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Marathon Gold drills 22 m of 4.91 g/t Au at Valentine

MARATHON GOLD REPORTS ADDITIONAL POSITIVE STEP-OUT DRILL RESULTS ALONG THE SPRITE CORRIDOR, VALENTINE GOLD PROJECT

Marathon Gold Corp. has released additional drill results from recent exploration drilling at the Valentine gold project, central Newfoundland. These latest results represent fire assay data from 15 stepout drill holes over an 850-metre strike length of the Sprite corridor extending from the Berry zone northeastward toward the Frozen Ear Pond Road. Highlights include:

  • VL-20-876 intersected 4.91 grams per tonne gold over 22 metres, including 20.10 g/t Au over one metre and 11.97 g/t Au over one metre and 53.44 g/t Au over one metre.
  • VL-20-851 intersected 5.79 g/t Au over five metres including 20.41 g/t Au over one metre.
  • VL-20-855 intersected 23.17 g/t Au over two metres.
  • VL-20-879 intersected 15.52 g/t Au over one metre and 19.16 g/t Au over one metre.

All quoted intersections comprise uncut gold assays in core lengths. All significant assay intervals are reported in the associated table.

Matt Manson, president and chief executive officer, commented: “These latest drill results from the Valentine gold project confirm the extension of gold mineralization for a considerable distance northeastward from our new Berry zone. The ongoing infill drilling at Berry is currently being conducted at a 25-metre spacing over a 700-metre strike extent between sections 13300E and 14000E. Today’s Sprite corridor results, taken with earlier stepout drilling released on April 15, demonstrate additional gold mineralization as far eastward as at least Section 14800E, representing an overall distance of 1.5 kilometres. While additional drilling is required to determine the extent and continuity of this mineralization, we are encouraged by the results achieved to date. The intercepts we are seeing suggest to us the potential for a much larger mineralizing system in this central portion of the six-kilometre-long Sprite corridor than previously recognized. Three rigs are currently active at Valentine completing the infill program at Berry and adding additional stepout holes to the northeast. This work is expected to continue until the end of November. Drilling has been completed in the portion of the Sprite corridor between the Frozen Ear Pond Road and the southwestern margin of the Marathon deposit, as well as in the Narrows area northeast of the Marathon deposit, and results for both of these areas remain outstanding at this time.”

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 hangingwall (northwest) side of the Valentine Lake shear zone. The extent of mineralization appears related to the size and frequency of sheared mafic dikes, which extend northeast-southwest within the hangingwall, parallel to the shear zone. Exploration drilling is generally undertaken in two orientations: down steeply toward the northwest at a high angle to the individual veins and down plunge of the Main zone stacking, or obliquely toward the southeast subparallel to the individual veins and across the strike of Main zone mineralization.

The results released today are derived from 15 drill holes extending over an approximately 750-metre strike extent between sections 14070E and 14760E northeast of the Berry zone. Eight holes were oriented steeply down to the northwest testing for Main zone-type stacked QTP-Au mineralization (VL-20-850, 851, 852, 854, 859, 867, 879 and 882) and seven holes were oriented to the southeast drilling from the hangingwall toward the footwall contact (VL-20-853, 855, 864, 871, 872, 874 and 876).

Over all, 14 of the 15 drill holes returned significant drill intersections of greater than 0.7 g/t Au. Each of these 14 holes returned additional intersections with gold grades above the 0.3 g/t Au cut-off used in the January, 2020, mineral resource estimate for the project. No economic mineralization was encountered in drill hole VL-20-872.

            SIGNIFICANT ASSAY INTERVALS, SPRITE CORRIDOR, VALENTINE GOLD PROJECT

DDH               From         To       Core length   True thickness       Gold     Gold (cut)
                   (m)        (m)               (m)              (m)      (g/t)          (g/t)

VL-20-850           58         66                 8              6.8       0.73
VL-20-851           49         50                 1              0.9       4.48
                    66         69                 3              2.7       2.03
                    82         87                 5              4.5       2.12
                   107        108                 1              0.9       1.06
                   121        122                 1              0.9       2.59
                   171        176                 5              4.5       5.79
including          173        174                 1              0.9      20.41
                   185        186                 1              0.9       0.93
                   205        206                 1              0.9       6.14
                   217        218                 1              0.9       5.35
                   242        243                 1              0.9       1.42
                   280        282                 2              1.8       1.07
VL-20-852           20         21                 1             0.95       4.37
VL-20-853           37         38                 1              0.7       4.78
                    92         93                 1              0.7       1.69
                   122        124                 2              1.4       1.80
VL-20-854           43         44                 1             0.95       0.83
                    90         91                 1             0.95       2.92
                    93         95                 2              1.9       0.84
                   100        101                 1             0.95       0.82
VL-20-855           67         68                 1              0.8       0.88
                   180        182                 2              1.6      23.17          16.87
VL-20-859          103        104                 1             0.75       0.98
                   123        125                 2              1.5       2.64
                   141        142                 1             0.75       1.93
                   148        152                 4                3       0.89
                   164        166                 2              1.5       0.86
VL-20-864           18         25                 7              4.9       1.60
                   152        153                 1              0.7       7.87
VL-20-867           54         56                 2              1.8       1.43
                    71         73                 2              1.8       1.75
                   164        165                 1              0.9       1.72
                   183        184                 1              0.9       1.19
VL-20-871         8.92         10              1.08             0.76       0.74
                    18         19                 1              0.7       3.29
                    24         28                 4              2.8       1.58
                   111        113                 2              1.4       1.89
VL-20-874           18         19                 1              0.7       1.42
VL-20-876           87        109                22             15.4       4.91           3.85
including           92         93                 1              0.7      20.10
including          100        101                 1              0.7      11.97
including          105        106                 1              0.7      53.44             30
                   137        142                 5              3.5       3.05
                   174        175                 1              0.7       0.83
VL-20-879           15         16                 1              0.9      15.52
                    17         18                 1              0.9       1.03
                    26         27                 1              0.9       0.93
                    32         34                 2              1.8       1.02
                    41         42                 1              0.9       0.92
                    92         93                 1              0.9       2.22
                    98        100                 2              1.8       1.94
                   110        111                 1              0.9      19.16
including          145        146                 1              0.9       2.76
VL-20-882           37         50                13            12.35       0.71
                    78         79                 1             0.95       2.28
                    93         95                 2              1.9       1.54
                   102        103                 1             0.95       1.35

Notes on the calculation of assay intervals

  1. Significant assay intervals are defined as one m 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, 2020, prefeasibility study mine plan (see technical report dated April 21, 2020). 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 January, 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.
  3. No significant assays were returned in drill holes VL-20-872.

Footwall and condemnation drill results

As part of the Valentine gold project 2020 exploration program, 10,977 metres of reconnaissance drilling was completed in two areas located south of the Valentine Lake shear zone. This has been the first drilling program at the project focused on systematically testing the potential for sedimentary-hosted mineralization in the footwall rocks of the Valentine Lake shear zone. These footwall areas also represent the proposed site of mine infrastructure elements such as the tailings management facility, plant site and Leprechaun waste rock facility. An additional 2,937 metres of dedicated condemnation drilling were completed to the north of the Marathon deposit in an area designated for the Marathon waste rock facility. These drill programs identified several isolated areas of QTP-Au mineralization. Follow-up work is planned for 2021, including trenching and prospecting. However, at this time, these results are not considered to be indicative of an economic deposit, allowing each area to be considered for infrastructure placement in the continuing feasibility study. Significant assay intervals arising from this drilling are reported in the associated table.

  SIGNIFICANT ASSAY INTERVALS, FOOTWALL ZONE 1, VALENTINE GOLD PROJECT

DDH           From     To    Core length     True thickness        Gold
               (m)    (m)            (m)                (m)       (g/t)

VS-20-16        90     98              8                5.6        1.47
               109    117              8                5.6        2.88
VS-20-18        76     78              2                1.4        2.10
VL-20-07        17     18              1                0.7        1.06
               106    108              2                1.4        1.96
VL-20-09      3.45      4           0.55               0.39        0.70
                45     46              1                0.7        1.10
VL-20-12       135    136              1                0.7        3.36
MA-20-06        21     22              1                0.7        1.58
               115    116              1                0.7        1.19
MA-20-09         9     13              4                2.8        5.26
including       10     11              1                0.7       14.68
                84     85              1                0.7        8.12
MA-20-10        86     87              1                0.7        0.71
MA-20-16        74     75              1                0.7        8.56

Notes on the calculation of assay intervals:

  1. Significant assay intervals are defined as one m 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, 2020, prefeasibility study mine plan (see technical report dated April 21, 2020). 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 January, 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.
  3. No significant assays were returned in drill holes VS-20-001 to 15, 17, 19 to 49, and VL-20-01 to 06, 08, 10 to 11, 13 to 30, and MA-20-01 to 05, 07 to 08, 11 to 15, 17 to 21.

Qualified person

Disclosure of a scientific or technical nature in this news release was prepared under the supervision of Nicholas Capps, PGeo (Newfoundland), project manager for exploration at the Valentine gold project. Exploration data quality assurance and control for Marathon is under the supervision of Jessica Borysenko, PGeo (Newfoundland), GIS manager for Marathon Gold. Both Mr. Capps and Ms. Borysenko are qualified persons under National Instrument 43-101.

Quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC)

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 Ltd. in Springdale, Nfld. All reported core samples are analyzed for Au by fire assay (30 g) with AA (atomic absorption) 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 the associated table as core lengths and estimated true thickness (70 to 95 per cent of core length), and reported with and without a top cut of 30 g/t Au applied.

Acknowledgments

Marathon acknowledges the financial support of the junior exploration assistance program, Department of Natural Resources, government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

About Marathon Gold Corp.

Marathon is a Toronto-based gold company advancing its 100-per-cent-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. An April, 2020, prefeasibility study outlined an open-pit mining and conventional milling operation over a 12-year mine life with a 36-per-cent after-tax rate of return. The project has estimated proven mineral reserves of 1.3 million oz (26.3 million t at 1.52 g/t) and probable mineral reserves of 600,000 ounces (14.8 million t at 1.23 g/t).

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