Marathon Gold Corporation (TSX: MOZ) is pleased to announce successful drilling as we continue intersecting multiple intervals of en-echelon stacked QTP veining with moderate and high-grade gold grades at open-pit depths in the southwestern part of the Marathon Deposit (Figure 1). Drill holes MA-18-330, MA-18-334, MA-18-323, and MA-18-325 all succeeded in intersecting significant intervals of good gold grades as we continue to further define the main mineralized corridor in this southwestern part of the Marathon Deposit; focusing on widening the shallow open pit resources and decreasing strip ratio.

“We are delighted with the continued success of the 2018 drilling program as we significantly increased the Valentine Lake global resources, upgraded the PEA, and found more high potential exploration targets. The coming 2019 drilling season will see our efforts focused primarily on converting strategic inferred open pit resource blocks into indicated resources” said Phillip Walford, President and CEO of Marathon Gold. The 2018 infill drilling campaign has been very successful at upgrading inferred to measured and indicated resource categories at the Marathon Deposit as well as discovering new zones of high-grade gold for further drilling within the pit shells. The results released today are part of the continued successful infill drilling program. I look forward to the drilling, metallurgy, engineering and environmental studies generating a positive Preliminary Feasibility Study in 2019.”

Figure 1 accompanying this announcement is available at:

 http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0f585090-4b5c-4650-95b2-ca1a4ef9832e

Acknowledgments

Marathon acknowledges the financial support of the Junior Exploration Assistance Program, Department of Natural Resources, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Quality Assurance-Quality Control

Sherry Dunsworth, M.Sc., P. Geo., Senior VP of Exploration, Marathon’s Qualified Person, has reviewed the contents for accuracy and has approved this press release on behalf of Marathon. Thorough QA/QC protocols are followed including the insertion of blanks and standards at regular intervals in each sample batch. Drill core is cut in half with one half retained at site, the other half tagged and sent to Eastern Analytical Limited in Springdale, Newfoundland. All reported core samples are analyzed for Au by fire assay (30g) with AA finish. All samples above 0.10 g/t Au in economically interesting intervals are further assayed using metallic screen to mitigate the presence of coarse gold. Significant mineralized intervals are reported in Table 1 as core lengths and estimated true thickness (70-95% of core length).

About Marathon

Marathon is a Toronto based gold exploration company rapidly advancing its 100% owned Valentine Lake Gold Camp located in Newfoundland, one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world. The Valentine Lake Gold Camp currently hosts four near-surface, mainly pit-shell constrained, deposits with measured and indicated resources totaling 2,691,400 oz. of gold at 1.85 g/t and inferred resources totaling 1,531,600 oz. of gold at 1.77 g/t. The majority of the resources occur in the Marathon and Leprechaun deposits, which also have resources below the pit shell. Both deposits are open to depth and on strike. Gold mineralization has been traced down over 350 meters vertically at Leprechaun and almost a kilometer at Marathon. The four deposits outlined to date occur over a 20-kilometer system of gold bearing veins, with much of the 24,000-hectare property having had little detailed exploration activity to date.

The Valentine Lake Gold Camp is accessible by year-round road and is located in close proximity to Newfoundland’s electrical grid. Marathon maintains a 50-person all-season camp at the property. Recent metallurgical tests have demonstrated 93% to 98% recoveries via conventional milling and 50% to 70% recoveries via low cost heap leaching at both the Leprechaun and Marathon Deposits.