Guardian Exploration Concludes 2025 Field Work at Sundog Gold Project; Reports Preliminary High Grade Gold Results

Guardian's Sundog property spans 94.15 km² (23,265 acres) within the central Ennadai-Rankin Archean greenstone belt, a major Neoarchean supracrustal complex comprising volcaniclastics, mafic volcanic flows, and clastic sedimentary units that were later deformed by Paleoproterozoic shear zones. Guardian's Sundog and Esker Gold projects lie within the Central Hearne domain of the Hearne Craton, part of the Western Churchill Province of the Canadian Shield-an area that preserves one of the world's largest and most prospective Archean greenstone terranes.

The Ennadai-Rankin greenstone belt covers more than 100,000 km² (38,610 sq. miles) and represents both a regionally extensive stratigraphic package and a major gold metallotect. It hosts several significant deposits and gold-bearing systems, most notably the world-class Meliadine mine, which has produced more than 2 million ounces of gold and contains an additional 7+ million ounces in reserves and resources (Agnico Eagle, 2024).

Additionally, the region includes the historic Cullaton Lake mine, located near the Shear Lake deposit. The Cullaton operation produced approximately 200,000 ounces of gold during its years of activity in the early to mid-1980s (1981-1985), further underscoring the gold endowment of the Central Hearne domain.

Within this geological context, the Sundog Gold Project is underlain by Archean volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Henik Group, which are unconformably overlain by Hurwitz Group sediments-an architecture typical of productive gold-bearing greenstone terranes across the Canadian Shield.

The 2025 Sundog field program was conducted from September 1 to October 7, 2025, comprising geological mapping, structural interpretation, trenching, prospecting, and grid establishment across the northern portion of the property. A total of 248 rock samples were collected within the Sundog project area for analysis, including 86 cut channel samples from historic trenches 8, 9B, 10, 17 and 29. The program successfully confirmed multiple gold-bearing structures and expanded the known footprint of mineralization.

Guardian established a 10-12 person field camp at the Cullaton lake airstrip, adjacent to the historic Cullaton Lake mine, and located 18km SW of the Sundog exploration area, which will be used for planned 2026 field work. The airstrip was used in 2025 for landing DC-3 fixed wing aircraft, and historically has served larger cargo planes.

The following reports the results of the Sundog field program. Guardian did not undertake work to establish the existence of any mineral resources or mineral reserves as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and none are reported herein. It is uncertain if future exploration will result in definition of mineral resources or mineral reserves.

The Sundog gold occurrence was first discovered in 1962. Subsequent follow-up work by Abermin Corporation in the Fall of 1987 included a one-month field program of detailed geological mapping of a gridded area, Very Low-Frequency ("VLF") ground geophysics, a humus geochemical survey and a program of excavation and mapping of 38 hand trenches, 27 of which were sampled and assayed.

As part of Guardian's 2025 field work program all historical trenches from 1987 Sundog work programs were relocated with the objective of confirming historical work and observations, as well as resampling of significant gold-bearing intervals within historical trenches. Three new trenches were excavated and sampled (9B, 40 and 41) and 9 historical trenches were re-excavated, enlarged, and sampled (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 17, 29, 30 and 31). Numerous grab and channel samples returned >10 g/t Au, with peak values up to 34.45 g/t Au.

(c) Sundog traverse, baseline, and sample sites. (d) Samples prepped for transport.

Two significant conclusions from a brief report produced by Scott Anderson, Ph.D., P.Geo., following a site visit from Sept 18 - 22, include:

• Gold-bearing veins at Sundog are mainly hosted in competent mafic-intermediate intrusive sills with weak to negligible ductile fabrics, indicating that competency contrast likely focused quartz veining and mineralization. These sills form shallowly east- and northeast-dipping structural panels, suggesting exploration potential at depth to the east or along strike to the north and south.

• Veins are primarily associated with steep NNE-SSW brittle-dominant structures, but the presence of shallow, low-angle ductile fabrics and high-strain zones indicates additional potential for flat-lying mineralized zones, either within fractured favourable rock sheets or along flat-lying high-strain zones.

Broad zones of anomalous mineralization (>0.5 g/t Au) have been identified in quartz-carbonate-sulphide veining hosted within dominantly metavolcanic rocks and possible fine-grained gabbro sills, as reinterpreted from earlier mapping. Further work in 2026 will be required to confirm these lithological relationships.

Panning of soils and weathered bedrock from trench and historical sample sites confirmed the presence of coarse, recoverable gold, consistent with gold reported in prior exploration by Abermin Corporation (1987) and subsequent programs by other operators.

(e) Gold grains recovered from Sundog Trenches

Initial grab sampling included 162 samples of quartz vein and mafic volcanic wall rock from float, outcrop and trenches. Significant grab/chip sample results are presented in Table 1 below. Note that grab/chip samples are selective in nature and may not represent the overall grade or width of mineralization.

Table 1: Significant Grab / Chip Sample Results

Subsequently, a program of saw-cut continuous channel sampling was undertaken in Trench 8, 9B, 10, 17 and 29 areas.

Table 2: Trenches with Cut Channels

Highlights of channel sampling include:

• Samples from Trenches 8 and 9B, located about 260m north of Trench 10, have returned results confirming analyses from previous workers and extending gold mineralization to the south of excavations by previous workers, almost doubling the strike length from 8.8m to 15.4m.

• Trench 10, which is centered on the historic 1962 Selco discovery outcrop, was re-excavated and enlarged, and has been extended to the NE and North, compared with previous work. The strike length of vein-hosted gold mineralization has been extended from 15.5m in 1987 to at least 40m following Guardian's channel sampling program.

• Trench 17, located 240m southwest of Trench 10, has returned anomalous to low-grade gold in almost every sample collected. Fine gold has been panned by Guardian from weathered bedrock and soil from several locations within Trench 17. The area is showing potential as a lower-grade larger target, supported by possible extensions of mineralization eastward towards trench 30 and trench 31. This area will receive extensive follow-up investigation in the 2026 field season.

• Observations and sampling from Trench 30 and 31 confirm that gold is present in narrow quartz veins crosscutting or parallel to shallow dipping foliation in foliated fine grained mafic volcanic rocks, which has not previously been a focus of exploration.

Table 3: Significant Channel Sampling results

All cut intervals were oriented across the strike of the veining. Although most of the sampled veins are near-vertical, the reported intervals represent apparent widths of mineralization. True thicknesses are not known at this time.

Additional information is available on the company website at guardianex.com.

Graydon Kowal, President and CEO, commented:

"Our 2025 field work at Sundog has delivered encouraging results in a highly fertile gold field. The results confirm the presence of high-grade gold, and visible coarse gold observed in the field supports our interpretation of a nuggety system. These positive results are providing the next level of confidence as we prepare to expand the exploration area and for drill targeting in 2026."

Exploration plans for 2026 field work include expansion of the historically gridded area, additional geological mapping, soil sampling, trenching, drone geophysics (magnetics and radiometrics), and diamond drilling.

QA/QC Protocols

All rock and channel samples collected during the 2025 program were securely bagged, tagged, and shipped with numbered security seals to maintain full chain-of-custody compliance. The bags were shipped to Paragon Analytical Ltd. in Surrey, B.C., a facility accredited under ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO 9001 standards.

Guardian's QA/QC program includes insertion of certified reference materials (standards), blanks, and field duplicates. Paragon Analytics Ltd. also follows a QA/QC program of insertion of 350-500g aliquots (the quantity required for effective Photonassay analysis) of standards, blanks and duplicate samples into the stream.

All QA/QC data were reviewed and verified by the Company's Qualified Person prior to disclosure.

Historical Analytical Results

The historical 1987 analytical results contained in this news release were generated by previous operators (Abermin Corporation) prior to the implementation of NI 43-101 and have not been independently verified by the Company's Qualified Person. These results are considered historical in nature. While the Company considers the historical data to be relevant to assessing the exploration potential of the property, the Company has not completed sufficient work to classify the historical estimates or analyses as current in accordance with NI 43-101. The Company is not treating the historical results as current and they should not be relied upon. Future exploration work, including verification sampling, may produce results that differ materially from those reported herein. Further to that the analytical methodologies, sampling procedures, and QA/QC protocols used by previous operators may not meet current NI 43-101 standards. The Company's Qualified Person has reviewed the information to the extent possible but cannot confirm the reliability or accuracy of the historical analytical results.

Analytical Procedure

Guardian's 2025 samples were analyzed at Paragon Analytical Ltd., an ISO-accredited geochemical laboratory based in Surrey, B.C. using the PhotonAssay™ method. All samples are also being submitted for multi-element analysis (4-acid digestion with ICP-MS 48 element analysis) by Paragon's facilities in Reno, Nevada.

PhotonAssay™ is particularly advantageous in coarse-gold systems such as Sundog, where small-scale variability in gold distribution (the nugget effect) can cause under- or over-reporting in conventional assays. To further assess this variability, Guardian has submitted selected high-grade samples for PhotonAssay-to-Extinction, in which multiple aliquots of each sample are analyzed independently and averaged to generate a statistically representative gold value. Results are pending.

All samples returning >0.5 g/t Au are being re-analyzed using Screen Metallic Fire Assay with AAS finish (Paragon Method FAS-211) to confirm grade distribution and validate PhotonAssay™ results. Results are pending.

Qualified Person

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Steven Dudka, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Guardian Exploration Inc.

Guardian Exploration Inc. is a TSXV-listed company (TSXV: GX) (OTCQB: GXUSF) (Frankfurt: R6B) engaged in oil, gas, and mineral exploration and development. Guardian's assets include the Sundog and Esker gold projects in Nunavut's Kivalliq Region, the Mount Cameron Property in Yukon's Mayo Mining District, and the Kaigani claims in Southeast Alaska.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Graydon Kowal
President & Chief Executive Officer
Tel: (403) 730-6333

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 Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words "may", "plan", "will", "estimate", "continue", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "in the process" and other similar expressions which constitute "forward looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current expectation and assumptions, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, our expectations regarding mineral exploration. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company's on-going filings with the securities regulatory authorities, which filings can be found at www.sedar.com. Actual results, events, and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

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