TORONTO, Dec. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Western Metallica Resources Corp. (TSX.V: WMS) ("Western Metallica" or the "Company") is pleased to report on updates from the Company's mineral projects in Spain, specifically the launch of the Sierra Alta Project exploration program, with ten intended drill holes planned at a total depth of 200 metres, and across three main structural targets, refer to Table 1. The Sierra Alta Project is in the same prolific region as Penedela, located on the Southern edge of the strongly mineralised "Navelgas Gold Belt" which forms the central belt in Asturias, Spain, and consists of structurally controlled Palaeozoic clastic sediments and carbonates intruded by felsic intrusive rocks, refer to Figure 1.

The Sierra Alta Project is currently undergoing preliminary mapping, drill scouting, and a targeting program, conducted in parallel to the ongoing drill program at Penedela, see release dated September 28, 2022. The Sierra Alta Project is a regionally encouraging project due to the compelling historical mining activity and the exploration data produced by Rio Narcea Gold Mines Ltd. in the 1990's and Emerita Resources Corp. in 2016, which presented high-grade gold in rock from NS striking jasperoidal breccias. An outstanding feature of the Sierra Alta Project is the vast alignment of several ancient Roman workings along a 10-kilometre trending corridor, direction NE-SW, combined with the presence of alluvial gold, an extensive project with 90 claims and a considerable amount of historical data to build upon.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at

The primary objective of the Sierra Alta Project includes drilling from the already approved sites at Montefurado and Puerto del Palo, refer to Figure 2, and pre-drilling activities such as a detailed and highly-representative diamond saw rock sampling program across the structures at Montefurado, Puerto Del Palo and La Marta prospects. The Sierra Alta Project holds over 4 kilometres of untested strike length remaining to be explored, as well as proven high-grade gold occurrences in the system, based on historical workings. A technical report prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 on the Sierra Alta Project, effective March 19, 2022, is available under the Company's SEDAR profile at  and accessible on the Western Metallica website.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

Gregory Duras, CEO and Director of Western Metallica Resources commented, "Western Metallica intends to advance its exploration across various projects, in parallel, with a precise and calculated exploration strategy to incrementally increase the potential of defining highly mineralized zones and areas of future focus. The Sierra Alta Project is of exceptional importance to the Company, notably due to it being surrounded by significant Roman historical workings, in the robustly mineralised Navelgas Gold Belt, with notable high-grade gold occurrences within the system which are validated by previous exploration activities. Unlike most exploration firms, we are fortunate to operate in a structurally robust region, where three of our projects span over 8,500 hectares, much of which hosts historic workings and data."

* Readers are cautioned that the Rio Narcea Gold Mines Ltd. and Emerita Resources Corp. historical records have not been verified by a qualified person and should not be relied upon as current. Additional work is required for the historical work to be verified and incorporated into a current mineral resource estimate.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Sample preparation and analyses are conducted according to standard industry procedures. Drill core samples are crushed, split and pulverized prior to analysis of Gold by fire assay and Atomic Absorption and multi-elements by ICP-AES after four acid digestion. Analytical performance is monitored by means of certified reference materials (CRMs), coarse and fine blanks, rejects and pulp duplicates. Samples have been prepared in ALS Chemex preparation lab in Seville, Spain and analyses have been completed in ALS Rosia Montana, Alba, Romania (Fire Assays) and ALS Loughrea, Galway, Ireland (ICP).

Qualified Person

The technical and scientific information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Giovanni Funaioli, Eur.Geol., Vice President Exploration of Western Metallica, who is a "Qualified Person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Giovanni Funaioli is an employee of the Company and is not considered independent under NI 43-101.

About Western Metallica Resources Corp.

Western Metallica is a British Columbia company with its head office in Toronto, Ontario, trading on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) under symbol WMS. Western Metallica is in the business of mineral resource exploration and development, its principal asset is its 100% owned Penedela Gold Property in the "Navelgas Gold Belt" in Asturias, Spain. Western Metallica also has an interest in two other Spanish gold projects in the "Navelgas Gold Belt" in Asturias (Valledor and Sierra Alta) and one project located in Andalucia (Nueva Celti).

Further information of the Company can be found at:

For more information please contact:

Western Metallica Resources Corp.
Gregory Duras
Chief Executive Officer
Email: gduras@westernmetallica.com

Investor Relations
Email: info@westernmetallica.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

The TSXV has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-statements." Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements, or developments to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Although the Company believes, in light of the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. When used in this press release, the words "estimate", "project", "belief", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "plan", "predict", "may" or "should" and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. The forward-looking statements and information in this press release include information relating to the planned drill program and the development of the Penedela Project and other mining projects and prospects thereof. Such statements and information reflect the current view of the Company. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and information.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.