Exhibit 96.1

S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Illinois Creek Project, Western Alaska, USA

Western Alaska Minerals Corp.

3573 E. Sunrise Drive, Suite 233, Tucson, AZ 85718

Prepared by:

Bruce Davis, Ph.D., FAusIMM, BD Resource Consulting, Inc.

Jack DiMarchi, C.P.G., Core Geoscience LLC

Deepak Malhotra, PhD, SME(RM), DM Consulting

Effective Date: January 31, 2025

Signature Date: April 30, 2025

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Table of Contents

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Tables

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Figures

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Bruce Davis Consulting (BDC), Core Geoscience LLC (Core Geoscience), and DM Consulting were retained by Western Alaska Minerals Corp. (WAM) to prepare a Technical Report Summary (TRS) on its Illinois Creek Property (the Property or the Project), located in western Alaska, USA. This TRS conforms to United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Modernized Property Disclosure Requirements for Mining Registrants as described in Subpart 229.1300 of Regulation S-K, Disclosure by Registrants Engaged in Mining Operations (S-K 1300) and Item 601 (b)(96) Technical Report Summary. The purpose of this TRS is to disclose the Mineral Resource estimates at the Property in support of a planned initial public offering (IPO) on a US securities exchange. The QPs for this TRS are Bruce Davis, Jack DiMarchi, and Deepak Malhotra.

The Illinois Creek Property is one of the five properties controlled by WAM in the Illinois Creek mining district. WAM is a public company trading on the TSX-V exchange under the symbol WAM, which through its wholly owned subsidiary Western Alaska Copper and Gold Inc. (WAC&G) owns a 100% interest in the five properties. Since 2010, WAM and its precursor companies have been exploring and advancing its interests in the Illinois Creek mining district located in western Alaska near the Yukon River.

Mineral Resources at the Property are located in two areas, Illinois Creek and Waterpump Creek. Illinois Creek Mineral Resources consist of Illinois Creek oxide gold-silver mineralization and leach heap pad material from the historical Illinois Creek mine. Mineral Resources at Waterpump Creek consist of near surface oxide lead-zinc-silver and deeper sulfide silver mineralization.

The effective date of this report is January 31, 2025. The effective date of the Illinois Creek Mineral Resource estimate is July 21, 2021; no work has been completed at Illinois Creek since this date. The effective date of the Waterpump Creek sulfide Mineral Resource estimate is February 20, 2024, and the effective date of the Waterpump Creek oxide Mineral Resource estimate is February 1, 2024. Drilling on the Property in 2024 was on two new exploration targets, Warm Springs and LH, which are located between the Illinois Creek and Waterpump Creek deposits. The QP has confirmed that there were no changes in the Mineral Resource estimates between the effective date and December 31, 2024.

The Property is located in the southern Kaiyuh Mountains just east of the Yukon River in western Alaska, approximately 490 km west of Fairbanks, 52 km southeast of the village of Kaltag, and 85 km south-southwest of the community of Galena. The Property is geographically isolated with no current road access or nearby power infrastructure.

On October 17, 2018, Piek Inc. (Piek) and WAC&G entered into a joint venture agreement to actively explore and develop the Illinois Creek Property owned 100% by Piek, an Alaska-based corporation.

Under the terms of the agreement and amendments to the agreement, a JV Company was established whereby WAC&G could acquire a 100% ownership in the Illinois Creek Property through a series of milestones.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

On March 31, 2021, in anticipation of listing WAC&G on the TSX-V exchange, WAC&G completed the purchase of the Property from Joe Piekenbrock (Piekenbrock), the underlying 100% owner of Piek. Under terms of the purchase agreement, WAC&G exercised its option to purchase the remaining 50% interest in the Property for US$3.698 million via promissory note and 120 shares in WAC&G.

In October 2021, as a precursor to going public, the Illinois Creek JV was completed and terminated and WAC&G was vested with 100% interest in the Property by purchasing Piek. WAC&G then went public in November 2022 by completing a reverse takeover of WAC&G using a shell company 1246779 B.C. Ltd which subsequently was renamed Western Alaska Minerals Corp., which holds title to both the WAC&G claims and Piek Inc. claims within WAC&G.

Subsequent claim staking in 2021, 2022, and 2024 consolidated WAM’s land holdings (through Piek and WAC&G) in the district. In July 2024, WAC&G converted 70 of the Illinois Creek Property mining claims to an Upland Mining Lease (ADL#422236). The total land package consists of 390 State of Alaska mining claims and one Upland Mining Lease totaling 114.86 square miles (73,535 acres or approximately 29,759 ha). This total includes the Illinois Creek Property (241 claims) and the Round Top (88 claims), Honker (24 claims), Khotol Ridge (19 claims), and the Pawprint (18 claims) properties.

The Illinois Creek mining district is characterized by intrusion related hydrothermal systems including porphyry copper/molybdenum/silver deposits (PCDs) and surrounding poly-metallic silver/zinc/lead/copper/gold carbonate replacement deposits (CRDs) along with distal low- sulfidation precious-metal veins related to the porphyries. The porphyries in the district are of mid- and late-Cretaceous ages. A Jurassic through mid-Cretaceous fold/thrust event obducts rocks of the Triassic/Jurassic Angayucham terrain over a thick, poorly documented lower Paleozoic sedimentary stratigraphy which is also foreshortened with deep water stratigraphic units to the east overthrust and stacked on progressively more continental margin rocks to the west.

At the Illinois Creek Property, mineralization is characterized by the extensive development of Ag/Zn/Pb/Cu/Au carbonate replacement bodies deposited in the over-thickened continental margin carbonate assemblages. The Property is divided into two distinct structural blocks herein dubbed the East Block and the West block, which are reinterpreted as thrust sheets. Both blocks show distinctive stratigraphic sequences, but both are overprinted by the same 110-114 Ma Illinois Creek mineralization event. That event is metallogenetically related to the relaxation at the end of the compressional event which resulted in the emplacement of the Khotol Mountain suite of intrusions.

Both primary sulfide mineralization and secondary gossan-hosted oxide mineralization are present on the Property, and both are viable exploration targets. Current oxide and sulfide resources are reported in this TRS, including the initial Mineral Resource for the Waterpump Creek zone.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Exploration on the Property began in the early 1980s and an open pit mine was built in the late 1990s with limited production through the early 2000s, when mining was halted due to falling metal prices and corporate financial difficulties for the operators at that time.

Historically, the Property has been explored and exploited for oxide Au and Ag mineralization in gossans developed from the deep weathering of the sulfide carbonate replacement bodies developed in the dolomites and dolomitic quartzites of both the East and West blocks.

With the consolidation of the district holdings of both Piek Inc and WAC&G in 2019, WAC&G began evaluation of the historical Illinois Creek oxide mineralization and conducted extensive drilling of the leach pad with the corporate strategy to redevelop the oxide mine. The Illinois Creek gossan is a deeply weathered, massive sulfide body oxidized to as much as 400 m below the existing surface which contains exploitable Au/Ag/Cu mineralization.

In 2021, WAC&G began to explore not just for extensions to the oxide gossan mineralization but made its initial test of sulfide mineralization at Waterpump Creek that had been discovered by Anaconda Minerals Company (Anaconda) in 1983. Drilling in 2021 first targeted oxide gossan mineralization and then drilled downdip of a number of historical Anaconda drill holes that had encountered high-grade sulfide mineralization. Results from WPC21-09 returned 11.5 m of 522 g/t Ag, 22.5% Zn, and 14.8% Pb. The impact of this high-grade hole caused the company to pivot its exploration strategy to focus on the sulfide potential of the Property.

Since 2021, a major reinterpretation of the Property geology has been ongoing using 1) a better understanding of CRD morphologies; 2) a multi-element inductively coupled plasma (ICP) soil database, which was substantially expanded in 2021 and 2022; 3) reinterpretation and inversions of historical geophysical surveys; 4) a 2022 controlled source audio- magnetotellurics (CSAMT) and a 2023 three-dimensional (3D) resistivity and induced polarization (3DIP) geophysical surveys, undertaken to domain resistivity and chargeability at depth; and 5) ongoing drilling and mapping.

Drilling in 2022 and 2023 at Waterpump Creek has outlined a CRD containing massive to semi-massive sulfide mineralization dominated by coarse-grained sphalerite, argentiferous galena, and pyrite in recrystallized ferroan dolomite. Drilling to date has outlined a sulfide body approximately 495 m in strike length by 25 m to 75 m in width, and with thicknesses varying from 5 m to over 100 m.

Mineralization is controlled by the north-northeast (NNE)-trending Waterpump Creek fault that down drops and folds the pre-existing schist/dolomite thrust surface into the fault. Mineralization occurs as massive sulfide replacement of the footwall dolomite both at the contact and within upper portions of the dolomite as it rolls into the fault. Mineralization remains open both to the north and south along the structure and at depth along the Waterpump Creek fault. Significant thickening of the mineralized dolostone to >100 m around drill hole WPC22-18 suggests a chimney like expansion of the mineralized body.

In conjunction with the 2022 drill program, WAM commissioned a property wide CSAMT (controlled-source audio-magnetotellurics) survey with Zonge International to better understand the overall structural architecture of the system. CSAMT is a deep-sounding resistivity technique that effectively defines areas of similar resistivity and highlights structures bounding those discrete resistivity domains. Profiles from the CSAMT have improved the understanding of the structural framework and stratigraphic sections permissive for CRD mineralization in both the East and West structural blocks.

A high resolution 3DIP survey was acquired by DIAS Geophysical (DIAS) covering the Waterpump Creek and Last Hurrah target areas during the 2023 summer field season. Over three million dipole combinations were generated using the DIAS common voltage reference technique to provide an extremely data rich survey for resolving both shallow and deep subsurface electrical properties over an area of approximately 11 km². Inversion modeling with UBC DCIP3D and Loke Res3DInv reveals distinct structural, stratigraphic controls to CRD mineralization as well as outline the increasing alteration halo to the south from Waterpump Creek, through Last Hurrah and into the Illinois Creek area.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

In the East Block, the mineralization-controlling NNE-trending Waterpump Creek fault is apparent over the entire 6 km strike length of the survey. With the success of 2022 drilling at Waterpump Creek in the East Block and the potential to greatly expand the mineralization footprint, WAM also commissioned a reinversion of the historical 2005 NovaGold Resources Inc. (NovaGold) pole-dipole IP survey using an updated 3D inversion algorithm. This survey covers 2 km of the Waterpump Creek fault south from the WPC21-09 discovery hole including the currently outlined extent of the mineralized body. The new 3D inversion shows a direct correlation between both resistivity and chargeability with the Waterpump Creek sulfide body. The data also shows the conductive anomaly extending over 1.4 km south of the current Waterpump drilling into the Last Hurrah target area. Extensions to the Waterpump Creek sulfide mineralization and the conductive anomaly was a focus of 2023 drilling.

In the West Block, the new CSAMT profiles have led to the recognition of a slightly oblique fault south of the Illinois Creek fault called the Warm Springs fault. Between the two faults, deep oxidation up to 400 m has formed the Illinois Creek gossan. The oxide resources described in this TRS occur in the gossan. The low-grade East Illinois Creek manto extends east and south of the Illinois Creek gossan. The East Illinois Creek manto appears to lie at or near the contact between the dolomitic quartzites and dolomites.

South of the Warm Springs fault, an extensive greenstone thrust plate caps the permissive stratigraphy and looks to provide an aquitard similar to that seen with the Waterpump Creek (WPC)-LH trend where the Kaiyuh pelitic schists cap the dolomites. Two exploration holes were drilled late in the 2022 season south of the Warm Springs fault along the eastern margin of the West Block. Though both holes were lost after cutting the uppermost 50 m of the dolomitic quartzites, the holes encountered major alteration as multiphase silicification and pyrite with anomalous Pb, Zn and Ag. This permissive stratigraphy occurs in a CRD target area of 4 km x 2 km defined by the CSAMT survey. The target lies to east and south of the Illinois Creek oxide resource pit. In addition to the geophysical support for the Warm Springs target, expanded soil sampling coverage shows a major coincident Cu, Au, Pb, and As anomaly covering a 1.5 km x 1.5 km area south of the Illinois Creek pit. The soil samples suggest that a porphyry target may be developing in this direction.

The Warm Springs along with the LH (previously called the Last Hurrah) CRD targets were drill tested by the 2024 drill program. Seven of nine drill holes targeting Warms Spring target intersected multiple pulses of mineralization including massive to semi-massive pyrite associated with gold, copper, and local silver mineralization, recrystalized ankerite associated with sphalerite (zinc) and galena (lead) mineralization, and extensive gossan (oxide). The mineralization is hosted within an intense silicification and brecciation zone that is an order of magnitude greater in size of Waterpump Creek, thus defining a large CRD hydrothermal system. The LH drilling (four holes totaling 1,347 m) intersected a few gossanous breccia intervals, but no significant sulfide manto mineralization. This drilling, along with extensive trench mapping, shows that the LH mineralization is more likely vertically oriented and higher in the CRD system than Waterpump Creek and the high grade manto target is deeper than originally anticipated.

Potential analogs to the Illinois Creek style of mineralization include: Hermosa and Magma in Arizona, USA; Tintic and Bingham Canyon in Utah, USA; the Leadville and Gilman districts in Colorado, USA; and a series of deposits including Santa Eulalia, Cinco de Mayo, and Naica in Mexico.

Notably, the Hermosa discovery in Arizona and subsequent acquisition by S32, a major Australian mining company, for $1.3B in 2018, has led to a resurgence in CRD exploration.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Initial metallurgical analysis of the Waterpump Creek sulfide is currently ongoing at ALS in Kamloops, British Columbia, with results expected in the second quarter of 2025. Historical metallurgical work undertaken for the development of the Illinois Creek oxide Au/Ag deposit indicates that the highly oxidized rocks are amenable to a relatively low-cost leaching extraction of gold and silver using cyanide solutions. Additional work is now being undertaken by DM Consulting and Pro Solv LLC in Lakewood, Colorado, to ascertain the amenability of the oxide resources to Merrill-Crowe and sulfidization, acidification, recycling and thickening (SART) processing to optimize Ag and Cu recoveries, respectively.

Mineral Resources were estimated for the Illinois Creek oxide deposit and historical heap leach pad. The estimates were generated using drill hole sample assay results and the interpretation of geologic models that relate to the spatial distribution of gold and silver. Grade estimates are made using ordinary kriging into 3D model blocks measuring 10 m × 10 m × 5 m (L × W × H) and the effects of anomalous high-grade samples were controlled by a combination of top cutting and outlier limitations, which restrict the distance of influence of high-grade samples during estimation. The results of the modeling process were validated using a combination of visual and statistical methods to ensure the model grades are reasonable representations of the underlying sample data.

Mineral Resources have been classified in accordance with the definitions for Mineral Resources in S-K 1300, which are consistent with Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves dated May 10, 2014 (CIM (2014) definitions). Mineral Resources delineated by drilling on a maximum nominal spacing of 30 m are included in the Indicated category. In situ Mineral Resources within a maximum distance of 100 m from a drill hole are included in the Inferred category. Inferred Resources on the leach pad are within a maximum distance of 60 m from a drill hole. To ensure the Mineral Resources exhibit reasonable prospects for economic extraction, the in situ resources are constrained within a pit shell generated using projected technical and economic parameters and tabulated at a base case cut-off grade of 0.35 g/t recoverable gold equivalent (AuEqR). The leach pad Mineral Resources are tabulated at a zero-cut-off grade.

Estimates of the in situ, leach pad, and combined Illinois Creek Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources are shown in Table 1-1, Table 1-2, and Table 1-3, respectively.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

The QP is of the opinion that with consideration of the recommendations summarized in Sections 1 and 23 of this TRS, any issues relating to all relevant technical and economic factors likely to influence the prospect of economic extraction at Illinois Creek can be resolved with further work.

The 2021 through 2023 drilling at Waterpump Creek, along with historical Anaconda and NovaGold drilling, is of sufficient density and continuity to prepare an Inferred Mineral Resource estimate for the near surface oxide and the deeper sulfide deposit.

The Mineral Resource estimates were generated using drill hole sample assay results and the interpretation of geologic models that relate to the spatial distribution of silver, lead, and zinc. Grade estimates are made using ordinary kriging into 3D model blocks measuring 15 m × 15 m × 3 m (L × W × H) and the effects of anomalous high-grade samples were controlled by outlier limitations, which restrict the distance of influence of high-grade samples during estimation. The results of the modeling process were validated using a combination of visual and statistical methods to ensure the model grades are reasonable representations of the underlying sample data.

In situ Mineral Resources within a maximum distance of 100 m from a drill hole are included in the Inferred category for both the oxide and sulfide zone. No resource is included in the Indicated category. To ensure the Mineral Resources exhibit reasonable prospects for economic extraction, the in situ sulfide resources were examined and show reasonable continuity for extraction by underground mining methods using projected technical and economic parameters and at a base cut-off grade of 200 g/t silver equivalent (AgEq). The in situ oxide resources are constrained within a pit shell generated using projected technical and economic parameters and tabulated at a base case cut-off grade of 40 g/t Ag.

Estimates of the sulfide and oxide Inferred Mineral Resources are shown in Table 1-4 and Table 1-5, respectively. The effective date of the Waterpump Creek sulfide Mineral Resource estimate is February 20, 2024, and the effective date of the Waterpump Creek oxide Mineral Resource estimate is February 1, 2024.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

The QP is of the opinion that with consideration of the recommendations summarized in Sections 1 and 23 of this TRS, any issues relating to all relevant technical and economic factors likely to influence the prospect of economic extraction at Waterpump Creek can be resolved with further work.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Based on the evaluation of the data available from the Illinois Creek Project, the QPs of this TRS conclude the following:

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Based on the evaluation of the data available from the Project, the QPs recommend the following two-phase program as detailed in Table 1-6 below.

The total estimated direct program costs are approximately US$11.0 million for Phase 1 and US$15.5 million for Phase 2, which includes site costs such as camp support, overhead and other indirect costs, excluding corporate general and administration (G&A) costs.

Phase 2 is contingent on positive drill results at either Waterpump Creek, Warm Springs, or elsewhere. A sufficient mineral inventory will need to be established before proceeding to in-fill drilling and an Initial Assessment.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Bruce Davis Consulting (BDC), Core Geoscience LLC. (Core Geoscience), and DM Consulting were retained by Western Alaska Minerals Corp. (WAM) to prepare a Technical Report Summary (TRS) on its Illinois Creek Property (the Property or the Project), located in western Alaska. This TRS conforms to United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Modernized Property Disclosure Requirements for Mining Registrants as described in Subpart 229.1300 of Regulation S-K, Disclosure by Registrants Engaged in Mining Operations (S-K 1300) and Item 601 (b)(96) Technical Report Summary. The purpose of this TRS is to disclose the Mineral Resource estimate at the Property in support of a planned initial public offering (IPO) on a US securities exchange.

WAM is a public exploration company trading on the TSX Venture exchange under the trading symbol WAM. It controls the Illinois Creek Property through its wholly owned WAC&G and Piek subsidiaries. Since 2010, WAC&G has been exploring and advancing its interests in several properties in the Illinois Creek mining district located in western Alaska.

The Property is located in the southern Kaiyuh Mountains east of the Yukon River, approximately 490 km west of Fairbanks, 52 km southeast of the village of Kaltag, and 85 km south-southwest of the community of Galena. Mineral Resources at the Property are located in two areas, Illinois Creek and Waterpump Creek. Illinois Creek Mineral Resources consist of Illinois Creek oxide gold-silver mineralization and leach heap pad material from the historical Illinois Creek mine. Mineral Resources at Waterpump Creek consist of near surface oxide lead-zinc-silver and deeper sulfide lead-zinc-silver mineralization. Waterpump Creek and Illinois Creek leach pad Mineral Resources are reported for the first time.

Bruce Davis, Deepak Malhotra, and Jack DiMarchi are independent qualified persons (QPs) as defined in S-K 1300, and are employed by BDC, Core Geoscience, and DM Consulting, respectively. The QPs and their respective employers have no beneficial interest in WAM, WAC&G, or the Property. The QPs and their respective employers are not insiders, associates, employees or affiliates of WAM, WAC&G or any other entity that has an ownership, royalty or other interest in the Property.

Bruce Davis is responsible for the overall preparation of this TRS, excluding Sections 3.5, 3.6, 7.3, and 10. Jack DiMarchi is responsible for Sections 3.5, 3.6, and 7.3, and related disclosure in Sections 1, 22, 23, and 24. Deepak Malhotra is responsible for Section 10 and related disclosure in Sections 1, 22, 23, and 24.

Bruce Davis conducted site visits to the Illinois Creek Project on June 12-14, 2018, July 15-18, 2021, and September 7-8, 2023. The QP reviewed the drilling procedures, site facilities, historical and recent drill core where available, logging procedures, data capture, and sample handling.

Jack DiMarchi conducted a site visit on August 14-15, 2024. The QP inspected the current infrastructure, active and reclaimed work sites, and reviewed the adherence to current permit requirements. Jack DiMarchi reviewed all reports related to environmental and permitting information to disclose data in Sections 3.5 and 3.6 prior to a site visit.

Deepak Malhotra has not visited the Property. Deepak Malhotra reviewed all historical reports and metallurgical test work from his office. No recent metallurgical test work has been completed at site.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

In preparing this TRS, the authors reviewed geological reports, maps, and miscellaneous technical papers listed in Section 24.0 References of this TRS. Additional information was provided by WAM personnel.

This TRS is based on information known to the authors as of January 31, 2025.

During the preparation of this TRS, discussions were held with personnel from Western Alaska Minerals:

The coordinate system used in this TRS is Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Zone 4N, and the datum used is the North American Datum 1983 (NAD 83).

All units of measurement in this report are metric, unless otherwise stated. Imperial units are used in Section 6 (History).

All currency is expressed in 2025 U.S. dollars, unless otherwise stated.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

The following abbreviations, acronyms, and symbols were used in this TRS.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

The Illinois Creek Project is located in the State of Alaska, approximately 490 km west of Fairbanks, 52 km southeast of the village of Kaltag, and 85 km south-southwest of the regional supply center of Galena (Figure 3-1). Geographic coordinates of the Property are N64°2’ 7.31” latitude and W157° 54’ 55.92” longitude [Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) North American Datum (NAD) 83, Zone 4W coordinates 553000E, 7101400N].

The Property is located in the southern Kaiyuh Mountains of west-central Alaska just east of the Yukon River. The Property is in the Nulato A-4 and A-5 quadrangles, Kateel River Meridian T16S, R4E, sections 13, 14, 23-25, and 36; T16S, R5E, sections 10-36; T16S, R6E, sections 7, 18,19, 30 and 31; T17S, R4E, sections 1, 11-14, 23-26, 35 and 36; and T17S, R5E, sections 1-13, 15-24, and 26-35.

Source: WAC&G 2025.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

The WAM-controlled lands in the Illinois Creek mining district include five distinct properties: Illinois Creek, Round Top, Honker, Khotol Ridge, and Pawprint. The total land tenure package consists of 390 State of Alaska mining claims and one Upland Mining Lease, comprising the following claim groups: Illinois Creek (241 claims and one Uplands Mining Lease), Round Top (88 claims), Honker (24 claims), Khotol Ridge (19 claims), and Pawprint (18 claims). The claim holdings cover 114.86 square miles (73,535 acres or approximately 29,759 ha). WAM controls a 100% interest in the claims through their subsidiaries WAC&G and Piek Inc. All claims are on State of Alaska lands and include both mineral and surface rights administered by the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources (ADNR).

All permits related to the claims and required by ADNR are valid through December 31, 2028. They are to be renewed by WAM before November 30, 2028.

The State of Alaska claims provide sufficient surface rights to conduct mining operations once all required permits are issued (see Table 3-2).

In January 2024 WAM submitted an application to ADNR to convert 70 of the Illinois Creek claims (ICP01 to ICP70) staked and held under Piek Inc. (Piek) to a single Upland Mining Lease to be held by Piek, as outlined in Figure 3-3. The Upland Mining Lease was signed on July 1, 2024, is valid for 20 years and can be renewed, and provides insulation from any challenges to the Property on a claim-by-claim basis. The annual fees for the lease are $22,938.10 and the annual work requirement is $27,900. Expenditures in excess of this amount can be carried forward for four additional years. Because of the substantial amount spent in 2024, the lease currently has satisfied the labor requirements for 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028.

The requirements for both claims and the lease are similar and require annual work or labor. The annual rental payment is calculated by ADNR each year and varies as some claims are older with higher payments per claim. The total 2024 payment by WAC&G for the mining claims not included in the lease was $131,175.00, and the payment for claims owned by Piek Inc not included in the mining lease was $13,200. All claims and the lease are currently in good standing.

A summary of the WAM land holdings is shown in Table 3-1.

Figure 3-2 shows WAM land holdings within the Illinois Creek mining district, and Figure 3-3 shows the Illinois Creek Property and claims.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Source: WAC&G 2025.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Source: WAC&G (2024)

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

All claims controlled by WAM as well as proposed development infrastructure lie on lands owned by the State of Alaska and are subject to State of Alaska mining claim regulations. As such, the State of Alaska maintains a 3% net income production royalty on all production from state claims, as outlined in Alaska Statute Sec. 38.05.212 Production Royalty.

On October 17, 2018, Piek and WAC&G entered into a joint venture agreement to actively explore and develop the Illinois Creek Property owned 100% by Piek, an Alaska-based corporation. Under the terms of the agreement and amendments to the agreement, a JV Company was established whereby WAC&G could acquire a 100% ownership in the Illinois Creek Property through a series of milestones.

On March 31, 2021, in anticipation of listing WAC&G on the TSX-V exchange, WAC&G completed the purchase of the Illinois Creek Property (ICP Claims 1-110) from Joe Piekenbrock (Piekenbrock), the underlying owner of Piek Inc.

Under terms of the purchase agreement, WAC&G exercised its option to purchase Piek Inc. in order to acquire the Property that consisted of ICP Claims 1-110 for US$3.698 million via promissory note and 120 shares in WAC&G, valued at US$540,000. The purchase of Piek Inc. by WAC&G closed on March 31, 2021. On September 30, 2023, the remaining balance of the promissory note was US$2,785,333 with US$85,333 accrued interest and the terms were amended to the following:

On December 31, 2024, the remaining balance of the promissory note was US$2,356,065 with US$239,148 being accrued interest and the terms were further amended to the following:

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

On November 10, 2021, Western Alaska Minerals Corp. (formerly 1246779 B.C. Ltd.) announced the completion of its business combination transaction whereby WACG Acquisition Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Resulting Issuer (WAM), and Western Alaska Copper & Gold Company completed a plan of merger under Alaskan law that resulted in the reverse takeover of the Resulting Issuer by WAC&G.

On November 15, 2021, Western Alaska Minerals Corp. began trading on the TSX Venture exchange under the symbol WAM.

After closure of the historical Illinois Creek mine, the State of Alaska remediated the site through its agreement with American Reclamation Group (ARG). Though there are no current environmental liabilities related to the mine, the State of Alaska continues to monitor water quality at the site. WAC&G purchased a portion of the historical Illinois Creek workforce camp which is used for ongoing exploration. WAC&G maintains responsibility for cleanup and closure of the workforce camp.

This section summarizes the existing environmental information for the Illinois Creek Project area.

There was a concerted effort to collect baseline data for a number of environmental resource categories in the Project area in the early to mid-1990s as part of the mine development efforts of United States Mining Corporation (USMX). The mine was eventually closed, and in 2005 it was fully reclaimed by American Reclamation Group (ARG). In 2019, WAC&G initiated surface water-quality sampling, and in 2020, WAC&G updated the wetlands mapping and initiated aquatic biomonitoring in the area. The environmental baseline work is briefly discussed in Sections 3.5.1 to 3.5.7 and includes surface water and groundwater quality, wetlands mapping, aquatic biomonitoring, groundwater hydrogeology, cultural resources, waste rock characterization, and meteorology.

During historical mining operations in the 1990s, USMX monitored surface water and groundwater quality at nine stream sites, four springs, and six monitoring wells in the general mine area. Limited data from that effort are available.

In 2006, ADNR assumed responsibility for monitoring surface water and groundwater quality at the site and conducted various sampling campaigns from 2006 through 2019.

Beginning in 2019, WAC&G initiated a renewed surface water quality sampling campaign at two additional surface sites. No water quality sampling was performed in 2020.

WAC&G initiated a broader program in 2021 and 2022 at a total of 20 sites.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

In 2020, WAC&G engaged Alaska Biological Research, Inc. (ABR) to prepare a desktop wetland delineation map for the Project to assess the current existence of wetlands in the Illinois Creek mine area. This was primarily an exercise to update the wetland delineation map that ABR generated in 1995 under contract with USMX.

In 2022, ABR was again engaged to perform desktop wetlands mapping of the area within the Waterpump Creek drainage immediately east of the wetlands area mapped in 2020.

ABR completed a ground-based wetland delineation survey in August of 2024 covering a 2.4-acre area surrounding a potential bridge site over Illinois Creek.

If additional Project plans indicate unavoidable impacts to wetlands or waters, then a site- specific wetland map, supported by field wetland determinations, will be required to support the permitting process required under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA).

Beginning in 1995, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Habitat Division (ADF&G) was engaged by the mine to conduct fish studies. Work was completed in 1995, 1996, and 1997 with an emphasis on juvenile Coho (silver) salmon. In summary, these earlier fish studies suggest that annual summer populations of Coho and Chum salmon vary significantly but that Illinois Creek provides a healthy habitat for salmon spawning and rearing.

In 2020, WAC&G engaged ADF&G to initiate biomonitoring in streams potentially impacted by a reopening of the Illinois Creek mine or development of the nearby Honker and Round Top prospects. These efforts were repeated in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 and will continue in 2025.

Biomonitoring efforts included surveys of periphyton (measured by chlorophyll-a) and aquatic macroinvertebrates in Illinois Creek. Juvenile fish were captured in minnow traps in Illinois Creek, as well as streams in the nearby Dome, Minnesota, Colorado, California, and Eddy Creek drainages. One unnamed tributary of the Little Mud River was also trapped. Juvenile Coho salmon from Illinois Creek were analyzed for whole-body concentrations of several metals, and their length frequencies were described. Juvenile Coho population characteristics and metal concentrations in 2020 were compared to historical data. The 2024 biomonitoring program was expanded to add a control steam outside the Project area and sample for periphyton and macroinvertebrates at other stream besides Illinois Creek.

Baseline periphyton standing crop and aquatic macroinvertebrate population characteristics were described and can be used as an indicator of future environmental changes. Metal concentrations found in juvenile Coho salmon captured in Illinois Creek were generally comparable to those found in the 1990s. The exception was mercury, which was notably elevated compared to the previous collection, though they are still below FDA action levels. Other metal concentrations differed only slightly from those found in the 1990 samples. Catches and length-frequency distributions of juvenile Coho salmon in Illinois Creek were comparable to the historical data.

Fish communities vary depending on stream characteristics, consisting primarily of resident Dolly Varden and slimy sculpin in high-gradient headwater streams, and mixed communities of Alaska blackfish, slimy sculpin, Arctic grayling, and juvenile salmon in the lower reaches. Abundant large beaver dam complexes in these drainages alter fish distribution on a decades- long timescale.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Owen Mason and Howard Maxwell conducted cultural resource surveys for North Pacific Mining Company (NPMC) in 1991 and 1992, respectively, for a proposed laydown area on the Yukon River, the proposed transportation corridor, and the Illinois Creek mine area. In 1994, Northern Land Use Research (NLUR) conducted work in the Illinois Creek mine area at six specific sites that Maxwell had previously identified as having high archaeological potential. In addition, NLUR conducted work at the Macho Grande prospect and along the route of the then-proposed new road connecting the mine site with the airstrip; all at the request of USMX. The survey combined a pedestrian survey, intensive and extensive surface examinations, and subsurface testing where appropriate (NLUR, 1995).

In 1994, NLUR identified one archaeological site on Quartzite Knob (NUL-076). NLUR evaluated this site through intensive surface survey, subsurface testing and monitoring of sediments removed in preparation of this locality for drilling. The site overlooks the Little Mud River and a broad open section of the Innoko River flood plain. No artifacts were recovered that were sufficient to confidently assess temporal or cultural affiliation nor can the artifacts be directly attributed to a possible historical Native group (either Holikachuk or Koyukon Athabaskan). Based on other interior Alaskan archaeological chronologies, the microblade technology could date anywhere between 8,000 and 12,000 years ago or as late as 1,500 years ago. NLUR determined the site was not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NLUR, 1995). At the time, NLUR recommended that mine development work be allowed to proceed, but any additional areas within the Illinois Creek mining lease boundary be considered to have potential for the discovery of archaeological or historical resources and should be field examined at a reconnaissance level prior to any work in those areas.

WAC&G will likely be required to conduct additional cultural resource surveys depending on the footprint of any new mine and access road proposed for the Project. In 2023, WAC&G engaged NLUR Alaska to perform a desktop Cultural Resource study of a broad corridor along the potential access road from the Yukon River and pedestrian surveys of the proposed barge lands, Khotol River crossing, and several potential material sites along the road corridor.

In 1995, SRK conducted waste rock characterization studies and assessed the potential for acid generation from these rocks. To characterize waste rock, SRK used both static and kinetic testing, including saturated paste, Acid-Base Accounting (ABA), and humidity cell tests. SRK (1995) concluded that the testing completed to date indicated that any waste rock produced at Illinois Creek (USMX mine plan) would have a very low potential for acid generation.

WAC&G may need to complete additional waste rock characterization studies depending on any new mine plan proposed for the site.

In the early 1990s, USMX maintained an on-site meteorological monitoring station. Between August 19, 1992, and August 18, 1993, data were collected and used by consultant TRC Environmental Corporation for modeling to obtain the air quality control permits required for the historical mine.

WAC&G will likely need to collect additional meteorological data to support air permitting for any future mine development at Illinois Creek. New air dispersion modeling will be required to obtain new air permits for construction and operations that incorporate the meteorological data with WAC&G’s updated mine plans and an inventory of all expected emission sources at the new mine.

As mentioned in each of the environmental resource categories shown here, WAC&G will likely need to continue and expand baseline environmental monitoring to support permitting for a new mine at Illinois Creek. WAC&G has initiated formal engagement with the regulatory agencies and other Project staff to identify any additional data requirements as the Project design advances.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

This section describes the major permits during the exploration phase and those potentially required to develop the Project into a mine.

WAC&G is presently exploring the Illinois Creek property under authority of Approved Plan of Operations Authorization #9831, which has an issue date of April 26, 2024, and expires on December 31, 2028. The Approved Plan of Operations authorizes work on both the Illinois Creek mining claims and Upland Mining Lease ADL# 422236. The Approved Plan of Operations has reclamation stipulations and includes requirements for filing an annual work plan and an Annual Reclamation Report with ADNR, describing reclamation activities. WAC&G submits annual Reclamation Reports to ADNR and a Notice of Intent to fulfill any carryover reclamation obligations into the next year. Certain aspects of camp operations, including management of solid wastes, are authorized under permit SWGPCAMP-28.

The following discussion identifies the major permits and approvals that will likely be required for the development of a new mine at Illinois Creek. “Major” mine permits are somewhat subjectively defined here, but these permits specifically authorize mining activities, including construction of facilities, mine operations, and mine closure. A significant number of other permits are also required for items such as river barge operations, camp operations, and explosives handling that are not discussed here. A list of likely required major mine permits is shown in Table 3-2; the timeline for the listed permits is unknown at this time.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

The QP is not aware of any environmental liabilities on the Property. WAM has all required permits to conduct the proposed work on the Property. The QP is not aware of any other significant factors and risks that may affect access, title, or the right or ability to perform the proposed work program on the Property.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

The Illinois Creek Property is located in western Alaska, approximately 490 km west of Fairbanks, 52 km southeast of the village of Kaltag, and 85 km south-southwest of the regional supply center of Galena.

Primary access to the Property is by air using either fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters.

There is a 1,340 m (4,400 ft), well-maintained gravel airstrip located on the Property that can accommodate charter fixed-wing aircraft, up to and including C-130 and DC-6 aircraft. There is daily commercial air service from Fairbanks to the nearby village of Galena (largest local community) and from Galena to Kaltag (closest community to the Property).

There are no direct water routes that provide access to the Property. Following the discovery of the Illinois Creek deposit in 1980 by Anaconda, a winter ice-road was built from the Yukon River to the Project to transport heavy machinery into the Project area to help construct the Illinois Creek airstrip. This access corridor was again used during construction and decommissioning of the Illinois Creek mine in 1996 and 2003, respectively.

During operation of the mine, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) commissioned an engineering study of the Yukon River access route. The study proposed a 47.5 km (29.5 mile) access road that connected to a port located on the river with a greater than 40 ft draft and serviceable by deep-water barges for five months of the year from either upstream at Nenana or downstream at Saint Mary’s/Emmonak deep-water port (NPMC, Hughes, R. and Smith, M., 1993).

AIDEA is a public-private partnership (PPP) whose mission is to promote, develop, and advance economic growth and diversification in Alaska by providing various means of financing and investment. AIDEA has the authority to own and operate facilities which advance this goal.

The climate in the region is typical of a subarctic environment. Exploration is generally conducted from late May until late September. Weather conditions on the Property can vary significantly from year to year and can change suddenly. During the summer exploration season, average maximum high temperatures reach up to 20°C (68°F), and average low temperatures in January reach -28°C (-18°F) (Western Regional Climate Center, 2019). By early October, unpredictable weather conditions can limit safe helicopter travel on the Property. Winter temperatures are routinely below -25 °C (-13 °F) and can occasionally exceed -50°C (-58°F). Precipitation in the region averages 335 mm (13.2 in.) per year with the most rainfall occurring from June through September, and the most snowfall occurring from November through January.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Galena (population 472; 2020 U.S. Census), Nulato (population 237; 2020 U.S. Census) and Kaltag (population 158; 2017 U.S. Census) are the nearest communities and, as was the case during operation of the Illinois Creek mine, they provided a significant portion of the workforce at the mine.

Galena is a potential source of limited mining-related supplies; it is the nearest center serviced by regularly scheduled, large commercial aircraft (via Fairbanks). Fairbanks Northstar Borough (population 97,149; 2020 U.S. Census) has a long mining history and can provide most mining- related supplies and support that cannot be sourced closer to the Property.

Drilling and mapping programs are seasonal and supported out of the Illinois Creek mine camp which WAC&G purchased in 2013 from NovaGold. The camp provides office space and accommodations for the geologists, drillers, pilots, and support staff.

In 2023, the Illinois Creek camp provided housing for approximately 35 people. Historical ATCO trailer facilities were used for cooking, dining, administration, housing, and hygiene. Additional housing and bathroom facilities were provided by Weatherport tents. Two 16 ft x 30 ft and one 24 ft x 40 ft Weatherport tents were utilized for core logging, cutting, and sampling. The core logging facilities were run by both 7 kW and 5 kW portable unleaded generators. Diesel generators (two 8 kW and one 50 kW) powered small electrical grids. The historical mine camp used a well to provide drinking water to camp. This well was put back into service in 2022 and currently provides all the Illinois Creek camp’s water supply.

Upgrades during the 2023 field season included sleeper cabin construction and additional sleeper tents, raising the camp capacity to approximately 40 people.

In 1993, during operation of the Illinois Creek mine, AIDEA conducted an engineering study of the Yukon access route from a laydown area south of Kaltag to the mine titled the Illinois Creek Transportation Study. That study proposed a 47.5 km (29.5 mile) access road that connected to a port located on the river with a greater than 40 ft draft and serviceable by deep-water barges for five months of the year from either upstream at Nenana or downstream at Saint Mary’s/Emmonak deep-water port (NPMC, Hughes, R. and Smith, M., 1993).

The 1993 AIDEA Transportation Study outlined costs to build the access route, including laydown area, two 100 ft bridges, and a ferry at $12.2 million.

AIDEA is a public corporation of the State of Alaska, created in 1967 by the Alaska Legislature, whose mission is to promote, develop, and advance economic growth and diversification in Alaska by providing various means of financing and investment. AIDEA has the authority to own and operate facilities which advance this goal.

WAM is currently updating the transportation corridor studies to a pre-feasibility level.

During the mine operation, diesel fuel was transported by DC-6 or C-130 aircraft from Galena to the mine site (fuel was barged down the Yukon River from Nenana near Fairbanks and then staged in Galena). The 1993 AIDEA Transportation Study also looked at the impact of direct shipping to the Kaltag laydown site and outlined a >26% cost savings for fuel. Capital costs (1993) for proposed tankage at the laydown area were $650,000. Current exploration activities rely on the delivery of diesel and 100 LL fuel to the Illinois Creek airstrip by various aircraft. The DC-6 aircraft is the most cost-effective aircraft for fuel delivery.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

The Project is located adjacent to the confluence of the Illinois Creek and the Little Mud River at the southern edge of the Kaiyuh Mountains in west-central Alaska. Topography in the area is gentle with the maximum relief in the Kaiyuh Hills of approximately 800 masl (2,800 ft). The Illinois Creek mine camp lies at approximately 230 masl (750 ft), and the confluence of the Illinois Creek and the Little Mud River lies at approximately 45 masl (150 ft). Talus covers the upper portions of the Kaiyuh Mountains; glacial and fluvial sediments cover low-lying hills and occupy the valleys.

The Kaiyuh Mountains are located at the transition between boreal forest and Arctic tundra. Spruce, birch, and poplar are found in portions of the valley, with a ground cover of lichens (reindeer moss). Willow and alder thickets and isolated cottonwoods follow drainages, and alpine tundra is found at higher elevations. Tussock tundra and low, heath-type vegetation covers most of the valley floor.

Wildlife in the area is typical of arctic and subarctic fauna and includes larger animals such as moose, grizzly and black bears, wolves, lynx, and fox. Fish species include salmon and arctic grayling.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Regional exploration in the Kaiyuh Hills began with the Anaconda/Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (CIRI) joint venture. CIRI is one of the 13 regional native corporations defined in Alaskan Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). The Anaconda/CIRI joint venture identified prospective mineral-endowed lands for CIRI to select under that federal legislation.

In July 1980, an Anaconda/CIRI reconnaissance team, headed by Gorol Dimo, made a series of gossan discoveries, initially at the Round Top porphyry prospect located 24 km to the northeast of the Illinois Creek deposit. Continued reconnaissance silt sampling led to the recognition of six anomalous areas, and follow-up of a 0.6 ppm Ag and 38 ppm Pb anomaly led to the discovery of the Illinois Creek gossan.

At that time, monthly reporting by Anaconda field geologists recorded “A very large, high-grade polymetallic massive sulfide gossan has been discovered near Illinois Creek. The gossan is exposed in a 3.2 km (2 mile) long linear zone of rubble float and outcrop. The width of the zone varies from 120 ft to at least 450 ft. Preliminary assays from 12 grab samples of the gossan are as follows: copper 1,000 ppm to 2%, lead 1,000 ppm to 1%, silver 6 to 100 ppm, zinc less than 650 ppm, and gold 50 ppb to 3,075 ppb” (Dimo 1980).

Figure 5-1 shows the distribution of the various mineralized occurrences and exploration drilling on the Illinois Creek property that has taken place between 1980 and 2024. The image is annotated with local terminology and place names to aid the reader.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Source: WAC&G 2025.

In 1981, Anaconda completed extensive soil sampling and mapping at Illinois Creek and completed nine initial diamond drill holes (DDHs) totaling 1,427.60 m. Five of the drill holes encountered significant intervals of oxidized gossanous mineralization to depths approaching 350 m below surface. Soil sampling in 1981 outlined a 2,000 m by 50 m anomaly with very high values of lead, zinc, copper, silver, gold and arsenic with zinc zoned to the east and copper zoned to the west (Brewer 1982).

Anaconda also drilled 1,668.4 m at the nearby Round Top porphyry prospect in seven DDHs. Ongoing exploration led to the discovery of the nearby high-grade Honker gold vein with rock chip samples up to 31.5 g/t Au.

In the spring of 1982, heavy equipment was mobilized by Cat train to Illinois Creek, and a major expansion of the airstrip and camp was completed. Exploration in 1982 included four additional DDHs totaling 1,586 m, 18 reverse-circulation (RC) drill holes totaling 2,344 m, and 11 bulldozer and backhoe trenches.

Approximately 1,000 m of drilling at Honker was also completed in 10 short drill holes. Five holes intersected mineralization from 0.08 oz/st (2.7 g/t) to 0.21 oz/st (7.2 g/t) Au, varying in thickness from 0.5 m to 4.5 m. Reports from the drilling program state that overall sample recoveries were poor (Brewer and Millholland 1982).

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

In 1983, follow-up drilling of a 500 m by 150 m soil anomaly located northeast of the Illinois Creek gossan intersected a 28.9 m interval grading 16.2 oz/st (554.8 g/t) Ag and 28.3% Pb. Adjacent trench sampling returned a 70 m interval of 12.8% Zn. The prospect, named Waterpump Creek, quickly became the focus of ongoing exploration by Anaconda along with the continued evaluation of the gold potential of the gossan.

During 1983 and 1984, a total of 38 drill holes totaling 5,166.5 m were completed at the Waterpump Creek prospect. At Illinois Creek, seven additional trenches were cut and 10 drill holes, totaling 1,264 m, were completed. Six DDHs, totaling 254 m, were also completed at Macho Grande, a major gossan-showing located roughly 2 km to 3 km west-northwest of the Illinois Creek gossan. IP and resistivity surveys were also completed in selected areas (Gillerman and Brewer 1985).

In 1985, the Illinois Creek Project went into a hiatus following ARCO’s decision to close and liquidate Anaconda.

After Anaconda closed, the Illinois Creek Property was taken over by CIRI, Anaconda’s JV partner on the Project. In 1988, CIRI entered into a JV agreement to explore the Illinois Creek Property with the Goldmor Group, Ltd. (Goldmor), an Alaskan-based corporation.

During 1988, the Goldmor JV completed 49 short RC holes and one DDH for a total of 1,115 m of drilling targeting the central area of the Illinois Creek deposit to depths of about 30 m (100 ft) below surface.

In 1990, the Goldmor JV drilled an additional 38 RC holes totaling 1,815.8 m that also targeted the central area of the Illinois Creek deposit to depths of about 60 m (200 ft) below surface (Goldmor, 1990).

In 1991, North Pacific Mining Company (NPMC), a wholly owned subsidiary of CIRI, began the process of purchasing Goldmor’s JV ownership in the Property and completed the transaction in June 1992 to again control 100% of the Property.

In 1991, NPMC drilled 21 DDHs totaling 1,560.5 m that primarily targeted the central area of the Illinois Creek deposit.

In 1992, an additional 21 DDHs, totaling 1,528.9 m, tested the western and eastern extensions of the Illinois Creek deposit (NPMC, 1991).

In January 1993, NPMC and Echo Bay Mines (Echo Bay) entered into a JV agreement whereby Echo Bay could earn a 70% interest in the Project subject to certain performance requirements until a production decision was reached.

In 1993, Echo Bay drilled 166 RC holes totaling 18,849.2 m. This program delineated most of the 3.5 km strike length of the Illinois Creek deposit to depths approaching 200 m below surface with holes spaced at approximately 30 m to 60 m (100 to 200 ft) intervals. In 1993 to 1994, after a series of major gold acquisitions, Echo Bay elected to withdraw from the Project (Kirkham and Apel 1993).

In July 1994, NPMC entered into a JV agreement to develop the Illinois Creek mine with United States Mining Corporation (USMX) with the option for NPMC to revert to a participating interest or net smelter return (NSR) royalty when a production decision was reached.

In 1994, USMX drilled 37 additional DDHs totaling 2,364.3 m on the Illinois Creek deposit and also initiated a feasibility study. A series of water-monitoring and geotechnical holes were also completed, and, although the collar locations of these holes are known, the majority of drill logs and assay results are missing (USMX 1994).

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

In 1995, an additional 84 drill holes (10 DDHs and 74 RC holes, totaling 5,961.3 m) were completed that further delineated the western and eastern parts of the Illinois Creek deposit. Additional geotechnical and monitoring wells were also completed.

In February 1996, USMX published a feasibility study on the Property. In the summer of 1996, construction began resulting in limited ore production that fall (USMX, 1996a; Fluor Daniel, 1996).

In early 1997, USMX merged with Dakota Mining Corporation (Dakota), and USMX became a wholly owned subsidiary of Dakota. Mining began in May 1997, and heap leaching was initiated. Mining ceased through the 1997 winter, but heap leaching of run-of-mine (ROM) ore continued year-round.

In 1998, hampered by early cost overruns, falling gold prices, and corporate financial difficulties, USMX and Dakota were forced to close the mine and declare bankruptcy. At that time, the State of Alaska took control of the Project.

In 1999, Viceroy Resource Corporation (Viceroy) entered into an agreement with the State of Alaska to lease and manage the Property pending a March 2000 decision-date to either develop a reclamation and mining plan to exploit the remainder of the deposit or return the Project to the State of Alaska.

As a result, Viceroy commissioned Mineral Resource Development, Inc. (MRDI) to complete the following:

Based on the results of the MRDI audit and review, Viceroy declined to develop a reclamation and mining plan with the State of Alaska (MRDI and Viceroy, 2000).

In 2001, American Reclamation Group (ARG), under the direction of a former head of the ADNR, entered into an agreement with the State of Alaska to develop a reclamation and mining plan to exploit the remainder of the deposit. Though the agreement and production figures during this time were not made public, ARG continued mining and remediation efforts through early 2003 when, under the terms of the agreement, the mine was closed.

In 2002, Piek Exploration LLC (Piek Exploration) began to acquire the lands surrounding the Illinois Creek mining leases while the Property was in remediation and closure by ARG. Unfortunately, during this period, ARG destroyed all the Illinois Creek core and core storage facilities, except for a handful of core holes from one of the late USMX drill campaigns.

In 2003, as part of an agreement to purchase components of the Illinois Creek mine for its Rock Creek mine development outside of Nome, Alaska, NovaGold agreed to scan and provide to the state all of the data files stored in the Illinois Creek mine offices.

In 2004, Piek Exploration optioned its portion of the Property to NovaGold, who then actively explored the Waterpump Creek area. During that option period, NovaGold staked claims and re- staked the core claims as the ARG mining lease was terminated.

In 2006, NovaGold returned the Property, the scanned files, drill core, and results of its exploration to Piek Exploration.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

In June 2011, Piek Exploration optioned the Property to Silver Predator Inc. (Silver Predator) who expanded the claim block and completed limited compilation, largely rebuilding the dataset contained within the scanned data files captured by NovaGold.

In 2013, hampered by deteriorating market conditions, Silver Predator sub-optioned the Property to Plan B Minerals (Plan B) who began preparations for an updated preliminary economic assessment (PEA) based on the historical drilling. Plan B contracted with Yukuskokon Professional Services (YKPS) to complete an updated PEA who in turn completed a draft mineral resource estimation using CIM (2014) definitions and then contracted Lyntek Inc., the process plant design team for the original mine, to cost out a rebuild of the original plant. Although work by Plan B was never published in any technical reports, it made some of its draft studies available to Piek Exploration and WAC&G.

In 2014, as market conditions continued to worsen, Plan B returned the Property to Silver Predator who in turn returned it to Piek Exploration.

In 2018, Piek Exploration dropped the claims, and they were re-staked by Piek Inc. to rectify some potential technical discrepancies in filings from a decade earlier.

In October 2018, Piek Inc. and WAC&G entered into a JV agreement to explore and develop the Illinois Creek Property.

Due to the relatively flat topography and abundance of wind-blown loess, surface mapping has had only limited impact in exploration targeting beyond the few discovery outcrops that were originally found by Anaconda. Most importantly, deep-soil sampling through the wind-blown loess layer and up slope from alluvial-filled creek bottoms has been the preferred exploration targeting tool.

In 2001, ARG compiled a database of all the known soil programs conducted on the Property between 1980 and the development of the mine in 1997.

Between 1980 and 1984, Anaconda completed more than 14 individual surveys totaling 2,624 soil samples. These surveys are summarized in Table 5-1.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

In 1993, Echo Bay completed 41 soil test pits. In 1995, USMX completed six soil surveys totaling at least 340 samples. These surveys are summarized in Table 5-2.

In 2006, NovaGold completed a detailed survey along the Waterpump Creek to Last Hurrah CRD trend. For the first time, a multi-element ICP analyses was used.

In 2015, Piek Exploration conducted a single line of deep penetrating geochemistry (DPG) using two separate low-detection leach techniques to determine if there was a geochemical response over the West Illinois porphyry target under valley colluvial and alluvial cover, west of the Illinois Creek mine. DPG is an ultra-trace ion leach technique designed to detect oxidizing sulfide ore bodies below deep cover.

Also, in 2015, Piek Exploration captured an additional 44 ICP sample analyses along four short lines over projections of the fault offset west extension of the Illinois Creek deposit. Results are discussed in Section 7.1 (Exploration).

The NovaGold and Piek Exploration surveys are summarized in Table 5-3.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Since Anaconda’s initial discovery, a series of magnetic, electric, and gravitational techniques have been used to explore the Property, all with varying levels of success.

The following subsections outline most of the programs implemented over time. WAM has limited documentation on many of the programs conducted prior to 2000. In many instances, where data are available in these earlier surveys, the lack of details in data acquisition, coordinate systems, and data reduction procedures limit their usefulness.

In September 1981, Anaconda, under the direction of John Wilson, engaged Ertec Western Inc. (Ertec) to complete an aeromagnetic survey of the Kaiyuh Hills. Line spacing was approximately 500 m with an optimal altitude of 150 m (Kilty and McDermott, 1981). The survey effectively recognized the magnetic anomalies related to the Round Top porphyry intrusion and the strong magnetic signatures related to magnetite schists at or near the contact between the Illinois Creek formation carbonate and the overlying Kaiyuh schists. The relatively coarse scale of the survey did not allow any direct detection of targets, but it provided a rough spatial location of the significant lithologic domains in the district. The original data were lost, but a scanned plot of the data is shown in Figure 5-2.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Source: Ertec 1982.

In 1984, a subsequent, much more detailed survey combining aeromagnetic and electromagnetic (EM) surveys of the Illinois Creek area was completed by Aerodat Limited (Aerodat) for Anaconda. Lines were spaced every 200 m in three separate areas or blocks: each oriented roughly perpendicular to the underlying stratigraphy. The optimized flight height is unknown (Kilty and McDermott, 1981; Aerodat, 1984). Figure 5-3 shows the colored and shaded results of the 1984 Aerodat magnetic survey and contours of the 1983 Edcon gravity survey.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Source: WAC&G 2025 compiled from Aerodat 1984 and Edcon 1983.

In 1984, a ground magnetic survey of the Waterpump Creek area was also completed. The survey used varying line spacing from 50 m to as much as 200 m with 100 m stations and covered an area of approximately 2 km by 2 km.

In 2015, Piek Exploration completed a short (4-line) ground magnetic survey to follow-up the West Illinois Creek magnetic target, first recognized in the Aerodat survey in 1984. This area was suspected as the possible porphyry center responsible for the Illinois Creek CRD system, but subsequent drilling in 2019 by WAC&G showed the anomaly to be the result of a Jurassic mafic intrusion.

Magnetic surveys are summarized in Table 5-4.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Numerous electrical geophysical techniques have been used at the Property and are summarized in Table 5-5 (McDermott 1981; McDermott 1984).

In general, the techniques have been very effective at mapping various lithological units but have not been effective in directly targeting sulfides. This is likely due to the local depth of oxidation and the use of narrow a-spacings. The term a-spacing refers to the distance between electrodes used in IP surveys; it effectively controls the depth of information gathered. The narrow a-spacings used at Illinois Creek preclude significant depth penetration of the surveys (Aurora Geosciences, 2005).

The 2005 NovaGold IP survey, conducted by Aurora Geosciences, used 100 m a-spacing which very effectively mapped the CRD ore-hosting contact between the underlying dolomite and the overlying graphitic, chloritic and quartz chlorite muscovite schists (QCMS) of the Kaiyuh formation along the Waterpump Creek fault. Significant, highly conductive chargeable features occur at this contact over the 2 km extension of the survey. A 3D reinversion of these sections and their ongoing exploration implications is discussed in Section 7.1 (Exploration).

A series of gravity surveys have been conducted on the Property.

In 1983, Anaconda contracted Exploration Data Consultants (Edcon) to complete a helicopter- supported gravity survey of the southern Kaiyuh Hills in and around the Illinois Creek and Round Top deposits. A portion of the survey results specifically from the Illinois Creek property are shown in Figure 5-4 as 1 mgal gravity contours.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Source: WAC&G 2024.

In 1984, Anaconda conducted a detailed survey of Waterpump Creek deposit with 50 m line spacing and individual stations every 10 m.

In 2004, NovaGold, again using Edcon, completed a detailed gravity survey of an approximately 6 km by 3 km area from just north of the Waterpump Creek deposit to south of the Last Hurrah anomaly about 2-3 kms east of the end of the Illinois Creek oxide drilling. The survey used east- west lines spaced roughly 250 m with sample interval stations approximately every 150 m. In addition, a few reconnaissance lines with similar spacing were conducted in and around the West Illinois Creek magnetic anomaly. Figure 5-5 shows the results of the 2004 NovaGold/Edcon survey.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Source: Edcon 2004 and WAC&G 2024

Gravity surveys undertaken at Illinois Creek are summarized in Table 5-6.

Implications of all the geophysical techniques used at Illinois Creek and how each impacted ongoing exploration targeting and vectoring on the Property are discussed in Section 7.1 (Exploration).

Extensive historical drilling at the Illinois Creek Property has largely targeted the oxidized gossans at Illinois Creek and, to a far lesser extent, the Waterpump Creek and Last Hurrah CRD targets. Only minimal exploration has targeted the remainder of the Property, and the potential to find additional mineralized zones is considered by WAM to be very good.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Table 5-7 summarizes the mineral resource delineation and exploration drill campaigns on the Property between 1980 and 2006 conducted by the previous operators of the Property.

Several studies have reviewed the geology and geochemistry of the Illinois Creek Property. Most notable are Anaconda’s Tucson research lab’s efforts throughout its tenure on the Property. Important contributions include a series of internal Anaconda memos in 1984 and 1985 by Hossein Salek. Most notable are two summaries: “Mineralogical and Alteration Study of Samples from the Waterpump Creek Prospect, AK, 1984” and “Mineralogy and Gold/Silver Occurrence Studies of Samples from the Illinois Creek Project, AK, 1984” (Salek 1984a; Salek 1984b).

In 1984, Anaconda also completed lead isotope studies using Teledyne Isotopes Inc. In addition to the geological and mineralogical studies at Illinois Creek, Anaconda also completed some age-dating of rocks in the district.

In 1994, Brian P. Flanigan completed an MS thesis at the University of Alaska Fairbanks titled “Genesis and Mineralization of Ore Deposits in the Illinois Creek Region, West-Central, Alaska”. The thesis summarizes mineralogical zonation studies across the Illinois Creek deposit and clearly establishes the distinct zonation of copper, bismuth, arsenic and gold to the west and lead, zinc and manganese to the east. The thesis used reflected light microscopy and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses to complete a comprehensive compilation of the ore mineralogy at Illinois Creek and Waterpump Creek. The thesis also looked at oxygen isotopes and completed additional age dating. Flanigan concluded by suggesting timing and mineralization events for prospects and deposits across the district (Flanigan 1994).

Between 1994 and 1996, in the run-up to construction of the Illinois Creek, USMX compiled earlier studies and completed a series of studies to support the feasibility study and required permits. In addition, during 1994 and 1995, USMX completed a series of geotechnical and water-monitoring holes.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Many though not all of the historical mine permitting studies were given to WAM by the ADNR. The following significant studies were completed for and by USMX:

Anaconda initiated a series of early studies to determine the overall metallurgical characteristics of the Illinois Creek and Waterpump Creek mineralization types. Early studies looked at cyanidation, flotation, gravity, and magnetic separation characteristics of the ores.

The following Anaconda internal memos and reports summarize these studies:

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

USMX reported mining 5,136,794 total tons between late 1996 to the end 1997, including 1,135,318 tons of ore (Bennett et al. 1998). The current leach pad Mineral Resource estimate states 1.452 Mt of material that is the result of mining. The original grade of the leach pad is unknown as well as the total gold and silver production.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

The Illinois Creek Project is located within the Ruby Terrane, a sequence of mostly late Proterozoic to middle Paleozoic continental margin rocks that make up the Kaiyuh Mountains (see Figure 6-1). Lithologies within the belt include metapelites, quartzites, carbonates and greenstones. Thinly bedded, carbonate-rich dolomitic quartzite and dolomite host the Waterpump Creek sulfide silver-zinc-lead CRD deposit the Illinois Creek oxide gold-silver deposit, respectively.

The Cretaceous Khotol pluton, the Round Top porphyry, and the interpreted Illinois Creek porphyry intrude metasediments north, northeast, and west/southwest of Illinois Creek. Age-dating suggests that mineralization from the Illinois Creek hydrothermal system is temporally related to the emplacement of the 112 Ma Khotol granite pluton.

Regional structure is dominated by east-northeast-trending faults oriented subparallel to the Kaltag fault—a large, trans-current shear zone located 24 km (15 miles) north of the deposit. Post-Laramide movement on the Kaltag fault is characteristically right lateral taking up rotation along the Tintina trench into central Alaska as a consequence of north-northwest directed subduction under the Aleutians.

Structural and stratigraphic interpretations suggest that the pre-Laramide Cretaceous motion on the Kaltag fault was likely left-lateral with north-northeast-trending extensional faults forming pull-apart zones between left stepping offsets along the east-northeast trans-current shears. This local northeast-directed extension appears to have controlled elongation of the Khotol pluton and emplacement of the Round Top porphyry.

Broad east-northeast to east-southeast-directed folds appear to be a consequence of east- southeast-directed compression perpendicular to the north-northeast extension. These folds play a critical role in the erosional level of permissive carbonate stratigraphy which hosts the carbonate replacement mineralization developed adjacent to the porphyry intrusions within the district.

The Illinois Creek deposit (a deeply oxidized CRD) is located within an east-northeast-trending shear zone, the Illinois Creek fault, analogous to the Kaltag fault orientation. Mineralization occurs as both a filling within the fault structure and as a replacement within and along selective bedding planes and stratigraphic contacts particularly at or near the uppermost contact of the dolomitic quartzite stratigraphy with overlying metapelitic schists and greenstones.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

Source: Modified after Anaconda 1981, Geologic Map of the Nulato A-4 Quadrangle, WAM 2024.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

The deformation and tectonic history of the Kaiyuh Mountains remains poorly understood. The Project area underwent regional deformation and metamorphism during the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous Brooks Range orogeny. The collision of the Ruby Terrane and Koyukuk Arc Terrane from present-day south caused north-directed imbrication and partial subduction of the Arctic Alaska passive margin sedimentary sequence.

A recent review of the tectonic history is summarized by Moore et al. (Moore and Box, 2016) who present a series of tectonic reconstructions and deformational styles related to the Brooks Range orogeny. Figure 6-2 shows existing models for emplacement of the Ruby Terrain due to the opening of the Arctic Canada Basin and Figure 6-3 through Figure 6-5 show the evolution of the Ruby Terrane and the timing of the Illinois Creek and Round Top deposits. The reconstructions show the accretion of the ATI (Angayucham/Tozitna/Innoko) Terrane immediately to the east and overlapping the Ruby Terrane in latest Jurassic times. The deformation continues into the Cretaceous with northwest-directed thrusting until 113 Ma.

Source: Moore and Box 2016.

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. | Illinois Creek Project S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary

This compressive foreshortening has resulted in a series of thrust plates juxtaposing deeper water ATI Terrane mafic volcanics over progressively shallowing continental slope deep-water pelitic rocks in turn thrust over platform carbonate and continental derived quartzites of the Ruby Terrain host for the Waterpump Creek CRD deposit and the Illinois Creek deposit.

North-northeast to northeast-directed extension then dominates the deformational history through the emplacement of both the Illinois Creek and Round Top porphyry systems in the mid to earliest Cretaceous times.

Source: Moore and Box 2016.