Results include 7.77 g/t Au over 8m, 83.07 g/t Au over 1m, 1.57 g/t Au over 39m, 2.19 g/t Au over 17m

Marathon Gold Corporation (TSX: MOZ) is pleased to report the latest drill assay results from the Valentine Gold Project in central Newfoundland (Figure 1). These latest results represent fire assay data from the latest fifteen diamond drill holes completed as part of the ongoing in-fill drill campaign at the 1.5 kilometre long Berry Deposit, and the last Berry drill results to be received from the assay laboratory prior to the year-end. Highlights include:

• VL-21-1083 intersected 7.77 g/t Au over 8 metres including 28.68 g/t Au over 1 metre;
• VL-21-1088 intersected 83.07 g/t over 1 metre, and 22.13 g/t Au over 1 metre, and 2.27 g/t Au over 10 metres;
• VL-21-1075 intersected 1.57 g/t Au over 39 metres including 10.06 g/t Au over 1 metre and including 11.93 g/t Au over 1 metre, and 4.21 g/t Au over 3 metres including 11.64 g/t Au over 1 metre; and
• VL-21-1081 intersected 2.19 g/t Au over 17 metres including 15.95 over 1 metre, and 21.28 g/t Au over 1 metre; and
• VL-21-1076 intersected 2.05 g/t Au over 8 metres, and 3.74 g/t Au over 4 metres including 13.36 g/t Au over 1 metre;

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

Matt Manson, President and CEO, commented: “We are releasing today the latest results from the 2021 infill drill program at the Berry Deposit. We continue to see the steady bulking-up of this important new discovery over its full 1.5 kilometre length. These results represent the last batch of Berry sample assays expected to be received prior to the year end. We are awaiting results from an additional 80 drill holes from Berry completed as part of the 2021 drill program. These will be released in the new year as they are received, along with 44 drill holes completed in 2021 at the Sprite and Victory Deposits. As a reminder, the initial Berry Mineral Resource estimate published in April 2021 comprised 0.64 Moz classified as Inferred Mineral Resources in 11.33 Mtonnes at 1.75 g/t Au. This estimate was based on 42,000 metres of Berry drilling completed as of November 2020. The next Berry estimate will be based on over 100,000 metres of drilling completed to the end of November 2021, and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of next year.”

Matt Manson continued: ”Guidance on our 2022 exploration program at the Valentine Gold Project will be provided in January upon its approval by the Board of Directors, but we expect another vigorous year of drilling focussed on both Mineral Resource growth and new discovery.”

Mineral Resources which are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Please see the National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report dated April 23, 2021 for a summary of the Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources at the Valentine Gold Project.

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, Marathon and Berry Deposits, 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”; Figure 1). 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.

Figure 1: Location Map, Valentine Gold Project

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The results released today are derived from fifteen drill holes located broadly between section 13750E within the western conceptual pit shell utilized in the April 2021 Berry Mineral Resource estimate and section 14680E within the eastern conceptual put shell (Figures 2 and 3). All fifteen holes were oriented steeply down to the northwest testing for Main Zone-type stacked QTP-Au mineralization in “Set 1” vein orientations progressively further out into Berry’s hanging wall rocks (Figures 4 and 5).

All of the fifteen drill holes returned “significant” drill intercepts of greater than 0.7 g/t Au (Table 1), and all returned additional intercepts with gold grades above the 0.3 g/t Au cut-off used in the April 2021 Berry Mineral Resource estimate.

Figure 2: Location of Berry Deposit Exploration Drill Hole Collars VL-21-1074 to VL-21-1088

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Figure 3: Long Section of the Berry Deposit (View NW) Incorporating all Drilling up to and Including VL-21-1088 and Assays Above 0.3 g/t Au

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Table 1: Significant Assay Intervals from Drill Hole Collars VL-21-1074 to VL-21-1088, Berry Deposit, 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 April 2021 Feasibility Study mine plan. 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 April 2021 Mineral Resource estimate for the Berry Deposit but are not considered “significant” for the purposes of this news release.
2. Cut gold grades are calculated at 30 g/t Au.

Figure 4: Cross Section 14050E (View NE) with Significant (>0.7 g/t Au) Intercepts, Berry Deposit, Valentine Gold Project

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Figure 5: Cross Section 14050E (View NE) with all Fire Assay Data, Berry Deposit, Valentine Gold Project

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Qualified Persons

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. The Qualified Person responsible for the preparation of the April 2021 Mineral Resource estimate for the Berry Deposit is Robert Farmer, P.Eng. of John T Boyd Company. Mr. Farmer is considered to be “independent” of Marathon and the Valentine Gold Project for purposes of 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 five mineralized deposits along a 20-kilometre system. An April 2021 Feasibility Study outlined an open pit mining and conventional milling operation over a thirteen-year mine life with a 31.5% after-tax rate of return. The Project has estimated Proven Mineral Reserves of 1.40 Moz (29.68 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 1.64 Moz (29.59 Mt at 1.72 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.