Results include 1.84 g/t Au over 45m, 2.57 g/t Au over 20m, 20.68 g/t Au over 3m, 1.22 g/t Au over 27m

Marathon Gold Corporation (TSX: MOZ) is pleased to report results from the latest drill holes completed under the 2021 exploration program at the Valentine Gold Project, central Newfoundland. These latest results represent fire assay data from fifteen drill holes located within the 1.5 kilometre long Berry Zone. Highlights include:

• VL-21-973 intersected 1.84 g/t Au over 45 metres including 24.18 g/t Au over 2 metres, and 5.46 g/t Au over 6 metres including 26.48 g/t Au over 1 metre, and 3.45 g/t Au over 9 metres including 17.79 g/t Au over 1 metre;
• VL-21-965 intersected 2.57 g/t Au over 20 metres including 16.65 g/t Au over 2 metres, and 20.68 g/t Au over 3 metres including 55.87 g/t Au over 1 metre, and 12.52 g/t Au over 2 metres including 24.48 g/t Au over 1 metre;
• VL-21-971 intersected 1.22 g/t Au over 27 metres including 12.73 g/t Au over 1 metre;
• VL-21-968 intersected 6.97 g/t Au over 5 metres including 26.09 g/t Au over 1 metre, and 1.60 g/t Au over 14 metres including 11.23 g/t Au over 1 metre;
• VL-21-969 intersected 2.30 g/t Au over 6 metres, and 1.68 g/t Au over 8 metres, and 0.97 g/t Au over 10 metres; and
• VL-21-962 intersected 18.26 g/t Au over 1 metre, and 1.72 g/t Au over 8 metres;

All quoted intersections comprise uncut gold assays in core lengths. All significant assay intervals are reported in Table 1.

Matt Manson, President & CEO commented: “These fifteen holes released today represent the second batch of drill results from this year’s $10.5 million exploration program at the Valentine Gold Project. Each of these holes is from the 1.5 kilometre long Berry Zone, and represent infill drill holes both close to the main contact at the Valentine Lake Shear Zone and further out into the hanging-wall rocks where mineralization is expected to become more intermittent. The results continue to demonstrate a large gold mineralizing system at Berry. The first mineral resource estimate at Berry based on 42,000 metres of drilling completed to the end of 2020 is currently being finalized and is expected to be released shortly. A total of 13,695 metres of drilling in 51 drill holes was completed with three rigs at the Valentine Gold Project prior to our annual spring shutdown on March 25^th. The next batch of results from these drill holes is expected to be released very shortly. Drilling with our Newfoundland-based exploration team is scheduled to resume in mid-May and continue through to the end of the year.”

Gold mineralization at the Valentine Gold Project is contained predominantly within shallowly southwest dipping, en-echelon stacked Quartz-Tourmaline-Pyrite-Gold (“QTP-Au”) veins. At the Leprechaun and Marathon Deposits, as well as at the new Berry Zone, these QTP-Au veins form densely stacked and northwest plunging “Main Zone” envelopes within intrusive host rocks on the hanging wall (northwest) side of the Valentine Lake Shear Zone (“VLSZ”). The extent of mineralization appears related to the size and frequency of sheared mafic dykes which extend northeast-southwest within the hanging wall, parallel to the shear zone. Exploration drilling is generally undertaken in two orientations: down steeply towards the northwest at a high angle to the individual veins and down-plunge of the Main Zone stacking, or obliquely towards the southeast at a low angle of incidence to the individual veins and across the strike of Main Zone mineralization.

The results released today are derived from nine drillholes located between sections 13615E and 14000E at the western end of the Berry Zone and six drillholes in the Frozen Ear Pond Road area between sections 14780E and 14860E (Figures 2 and 3).

Eleven of the fifteen holes were oriented to the southeast from the hanging wall toward the footwall contact (VL-21-960, 961, 962, 963, 964, 966, 967, 970, 971, 972 and 974). The majority of these holes were set back further into the hanging-wall rocks than previously drilled, so as to intersect the footwall contact at a greater depth. The remaining four holes were oriented steeply down to the northwest testing for Main Zone type stacked QTP-Au mineralization close to the Valentine Lake Shear Zone (VL-21-965, 968, 969 and 973).

All fifteen drill holes returned “significant” drill intercepts of greater than 0.7 g/t Au (Table 1), and each drill hole returned additional intercepts with gold grades above the 0.3 g/t Au cut-off used in the November 2020 Mineral Resource Estimate for the Project (see Marathon press release dated March 29, 2021). Figure 4 illustrates a characteristic distribution of gold grades from complete fire assay data in seven drill holes on section 14820E, including drill holes VL-21-965, VL-21-968 and VL-21-971 from this release.

Figure 1: Location Map, Valentine Gold Project is available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ee93f071-e315-4f1c-b227-53f24fb08072

Table 1: Significant Assay Intervals from Drill Hole Collars VL-21-960 to VL-21-974, Berry Zone, Valentine Gold Project

Notes on the Calculation of Assay Intervals

1. “Significant” assay intervals are defined as 1m core length or more of mineralization with an average fire assay result of greater than 0.7 g/t Au, representing the bottom cut-off for high-grade mill feed in the Marathon March 2020 Feasibility Study mine plan (see Marathon press release dated March 29, 2021). Assay intervals with an average fire assay result of between 0.3 g/t Au and 0.7 g/t Au are above the cut-off used in the November 2020 Mineral Resource Estimate for the Project but are not considered “significant” for the purposes of this news release.
2. Cut gold grades are calculated at 30 g/t Au.

Figure 2: Location of Berry Zone Exploration Drill Hole Collars VL-21-960 to VL-21-974 is available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f24e2bc6-33b5-4614-b2f3-7b859ed0aaa0

Figure 3: Cross Section 14820E (View NE) with Significant (>0.7 g/t Au) Intercepts, Berry Zone, Valentine Gold Project is available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/38b8c775-38f2-4e82-8efb-e68c1ec414f3.

Figure 4: Cross Section 14820E (View NE) with all Fire Assay Data, Berry Zone, Valentine Gold Project is available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1fc83aea-030f-44c9-b989-2cb7179d59aa.

Qualified Person

Disclosure of a scientific or technical nature in this news release was prepared under the supervision of Nicholas Capps, P.Geo. (NL), Manager of Exploration for Marathon Gold Corporation. Exploration data quality assurance and control for Marathon is under the supervision of Jessica Borysenko, P.Geo (NL), GIS Manager for Marathon Gold Corporation. Both Mr. Capps and Ms. Borysenko are qualified persons under National Instrument (“NI”) 43-101.

Quality Assurance-Quality Control

QA/QC protocols followed at the Valentine Gold Project include 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, NL. All reported core samples are analyzed for Au by fire assay (30g) with AA finish. All samples above 0.30 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), and reported with and without a top-cut of 30 g/t Au applied.

About Marathon

Marathon is a Toronto based gold company advancing its 100%-owned Valentine Gold Project located in the central region of Newfoundland and Labrador, one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world. The Project comprises a series of four mineralized deposits along a 20-kilometre system. A March 2021 Feasibility Study outlined an open pit mining and conventional milling operation over a thirteen-year mine life with a 30% after-tax rate of return. The Project has estimated Proven Mineral Reserves of 1.40 Moz (29.58 Mt at 1.46 g/t) and Probable Mineral Reserves of 0.65 Moz (17.38 Mt at 1.17 g/t). Total Measured Mineral Resources (inclusive of the Mineral Reserves) comprise 1.92 Moz (32.59 Mt at 1.83 g/t) with Indicated Mineral Resources (inclusive of the Mineral Reserves) of 1.22 Moz (24.07 Mt at 1.57 g/t). Additional Inferred Mineral Resources are 1.00 Moz (18.25 Mt at 1.70 g/t Au). Please see Marathon’s Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2020 and other filings made with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available at www.sedar.com for further details and assumptions relating to the Valentine Gold Project.