFGC-22-762, 20.8 g/t Au over 2.00m in NFGC-22-825, and 17.1 g/t Au over 2.25m in NFGC-22-796. These significant intervals along with many others occur largely within and around the Umbra, Penumbra, and Enigma structures, however, others fall outside into new structural splays; these zones remain open (Figure 1).
  • Follow-up drilling has commenced targeting these domains of high-grade to better define their geometries to inform future drilling campaigns focused on expansion. This first pass of drilling across the Keats North prospect has been successful at identifying a new gold system with proven high-grade potential and has provided important geological information for detailed geological modeling which has been used to design the follow-up program.

Melissa Render, VP of Exploration for New Found stated: As drilling progresses at Keats North, new domains of high-grade have been encountered in various locations throughout this stretch along the AFZ (Figure 3). The structure in this region is complex but with additional drilling and new data points, the interpretation is evolving, and several high-grade targets have been identified for prompt follow-up. Both high- and low-grade results are mapping out a substantial domain of gold mineralization that we are keen to pursue. Given its proximity to the Keats-Baseline Fault and the connection via structure to the Keats Main Zone, we are very encouraged by the results reported to date and look forward to what the targeted follow-up programs have to bring.”

Drillhole Details

Hole No.

From (m)

To (m)

Interval (m)1

Au (g/t)

Zone

NFGC-22-546

66.00

68.00

2.00

1.66

Keats N

And

212.00

214.50

2.50

1.01

NFGC-22-559

71.75

74.00

2.25

1.69

Keats N

And

78.00

82.90

4.90

1.14

And2

131.95

134.00

2.05

13.22

Including2

133.00

134.00

1.00

24.7

And2

148.00

150.70

2.70

10.65

Including2

148.00

149.70

1.70

14.92

And2

157.40

161.80

4.40

1.28

NFGC-22-565

60.65

63.00

2.35

3.19

Keats N

NFGC-22-5772

34.20

36.80

2.60

12.88

Keats N

Including2

36.15

36.80

0.65

48.9

And

73.10

79.00

5.90

1.09

And

125.50

127.75

2.25

1.35

NFGC-22-579

109.00

111.00

2.00

1.41

Keats N

And

118.05

120.65

2.60

1.44

NFGC-22-596

No Significant Values

Keats N

NFGC-22-602

67.90

69.90

2.00

2.07

Keats N

And2

182.30

184.50

2.20

5.29

Including2

183.00

184.00

1.00

10.55

NFGC-22-612

20.30

22.70

2.40

1.53

Keats N

NFGC-22-613

No Significant Values

Keats N

NFGC-22-613A

137.55

140.00

2.45

3.46

Keats N

NFGC-22-615

97.65

99.75

2.10

1.15

Keats N

And

120.20

123.00

2.80

1.03

And

135.55

140.00

4.45

1.07

NFGC-22-6252

33.00

35.00

2.00

4.17

Keats N

Including2

33.80

34.50

0.70

11.85

And

48.70

52.50

3.80

5.73

Including

50.60

51.50

0.90

17.80

And

119.75

122.10

2.35

1.18

NFGC-22-627

115.85

118.45

2.60

1.13

Keats N

NFGC-22-6392

15.60

23.00

7.40

3.39

Keats N

Including2

22.15

23.00

0.85

16.00

And2

65.55

68.45

2.90

2.92

Including2

67.95

68.45

0.50

15.05

And

215.60

217.65

2.05

1.01

Keats N

NFGC-22-651

No Significant Values

Keats N

NFGC-22-652

No Significant Values

Keats N

NFGC-22-653

No Significant Values

Keats N

NFGC-22-657

25.75

31.70

5.95

2.03

Keats N

Including

25.75

26.45

0.70

10.20

And

42.95

45.65

2.70

2.27

And

54.00

56.00

2.00

1.13

And

58.00

60.00

2.00

1.43

NFGC-22-665

28.20

31.00

2.80

3.73

Keats N

Including

28.20

29.00

0.80

11.30

And2

46.60

52.35

5.75

18.95

Including2

48.25

48.85

0.60

162.50

And2

70.50

73.15

2.65

1.12

And2

75.45

77.45

2.00

1.05

NFGC-22-674

10.65

13.10

2.45

1.05

Keats N

And

74.00

76.25

2.25

1.47

NFGC-22-677

44.15

46.30

2.15

1.09

Keats N

NFGC-22-682

No Significant Values

Keats N

NFGC-22-692

No Significant Values

Keats N

NFGC-22-693

17.90

20.50

2.60

3.72

Keats N

Including

19.00

19.65

0.65

10.50

NFGC-22-697

66.35

68.80

2.45

2.43

Keats N

And

129.70

132.05

2.35

1.33

NFGC-22-700

165.90

171.15

5.25

7.63

Keats N

Including

168.95

170.55

1.60

18.82

NFGC-22-711

393.65

396.30

2.65

4.61

Keats N

Including

395.00

395.55

0.55

22.00

NFGC-22-728

249.20

251.20

2.00

116.93

Keats N

Including

250.15

250.80

0.65

358.07

NFGC-22-736

No Significant Values

Keats N

NFGC-22-748

No Significant Values

Keats N

NFGC-22-754

No Significant Values

Keats W

And

118.00

122.25

4.25

5.68

Keats N

Including

118.00

118.80

0.80

14.30

Including

121.50

122.25

0.75

11.65

NFGC-22-762

52.50

54.65

2.15

36.49

Keats N

Including

53.35

54.00

0.65

115.00

NFGC-22-767

313.90

316.00

2.10

1.34

Keats N

And

321.00

323.00

2.00

2.63

NFGC-22-786

80.50

83.00

2.50

1.76

Keats N

NFGC-22-796

40.00

42.35

2.35

3.37

Keats N

And

230.95

235.10

4.15

7.41

Including

230.95

231.45

0.50

35.90

Including

234.50

235.10

0.60

10.20

And

240.40

242.65

2.25

17.06

Including

240.40

241.40

1.00

38.10

NFGC-22-825

120.00

122.00

2.00

20.82

Keats N

Including

120.00

121.00

1.00

41.33

And

140.00

142.00

2.00

4.07

And

198.30

200.85

2.55

11.55

And Including

199.90

200.85

0.95

30.91

Table 2: Summary of composite results reported in this press release for Keats West

1Note that the host structures are interpreted to be steepling dipping and true widths are unknown at this time. Infill veining in secondary structures with multiple orientations crosscutting the primary host structures are commonly observed in drill core which could result in additional uncertainty in true width. Composite intervals reported carry a minimum weighted average of 1 g/t Au diluted over a minimum core length of 2m with a maximum of 2m consecutive dilution. Included high-grade intercepts are reported as any consecutive interval with grades greater than 10 g/t Au. Grades have not been capped in the averaging and intervals are reported as drill thickness. 2Previously reported interval.

Hole No.

Azimuth (°)

Dip (°)

Length (m)

UTM E

UTM N

NFGC-22-546

299

-49

380

658344

5428026

NFGC-22-559

300

-45

333

658233

5427628

NFGC-22-565

300

-45

99

658204

5427702

NFGC-22-577

300

-45

260

658244

5427852

NFGC-22-579

120

-45

200

657963

5427741

NFGC-22-596

300

-45

413

658184

5427656

NFGC-22-602

300

-45

335

658339

5427970

NFGC-22-612

300

-45

305

658215

5427638

NFGC-22-613

120

-45

80

658153

5428078

NFGC-22-613A

120

-45

305

658153

5428078

NFGC-22-615

300

-45

299

658322

5427980

NFGC-22-625

300

-45

353

658176

5427689

NFGC-22-627

120

-45

212

657934

5427742

NFGC-22-639

300

-45

359

658232

5427802

NFGC-22-651

300

-45

188

658237

5427828

NFGC-22-652

300

-45

222

658280

5427659

NFGC-22-653

300

-45

320

658220

5427665

NFGC-22-657

300

-45

293

658222

5427779

NFGC-22-665

300

-45

159

658226

5427762

NFGC-22-674

300

-45

131

658212

5427755

NFGC-22-677

300

-45

203

658195

5427736

NFGC-22-682

300

-45

251

658150

5427647

NFGC-22-692

300

-45

224

658170

5427635

NFGC-22-693

300

-45

152

658217

5427724

NFGC-22-697

300

-45

227

658223

5427735

NFGC-22-700

300

-45

374

658204

5427616

NFGC-22-711

300

-45

401

658220

5427607

NFGC-22-728

300

-45

260

658237

5427597

NFGC-22-736

300

-45

200

658283

5427686

NFGC-22-748

300

-45

236

658304

5427674

NFGC-22-754

120

-45

134

658092

5427940

NFGC-22-762

300

-45

245

658261

5427727

NFGC-22-767

300

-45

494

658164

5427610

NFGC-22-786

300

-45

257

658193

5427593

NFGC-22-796

300

-45

353

658218

5427580

NFGC-22-825

300

-45

443

658126

5427602

Table 3: Details of the drill hole reported in this press release

Queensway 400,000m Drill Program Update

Approximately 79% of the planned 400,000m program at Queensway has been drilled to date with ~61,442m of the core still pending assay results.

Sampling, Sub-sampling, and Laboratory

True widths of the intercepts reported in this press release have yet to be determined and further exploration is required. Infill veining in secondary structures with multiple orientations crosscutting the primary host structures are commonly observed in drill core which could result in additional variability in true width. Assays are uncut, and composite intervals are calculated using a minimum weighted average of 1 g/t Au diluted over a minimum core length of 2m with a maximum of 2m consecutive dilution. Included high-grade intercepts are reported as any consecutive interval with grades greater than 10 g/t Au.

All drilling recovers HQ core. Drill core is split in half using a diamond saw or a hydraulic splitter for rare intersections with incompetent core.

A geologist examines the drill core and marks out the intervals to be sampled and the cutting line. Sample lengths are mostly 1.0 meter and adjusted to respect lithological and/or mineralogical contacts and isolate narrow (<1.0m) veins or other structures that may yield higher grades.

Technicians saw the core along the defined cutting line. One-half of the core is kept as a witness sample and the other half is submitted for analysis. Individual sample bags are sealed and placed into totes, sealed and marked with the contents.

NFG submits samples for gold determination by fire assay to ALS Canada Ltd. (“ALS”) and by photon assay to MSALABS (“MSA”) since June 2022. ALS and MSA operate under a commercial contract with New Found.

Drill core samples are shipped to ALS for sample preparation in Sudbury, Ontario, Thunder Bay, Ontario, or Moncton, New Brunswick. ALS is an ISO-17025 accredited laboratory for the fire assay method.

Drill core samples are also submitted to MSA in Val-d’Or, Quebec. MSA operates numerous laboratories worldwide and maintains ISO-17025 accreditation for many metal determination methods. Accreditation of the photon assay method at the MSA Val D’Or laboratory is in progress.

At ALS, the entire sample is crushed to approximately 70% passing 2mm. A 3,000-g split is pulverized. “Routine” samples do not have visible gold (VG) identified and are not within a mineralized zone. Routine samples are assayed for gold by 30-g fire assay with an inductively-couple plasma spectrometry (ICP) finish. If the initial 30-g fire assay gold result is over 1 g/t, the remainder of the 3,000-g split is screened at 106 microns for screened metallics assay. For the screened metallics assay, the entire coarse fraction (sized greater than 106 microns) is fire assayed and two splits of the fine fraction (sized less than 106 microns) are fire assayed. The three assays are combined on a weight-averaged basis. Samples that have VG identified or fall within a mineralized interval are automatically submitted for screened metallic assay for gold.

At MSA, the entire sample is crushed to approximately 70% passing 2mm. For “routine” samples that do not have VG identified and are not within a mineralized zone, the samples are riffle split to fill two 450g jars for photon assay. The assays reported from both jars are combined on a weight-averaged basis. If one of the jars assays greater than 1 g/t, the remaining crushed material is weighed into multiple jars and are submitted for photon assay.

For samples that have VG identified or are within a mineralized zone, the entire crushed sample is weighed into multiple jars and are submitted for photon assay. The assays from all jars are combined on a weight-averaged basis.

All samples prepared at ALS or MSA are also analyzed for a multi-element ICP package (ALS method code ME-ICP61) at ALS Vancouver.

Drill program design, Quality Assurance/Quality Control and interpretation of results are performed by qualified persons employing a rigorous Quality Assurance/Quality Control program consistent with industry best practices. Standards and blanks account for a minimum of 10% of the samples in addition to the laboratory’s internal quality assurance programs.

Quality Control data are evaluated on receipt from the laboratories for failures. Appropriate action is taken if assay results for standards and blanks fall outside allowed tolerances. All results stated have passed New Found’s quality control protocols.

New Found’s quality control program also includes submission of the second half of the core for approximately 5% of the drilled intervals. In addition, approximately 1% of sample pulps for mineralized samples are submitted for re-analysis to a second ISO-accredited laboratory for check assays.

The Company does not recognize any factors of drilling, sampling or recovery that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the assay data disclosed.

The assay data disclosed in this news release have been verified by the Company’s Qualified Person against the original assay certificates.

The Company notes that it has not completed any economic evaluations of its Queensway Project and that the Queensway Project does not have any resources or reserves.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information disclosed in this press release was reviewed and approved by Greg Matheson, P. Geo., Chief Operating Officer, and a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Matheson consents to the publication of this press release dated December 5, 2022, by New Found. Mr. Matheson certifies that this press release fairly and accurately represents the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this press release.

About New Found Gold Corp.

New Found holds a 100% interest in the Queensway Project, located 15km west of Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, and just 18km from Gander International Airport. The project is intersected by the Trans-Canada Highway and has logging roads crosscutting the project, high voltage electric power lines running through the project area, and easy access to a highly skilled workforce. The Company is currently undertaking a 400,000m drill program at Queensway, now approximately 79% complete. The Company is well funded for this program with cash and marketable securities of approximately $48 million as of December 2022.

Please see the Company’s website at www.newfoundgold.ca and the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

Acknowledgements

New Found acknowledges the financial support of the Junior Exploration Assistance Program, Department of Natural Resources, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Contact

To contact the Company, please visit the Company’s website, www.newfoundgold.ca and make your request through our investor inquiry form. Our management has a pledge to be in touch with any investor inquiries within 24 hours.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statement Cautions

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, relating to exploration, drilling and mineralization on the Company’s Queensway gold project in Newfoundland and Labrador; assay results; the interpretation of drilling and assay results, the results of the drilling program, mineralization and the discovery of zones of high-grade gold mineralization; plans for future exploration and drilling and the timing of same; the merits of the Queensway project; future press releases by the Company; and funding of the drilling program. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," “interpreted,” "intends," "estimates," "projects," "aims," “suggests,” “often,” “target,” “future,” “likely,” “pending,” "potential," "goal," "objective," "prospective," “possibly,” “preliminary”, and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made, and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include risks associated with possible accidents and other risks associated with mineral exploration operations, the risk that the Company will encounter unanticipated geological factors, risks associated with the interpretation of assay results and the drilling program, the possibility that the Company may not be able to secure permitting and other governmental clearances necessary to carry out the Company's exploration plans, the risk that the Company will not be able to raise sufficient funds to carry out its business plans, and the risk of political uncertainties and regulatory or legal changes that might interfere with the Company's business and prospects. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's Annual Information Form and Management’s discussion and Analysis, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects.