Results include 1.72 g/t Au over 83m, 4.04 g/t Au over 26m,

7.18 g/t Au over 13m, 43.88 g/t Au over 2m, 2.58 g/t Au over 18m

Marathon Gold Corporation (TSX: MOZ) is pleased to report the latest drill assay results from the Valentine Gold Project in central Newfoundland. The latest drill results represent fire assay data from the final twenty-four diamond drill holes completed as part of the 2021 in-fill drill campaign at the Berry Deposit and an additional four holes from 2021 drilling at the Victory Deposit.

Berry highlights include:

• VL-21-1181 intersected 1.72 g/t Au over 83 metres including 24.12 g/t Au over 1 metre and including 21.57 g/t Au over 1 metre and including 19.84 g/t Au over 1 metre, and 14.86 g/t Au over 1 metre;
• VL-21-1160 intersected 7.18 g/t Au over 13 metres including 81.81 g/t Au over 1 metre, and 48.13 g/t Au over 2 metres including 95.07 g/t Au over 1 metre, and 18.08 g/t Au over 2 metres including 29.60 g/t Au over 1 metre;
• VL-21-1169 intersected 4.04 g/t Au over 26 metres including 34.30 g/t Au over 2 metres, and 13.47 g/t Au over 1 metre;
• VL-21-1183 intersected 43.88 g/t Au over 2 metres, and 4.49 g/t Au over 4 metres including 12.27 g/t Au over 1 metre;
• VL-21-1172 intersected 2.46 g/t Au over 15 metres including 16.62 g/t Au over 1 metre, and 0.93 g/t Au over 13 metres, and 12.54 g/t Au over 1 metre; and
• VL-21-1161 intersected 2.58 g/t Au over 18 metres including 16.24 g/t Au over 1 metre and including 14.10 g/t Au over 1 metre, and 12.05 g/t Au over 1 metre.

Victory highlights include:

• VGD-21-083 intersected 1.70 g/t Au over 26 metres, and 1.78 g/t Au over 16 metres including 10.00 g/t Au over 1 metre;

All quoted intersections comprise uncut gold assays in core lengths. All significant assay intervals are reported in Tables 1 and 2.

Matt Manson, President and CEO, commented: “Today’s results are from the final drill holes completed at Berry during our 2021 exploration program. Once again, we are reporting multiple long intercepts of high-grade mineralisation. We have now released fire assay data from a total of approximately 100,000 metres of drilling at Berry, which represents all drill holes completed to the end of November 2021. This will be the dataset used in our next Mineral Resource update. Consistent with previous practice, this new estimate will be based on metallic screen fire assaying performed on core samples with elevated gold grades after conventional fire assay. We currently estimate the completion of this work by mid-year, subject to the receipt of these metallic screen data.” Mr. Manson continued: “We are also reporting four additional holes from the Victory Deposit drilled in 2021. One of these, VGD-21-083, is the stand-out hole returned from this area during the 2021 program. We continue to be impressed by the scale of mineralisation seen in the Victory core, and the potential of the area to host additional large-scale mineralisation. Berry and Victory are the focus of our ongoing exploration drilling during 2022.”

Gold Mineralization at the Valentine Gold Project

Gold mineralization at the Valentine Gold Project is contained in Quartz-Tourmaline-Pyrite-Gold veins developed within granitoid rocks on the hanging wall, or northwest, side of the Valentine Lake Shear Zone (Figure 1). Up to four orientations of veins have been measured, with shallowly southwest dipping “Set 1” QTP-Au veins observed to be dominant in both abundance and gold content. At the Leprechaun, Marathon and Berry Deposits, Set 1 QTP-Au veins form densely stacked corridors of mineralization referred to as “Main Zones”. The extent and scale of these mineralised corridors appear related to the size and frequency of sheared mafic dykes which extend northeast-southwest within the granitoid rocks, parallel to the shear zone. In addition to the dominant en-echelon Set 1 veins found in the other deposits, the Victory Deposit displays networked tourmaline veining which infills fracturing in the granitoid intrusives.

Figure 1: Location Map, Valentine Gold Project

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Berry Deposit Drill Results

The results released today are derived from twenty-four drill holes located between sections 13270E and 14470E. Thirteen of these drill holes are located within the western conceptual pit utilized in the April 2021 Berry Mineral Resource Estimate (Figure 2). Eleven holes were located in the linkage area between the western and eastern conceptual pit shells. Thirteen holes (VL-21-1161, 1162, 1164, 1166, 1167, 1168, 1169, 1170, 1171, 1172, 1174, 1177 and 1181) were oriented steeply to the northwest testing for Main Zone-type stacked QTP-Au mineralization in “Set 1” vein orientations. Eleven holes (VL-21-1160, 1163, 1165, 1173, 1175, 1176, 1178, 1179, 1180, 1182 and 1183) were oriented more shallowly towards the SE to better define the thickness of the mineralized zones and the location of the VLSZ, and to test for mineralisation at greater depth.

Twenty-three of the twenty-four drill holes returned “significant” drill intercepts of greater than 0.7 g/t Au (Table 1). All holes 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-21-1160 to VL-21-1183

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The 2021 infill drill program at the Berry Deposit has been conducted with the objective of achieving an approximate 25 metre drill spacing over Berry’s Main Zone of dense mineralisation and extending drill coverage into the Berry hanging-wall to the northwest and down to a vertical depth of 300 metres. Figure 3 illustrates the extent to which this has been achieved, in long section, after approximately 100,000 metres of assay results.

Of note in the latest drilling, drill hole VL-21-1181 returned significant mineralisation over an 83 metre intercept starting at 280 metres downhole between the western and eastern conceptual pit shells (Figure 2 and Table 1). This confirms and extends a particularly dense zone of mineralisation in the centre of the 1.5 kilometre long Berry Deposit that has an apparent north-easterly plunge and is open at depth. This is illustrated in the long section of Figure 3, and the cross sections of Figures 6 and 7.

Figure 3: Long Section of the Berry Deposit (View NW) Incorporating all Drilling up to and Including VL-21-1183, Representing 99,986 metres, and Assays Above 0.3 g/t Au.

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Table 1: Significant Assay Intervals from Drill Hole Collars VL-21-1160 to VL-21-1183, 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.
3. No significant results in drill hole VL-21-1174.

Victory Deposit Drill Results

In total, twenty-eight drill holes were completed at the Victory Deposit in 2021. Results from twenty-two were reported previously (Marathon news release dated March 10, 2022), and a further four are reported here. The new exploration program was focussed to the southwest of the area of historical drilling and the existing mineral resources (Figure 4). The objective was to test for a “Main Zone” type configuration of gold mineralization adjacent to the VLSZ, as seen at the Leprechaun and Berry Deposits. The holes were located within hanging-wall Precambrian granitoid rocks and oriented predominantly to the southeast to define the younger Rogerson Lake Conglomerate at the shear zone contact.

The 2021 Victory drilling has revealed the Project’s characteristic QTPV-Au “Set 1” extensional veins with visible gold. However, Victory also exhibits flooded tourmaline-rich mineralization in highly altered stockwork configurations, a style seen at the nearby Marathon Deposit. The presence of such extensive zones of tourmaline-rich stockworks points to an intense local supply of gold mineralizing fluid that has resulted in gold mineralization at lower grades over broad lengths. To illustrate this, Figure 5 presents gold mineralization at the Victory Deposit in long section using the conventional 0.3 g/t Au bottom cut-off (top image) and with a 0.1 g/t Au cut-off (bottom image).

Three of the four drill holes returned “significant” drill intercepts of greater than 0.7 g/t Au (Table 2). All four holes returned additional intercepts with gold grades above the 0.3 g/t Au cut-off used in the Project’s Mineral Resource estimates.

Amongst the four drill holes released today, hole VGD-21-083 has returned the most significant mineralisation observed at Victory during the 2021 program, with intercepts of 1.78 g/t Au over 16 metres starting at 122 metres and 1.70 g/t Au over 26 metres starting at 176 metres. Mineralization at Victory remains open to the northeast and southwest, as well as at depth. Results from two further drill holes at Victory completed during 2021 remain outstanding.

Figure 4: Location of Victory Deposit Exploration Drill Hole Collars VGD-21-067 to VGD-21-085

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Figure 5: Long Section of the Victory Deposit (View NW) Incorporating all Drilling up to VGD-21-085, Representing 19,050 metres, and Assays Above 0.3 g/t Au (top) and 0.1 g/t Au (bottom).

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Table 2: Significant Assay Intervals from Drill Hole Collars VGD-21-067 to VGD-21-085, Victory 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.
3. No significant results in drill hole VGD-21-067.

Figure 6: Cross Section 14320E (View NE) with Significant (>0.7 g/t Au) Intercepts, Berry Deposit, Valentine Gold Project.

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Figure 7: Cross Section 14320E (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, 2021 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.