![]()
Highlights
Maple Gold Mines Ltd. (TSX-V: MGM) (OTCQX: MGMLF) (FSE: M3G0) is pleased to report new results from the final four holes of its 10,870 m winter drill campaign at the Joutel Gold Project, part of its 100%-owned Douay/Joutel Gold Project located along the Casa Berardi-Douay Gold Trend in Québec, Canada. Following the successful Winter Program, which confirmed the strength, continuity and growth potential of Joutel’s high-grade gold system, the Company has launched an expanded 25,000 m fall drill campaign to accelerate resource growth and targeted resource conversion. This budgeted $9 million Fall Program is fully funded by the Company’s approximately $23 million treasury.
“The success of the Winter Program, together with the 2026 MRE, underscores Joutel’s potential as a premier asset within our district-scale gold platform, and we are moving decisively to turn exploration success into meaningful resource growth,” stated Kiran Patankar, President and CEO of Maple Gold. “To support this work, we have launched an aggressive 25,000 m Fall Program backed by a strong treasury, a completed internal scoping study that is guiding our exploration and development decisions, and additional near-term catalysts across Douay/Joutel. We believe Maple Gold is well positioned to deliver value for shareholders as we continue to advance one of Québec’s most compelling emerging gold districts.”
Joutel’s Geological Setting
Joutel hosts the historical Eagle, Eagle West and Telbel gold mines (together, the “Joutel Mining Complex“) which produced 1.1 million ounces of gold at an average grade of 6.5 g/t Au between 1974 and 19931. The Joutel Mining Complex lies along the southern branch of the regional Casa Berardi Deformation Zone, a major gold-bearing structure in Québec’s prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt (Figure 1). Gold mineralization is hosted within the uppermost cycle of the Joutel volcanic complex, which includes a thick rhyodacitic to dacitic pyroclastic footwall unit overlain by interbedded clastic and chemical sedimentary rocks, felsic pyroclastics, and mafic flows. Within the Mine Sequence, the continuous Main Iron Carbonate Horizon hosted the bulk of historical gold production (Figures 2 and 3). The MICH trends southeast and dips sub-vertically. Both the Eagle and Telbel mines host higher-grade ‘shoots’ within the MICH that plunge to the southeast, consistent with the regional plunge lineation. The MICH is the primary exploration target along strike and up- and down-plunge of the known high-grade mineralization. Secondary targets include sub-parallel carbonate horizons, altered zones within felsic tuffs, and a continuous microgabbro unit in the footwall to the MICH.
Winter Program Results and Key Findings
The four drill holes (JO-26-16, JO-26-17, JO-26-18 and JO-26-19) reported were designed to test shallow areas with limited drilling between, and along strike from, the historical Eagle and Telbel Mines (Figures 2, 3, and 4). These holes targeted interpreted zones of high-grade gold mineralization projected up-plunge from historic mined-out stopes within the MICH host unit.
The best results came from drill hole JO-26-18 drilled between the Eagle and Telbel mine shafts, which returned 8.6 g/t Au over 4.2 m within 2.5 g/t Au over 18.3 m within the MICH. Drill hole JO-26-19 returned 2.5 g/t Au over 2.0 m within 1.2 g/t Au over 9.7 m in a 50 m horizontal step-out northwest along the MICH from previously reported drill hole JO-25-07 which returned 5.3 g/t Au over 6.8 m (see news release dated February 26, 2026). Hole JO-26-19 also intersected 4.3 g/t Au over 1.6 m in the parallel and continuous microgabbro unit in the footwall to the MICH.
Further southeast, drill hole JO-26-16, located >1 km from the Telbel mine shaft, intersected ~69 m of hydrothermal breccia—a key mineralization style associated with the MICH. This strongly suggests that the gold mineralizing system at Joutel extends well beyond the Joutel Mining Complex and the potential for additional southeast plunging shoots with a similar attitude to Eagle-Telbel.
Importantly, all Winter Program results were received after the November 1, 2025 cutoff date for the 2026 MRE, representing additional resource upside. Complete assay results for the drill holes reported herein are presented in Table 1.

Figure 1: Property map of the Douay/Joutel Project

Figure 2: Joutel plan view map of the Eagle-Telbel Mine Area highlighting 2025-2026 Completed Drill Holes

Figure 3: Joutel longitudinal section with Eagle-Telbel Underground Workings & Mined-Out Stopes (in grey), 2026 MRE blocks and 2025-2026 Completed Drill Holes with Significant Assay Results. Looking Northeast.

Figure 4: Joutel DDH Cross-Section – Telbel Mine East – Drill Holes JO-25-06, JO-25-07 and JO-26-18 with Significant Assay Results. Looking West.
Table 1: Joutel 2026 Winter Program – Significant Assay Results
| Target | From | To | Length* | Au_FA |
| Drill Hole | (m) | (m) | (m) | (g/t) |
| Tebel Mine – Eastern Step-Outs | ||||
| JO-26-16 | 275.3 | 287.0 | 11.7 | 0.3 |
| JO-26-17 | No Significant Assays | |||
| Eagle Mine – Between the Dykes | ||||
| JO-26-18 | 311.0 | 333.7 | 22.7 | 2.0 |
| Including | 311.0 | 329.3 | 18.3 | 2.5 |
| Including | 311.0 | 317.2 | 6.2 | 6.2 |
| Including | 313.0 | 317.2 | 4.2 | 8.6 |
| Including | 313.0 | 314.0 | 1.0 | 15.5 |
| And Including | 316.3 | 317.2 | 0.9 | 19.7 |
| JO-26-19 | 295.3 | 305.0 | 9.7 | 1.2 |
| Including | 300.3 | 305.0 | 4.7 | 1.9 |
| Including | 303.0 | 305.0 | 2.0 | 2.5 |
| And | 346.5 | 359.6 | 13.1 | 0.6 |
| And Including | 358.0 | 359.6 | 1.6 | 4.3 |
* Intersections are reported as drilled widths; true widths are estimated to be 60-90% of drill widths
The Winter Program was designed to test both the continuity of the system and the strength of the Company’s geological and targeting model. Five key takeaways at Joutel are shaping how the Company approaches H2 2026:
Fall Program Outline
Maple Gold has commenced an aggressive Fall Program at Joutel, including 25,000 m of diamond drilling, focused on three key objectives:
The Fall Program is expected to generate a steady pipeline of exploration results through the remainder of 2026 while supporting future resource updates and development studies. The Company recently completed an internal Douay/Joutel scoping/engineering/trade-off analysis to support future development studies aimed at evaluating potential mining scenarios within the district. This work included an evaluation of a centralized mill facility to process material from both the Joutel and Douay deposits, leveraging their close proximity (~35 km by road) to drive operational efficiencies.
As part of ongoing Project de-risking initiatives, the planned Fall Program will also include metallurgical testing at Joutel to better understand ore behaviour and support process flowsheet design for optimal gold recoveries, alongside additional trade-off, engineering and financial analysis.
Overall Program Update
During H1 2026, the Company completed 68 drill holes totaling ~31,700 m at Douay/Joutel and three (3) drill holes totaling ~1,300 m at its Morris VMS Project located east of Matagami, Québec. Assay results have now been reported for 14 holes from Douay and all 22 holes from Joutel. Additional assay results will be reported as they are received, following QA/QC validation.
Table 2: Top 10 Joutel Grade x Thickness Intersections from the Winter Program
| Target | From | To | Length* | Au_FA |
| Drill Hole | (m) | (m) | (m) | (g/t) |
| JO-25-01 | 512.2 | 517.5 | 5.3 | 7.6 |
| JO-25-05 | 517.5 | 525.5 | 8.0 | 8.5 |
| JO-25-07 | 300.8 | 307.5 | 6.8 | 5.3 |
| JO-26-09 | 244.0 | 247.0 | 3.0 | 4.1 |
| JO-26-11 | 556.4 | 566.8 | 10.4 | 8.6 |
| And | 585.4 | 602.5 | 17.1 | 3.8 |
| JO-26-13 | 606.5 | 614.3 | 7.8 | 3.5 |
| JO-26-14 | 598.5 | 606.0 | 7.5 | 7.4 |
| JO-26-15 | 238.8 | 240.9 | 2.0 | 14.0 |
| JO-26-18 | 313.0 | 317.2 | 4.2 | 8.6 |
* Intersections are reported as drilled widths; true widths are estimated to be 60-90% of drill widths
Table 3: Top High-Grade (>15 g/t Au) Intersections from the Winter Program
| Target | From | To | Length* | Au_FA |
| Drill Hole | (m) | (m) | (m) | (g/t) |
| JO-25-01 | 513.7 | 515.2 | 1.5 | 25.4 |
| JO-25-05 | 517.5 | 518.0 | 0.5 | 40.8 |
| And | 523.3 | 523.8 | 0.5 | 29.8 |
| And | 525.0 | 525.5 | 0.5 | 30.8 |
| JO-26-11 | 557.7 | 558.9 | 1.2 | 25.4 |
| And | 598.9 | 600.2 | 1.3 | 34.3 |
| JO-26-13 | 612.1 | 613.4 | 1.3 | 16.3 |
| JO-26-14 | 600.0 | 602.0 | 2.0 | 15.5 |
| JO-26-15 | 239.4 | 240.2 | 0.8 | 32.6 |
| JO-26-18 | 313.0 | 314.0 | 1.0 | 15.5 |
| And | 316.3 | 317.2 | 0.9 | 19.7 |
* Intersections are reported as drilled widths; true widths are estimated to be 60-90% of drill widths
Additional Notes
Starting azimuth, dip and final length (Azimuth/Dip/Length (m)) for the four (4) drill holes reported in this news release are noted as follows: JO-26-16 (045/45/375), JO-26-17 (045/45/438), JO-26-18 (037/54/420), and JO-26-19 (040/45/399).
Quality Assurance and Quality Control
The Company implements strict Quality Assurance and Quality Control protocols at Joutel covering the planning and placing of drill holes in the field, drilling and retrieving the NQ-sized drill core, drill hole surveying, core transport, core logging by qualified personnel, sampling and bagging of ½ cut drill core for analysis, and the transport of samples from site to commercial laboratories for analysis.
All core drilling conducted by the Company is oriented. Samples of drill core were cut by a diamond blade rock saw, with half of the cut core placed in individual sealed polyurethane bags and half placed back in the original core box for permanent storage at the Douay site. Sample lengths typically vary from a minimum 0.3 m interval to a maximum 1.5 m interval, with an average 0.5 to 1.0 m sample length. Drill core samples were delivered by truck in sealed woven plastic bags to ALS Geochemistry laboratory facility in Val-d’Or, Quebec for sample preparation with final analysis at ALS Geochemistry Analytical Lab facility in North Vancouver, BC. for the fire assay fusion method and induced coupled plasma (“ICP“) atomic emission spectroscopy. ALS Geochemistry facilities operate meeting all requirements of International Standards ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and ISO 9001:2015.
Drill core samples were crushed to 70% passing 2mm, then a representative split was taken and pulverized to 85% passing 75μm. Gold was determined by the fire-assay fusion method (Au-AA24) of a 50-gram sub-sample with atomic absorption spectroscopy. Samples that returned values >5 ppm gold from fire assay and AAS were determined using fire assay and a gravimetric finish. Various metals including silver, gold, copper, lead and zinc were analyzed by ICP mass spectroscopy (ME-MS41), following aqua regia digestion.
All ALS Geochemistry sites operate under a single Global Geochemistry Quality Manual that complies with ISO/IEC 17025:2017. ALS Geochemistry follows the quality management and operational guidelines set out in the international standards ISO/IEC 17025 – “General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories” and ISO 9001 – “Quality Management Systems”.
Qualified Person
Pascal Lessard, géo (OGQ #00434), Vice President, Exploration of Maple Gold, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information related to exploration and Mineral Resource matters contained in this news release. Mr. Lessard is a Qualified Person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
About Maple Gold
Maple Gold Mines Ltd. is a well-funded Canadian gold exploration company focused on advancing its 100%-owned, district-scale Douay/Joutel Gold Project located in Québec’s prolific Abitibi Greenstone Gold Belt. Douay/Joutel benefits from exceptional infrastructure access and boasts ~481 square kilometres of highly prospective ground including an established gold mineral resource at the Douay2 and Joutel3 deposits, both with significant expansion potential, as well as the past-producing Eagle and Telbel mines at Joutel that were key parts of the historical Joutel Mining Complex1. The total Douay/Joutel Mineral Resource Estimate now stands at 905,000 oz Au Indicated (19.1 Mt at 1.48 g/t Au) and 4,297,000 oz Au Inferred (130.2 Mt at 1.03 g/t Au)2,3.
Maple Gold’s property package also hosts a significant number of regional exploration targets along a 55-kilometre strike length of the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone that have yet to be tested through drilling, making the property ripe for new gold and VMS discoveries. The Company is currently focused on carrying out exploration and drill programs to grow mineral resources and make new discoveries to establish an exciting new gold district in the heart of the Abitibi.
Drilling continues to demonstrate that gold mineralization extend... READ MORE
Underground drilling continues to confirm and expand Main and Eas... READ MORE
Noble Plains Uranium Corp. (TSX-V: NOBL) (OTCQB: NBLXF) (FSE: INE... READ MORE
Initial capital of US$817 million, after-tax payback of 4.4 years... READ MORE
Key Highlights: Approval of Brazil’s National Mining Agency... READ MORE