Puma Exploration Unlocks a District-Scale Gold Opportunity in New Brunswick

• Puma Exploration is a junior gold exploration company focused on the Williams Brook gold project in New Brunswick, Atlantic Canada
• The project spans 40,000 hectares with high-grade gold mineralization found at surface in stacked quartz veins and stockwork
• Key project zones include the Lynx Zone, Jaguar Zone, and Cheetah Zone which will be drilled in 2024 to prove scale
• The company aims to demonstrate multi-million ounce potential across the 4km corridor with low-cost, targeted exploration
• Puma is well-funded for 2024 exploration and expects steady news flow from drilling, trenching, stripping and metallurgical test results in the coming months

The Williams Brook Gold Project

Puma Exploration (TSXV:PUMA) is a compelling junior gold exploration company poised for significant growth as it aggressively explores and develops its flagship Williams Brook gold project in the Bathurst Mining Camp of New Brunswick, Atlantic Canada. With a large land package, high-grade gold at surface, and a systematic exploration approach, Puma offers investors an attractive opportunity to gain exposure to a potential new major gold discovery in a top-rated mining jurisdiction.

The 100%-owned Williams Brook project covers over 40,000 hectares of highly prospective ground in New Brunswick. The property is easily accessible by paved roads, with gold mineralization outcropping at surface in an area that has seen limited historical exploration.

Interview with President & CEO, Marcel Robillard

High-Grade Gold in Quartz Veins

Gold at Williams Brook occurs in a system of stacked, high-grade quartz veins and vein stockwork concentrated at the contact between sedimentary and intrusive rocks. Initial drilling has intercepted bonanza grades, such as 5.5 g/t gold over 50.2 meters, within wider zones of lower grade mineralization.

According to Puma's President & CEO Marcel Robillard, "With those high grade, you always can do a lower grade deposit with high grade. What I mean by that, by dilution, if you have major vein of 3-4 meters of 30-40 grams per ton, then you can extend the mineralization from one vein to the other one, because those type of deposit are high-grade stack vein."

This configuration of high-grade veins surrounded by halos of disseminated gold points to excellent potential for both open-pit and underground mining scenarios at Williams Brook. The coarse, free gold is also expected to be amenable to simple, low-cost gravity-based processing, as evidenced by initial metallurgical testing.

Key Zones & Blue-Sky Potential

Drilling to date has focused on the Lynx Zone, where mineralization has been traced for over 750 meters along strike and remains open in all directions. Situated 400 meters away, the newly-defined Jaguar Zone will be a major focus of 2024 drilling designed to confirm similar gold grades and widths as seen at Lynx.

Looking further afield, grab samples have identified the Cheetah Zone roughly 4 kilometers along strike from Lynx. According to Robillard, only about 15,000 meters of drilling has been completed so far, and "the objective in 2024 is proving up scale and size of the already known mineralization at the Williams Brook property."

This speaks to the expansive blue-sky potential at Williams Brook, where Puma envisions a 4-kilometer-long corridor hosting multiple deposits with multi-million-ounce potential. Systematic testing of this larger area will be a priority for the company in 2024 and 2025.

2024 Exploration Program

Puma is mobilizing for a major exploration push at Williams Brook in 2024. The company recently commenced a 2,000 meter drill program focused on the Jaguar Zone, with initial results expected in the next 30-45 days.

This drilling will be followed by an extensive campaign of trenching, stripping, and detailed structural mapping in preparation for a larger drill program in the fall. The company also plans to conduct further metallurgical studies to optimize gold recoveries.

Robillard comments, "As we're going to get those [drill] results let's say in April/May, we're going to start trenching and stripping in May/June. And you know, we won't have any delay in timing because every time that we're going to get a news out in the market, something else will be already started to get the story going on over the entire summer."

Well-Funded for Growth

Puma is well-capitalized to complete its ambitious 2024 exploration plans at Williams Brook. The company expects to have approximately C$1.5 million in working capital, which is sufficient to fund the current 2,000 meter drill program and extensive surface work through the end of the year.

Importantly, Puma's strong financial position means it can advance the project aggressively without having to dilute shareholders in the near term. Robillard affirms, "We're going to be fully funded for the entire year - 2024 is all fully funded."

Proven Leadership

Puma is led by a highly experienced management team and board with a track record of delivering shareholder value through gold discovery and development. The company's technical team has a deep understanding of the regional geology and a history of success in the Bathurst Mining Camp.

Notably, Puma's leadership has strong relationships with local communities and First Nations, and the company is committed to responsible and sustainable development. This social license to operate is a key competitive advantage in the region.

Attractive Valuation

Despite its high-quality asset base and significant exploration upside, Puma currently trades at a modest valuation of ~C$15 million. This discount to peers reflects a lack of market awareness and the challenging conditions for junior resource stocks in recent years.

However, Robillard believes the company is well-positioned to re-rate as it delivers exploration success and the gold price environment improves:

"I can see [this] more as a good opportunity right now," he comments, "because we have money in the treasury, we have one of the best commodities, in the best jurisdiction."

Conclusion

Puma Exploration offers investors a compelling opportunity to gain exposure to a high-grade gold discovery in the making at its Williams Brook project. With a huge land package, robust exploration upside, a top-tier jurisdiction, and a proven leadership team, Puma has all the ingredients in place to deliver significant shareholder value in the coming months and years. As the company aggressively advances Williams Brook and gold sentiment improves, Puma is poised for a major re-rating by the market.

The Investment Thesis for Puma Exploration

• Large, 100%-owned land package (40,000 hectares) in mining-friendly New Brunswick
• High-grade gold in quartz veins/stockwork with multi-million-ounce potential
• 4km mineralized corridor with 750m Lynx Zone and new discoveries at Jaguar and Cheetah
• Fully-funded for aggressive 2024 exploration program ($1.5M in working capital)
• Potential for low-cost, open-pit and underground mining with simple gravity processing
• Proven management team with strong community relationships and history of value creation
• Significantly undervalued at ~C$15M market cap with clear potential for near-term re-rating

Key Takeaway

Puma Exploration is an undervalued junior gold explorer with a major high-grade discovery at its Williams Brook project in New Brunswick. The company's large land package, open-ended zones, and systematic approach point to multi-million-ounce resource potential in a highly attractive jurisdiction. With aggressive, fully-funded exploration plans for 2024 and a proven leadership team, Puma is well-positioned to deliver outsized returns as it advances Williams Brook and sentiment improves in the junior gold space.

Macro Gold Sector Outlook

The outlook for gold and gold equities is increasingly bullish due to a perfect storm of macro drivers. Persistently high inflation, banking sector instability, and rising geopolitical tensions are prompting investors to seek safe havens, while a pullback in the U.S. dollar and potential peak in interest rates could provide a further tailwind for gold prices.

After a prolonged period of underinvestment, the gold industry is also facing a looming supply deficit as global production declines and new discoveries become increasingly scarce. This backdrop of robust demand and constrained supply should be very supportive of both the gold price and valuations for gold miners going forward.

In this environment, high-quality junior explorers like Puma Exploration offer the greatest leverage to a rising gold price. As capital returns to the sector and investors seek exposure to new discoveries, companies with large, high-grade deposits in top jurisdictions like New Brunswick should attract premium valuations.