Nighthawk Drilling at Colomac Continues to Encounter a Widening of the Mineralized Portion of the Sill along Strike and to Depth

TORONTO, Jan. 20, 2020 - Nighthawk Gold Corp. ("Nighthawk" or the "Company") (TSX: NHK; OTCQX: MIMZD) is pleased to report assay results for eight drillholes (4,011 metres) completed on Zones 1.5 and 2.0 of the Colomac Main Sill, part of the Colomac Gold Project ("Colomac") centrally located within its Indin Lake Gold Property, Northwest Territories, Canada (Table 1). All holes intersected mineralization and define a widening to depth of the mineralized upper portion of the east facing sill and a corresponding expansion along strike to the south.

Previously drilled hole C19-39B defined a substantial increase in true width of the mineralized portion of the sill within the northern part of Zone 2.0 (see press release dated December 3, 2019). Current drilling south of C19-39B appears to add a further southward strike extension of the 500-metre-long wedge-shaped panel of mineralization formed by the amalgamation of high-grade Zone 1.5 with northern Zone 2.0. At shallow depths the panel has a true width of 30.00 metres but expands to upwards of 155.00 metres in true width at 800 metres vertical depth where it remains open. The Company is planning additional drilling in 2020 to better constrain these preliminary observations.

Dr. Michael Byron, President and Chief Executive Officer said, "As we continue drilling deeper within the host sill we are seeing a well-defined consistency in the widening of its mineralized portion to depth. The current holes have strengthened that observation and our understanding that this is not a localized feature but probably represents the true morphology of the Colomac Main Sill, and given that it is the deposit's largest host, it also represents our best target for rapid resource advancement."

"We have tremendous support from our strategic partners and loyal shareholders which puts us in the favourable position of being fully-funded for the year. We look forwarding to providing results for the remaining holes in the coming weeks and providing an update on our 2020 exploration plans."

To date a total of 29,495 metres of the 35,018-metre program at Colomac have been released. Results are pending for the remaining 17 drillholes from the Colomac Main Sill and the Goldcrest Sill (parallel sill that lies 400 metres to the west of the Colomac Main Sill), as well as the last 9 holes (2,796 metres) from the regional drill program at the Treasure Island Gold Project and will be released within the next few weeks.

The Company is gearing up for its 2020 drilling season and is fully funded to achieve its ongoing goals and objectives for the ensuing year.

Colomac Drilling Highlights:

Zone 2.0

• Four holes tested areas within the northern portion of Zone 2.0, below the former producing open pit ("Pit 2.0", see Figure 1), and are highlighted by hole C19-40 which was drilled below holes C12-03 and C12-03B, the first holes drilled to depth under Pit 2.0 (see press releases dated June 20, 2012; August 30, 2012), and intersected 85.50 metres (40.00 metre true width) of 1.86 grams per tonne gold ("gpt", "Au"), including 9.25 metres of 2.85 gpt Au, 22.75 metres of 2.57 gpt Au, and including 13.05 metres of 3.10 gpt Au; with a deeper intersect of 24.25 metres (12.00 metre true width) of 2.04 gpt Au, including 9.00 metres of 3.57 gpt Au, and including 6.00 metres of 4.13 gpt Au (Figures 1, 2).
  
  
• Hole C19-51 was drilled at the southern end of Pit 2.0 and extended shallow mineralization reported in historical holes to depth, intersecting 61.70 metres (35.00 metre true width) of 1.46 gpt Au, including 21.45 metres of 2.03 gpt Au, and including 6.75 metres of 2.57 gpt Au (Figure 3)
  
  
• Drilling to depth at Zone 2.0 intersected extensive regions of largely uninterrupted mineralization with hole C19-40 intersecting 194.00 metres (100.00 metre true width), and C19-41 returning 230.00 metres (90.00 metre true width) of relatively continuous downhole mineralization.
  
  
• Pronounced widening of the mineralized portion of the sill to depth as seen at Zone 1.5 and the northern section of Zone 2.0 appears to have been extended southward by the current drilling. This indicates that a similar wedge-shaped morphology exists well into the core of Zone 2.0 where mineralization has been traced from near-surface to over 440 metres vertical depth by hole C19-41 and remains open.

Zone 1.5

• Four holes infilled gaps in drill coverage within Zone 1.5, highlighted by hole C19-42B which intersected 47.00 metres (20.00 metre true width) of 1.46 gpt Au, including 8.85 metres of 1.96 gpt Au, and including 6.50 metres of 2.39 gpt Au; with an up-hole intersection of 14.90 metres of 2.70 gpt Au, including 3.60 metres of 8.86 gpt Au; and confirms widening of the mineralized portion of the sill from a near-surface true width of 30 metres to 110 metres true width at depth (Figure 4).
  
  
• Hole C19-49 intersected 36.55 metres (20.00 metre true width) of 1.65 gpt Au, including 21.75 metres (10.00 metre true width) of 2.22 gpt Au, and including 7.50 metres of 4.28 gpt Au.

Note: All assays are uncut (see Table 1)

Table 1. Colomac Drill Results – Summary Table (uncut)

The FULL ASSAY TABLE is available as a media document within this release as well as on the Company's website at https://www.nighthawkgold.com/news

* Lengths are reported as core lengths. True widths vary depending on drill hole dip.

Drill Summary

Zone 2.0

Hole C19-40 was drilled beneath Pit 2.0 (Figure 1) 100 metres northwest of C12-03 and C12-03B, the first holes Nighthawk drilled in this part of the deposit (see press releases dated June 20, 2012 and August 30, 2012), to expand on intersections reported in the C12-03 series holes. C19-40 intersected 85.50 metres (40.00 metre true width) of 1.86 gpt Au, including 9.25 metres of 2.85 gpt Au, 22.75 metres of 2.57 gpt Au, and including 13.05 metres of 3.10 gpt Au; with a deeper intersect of 24.25 metres of 2.04 gpt Au, including 9.00 metres of 3.57 gpt Au, and including 6.50 metres of 4.19 gpt Au, extending mineralization to 400 metres from surface where the sill remains untested to depth (Figure 2).

Hole C19-41 was collared 105 metres north of C19-40 within an area of the sill open to depth below shallow historical holes (Figure 1) and recorded a 230-metre downhole intercept of relatively continuous mineralization to a vertical depth of 440 metres where the mineralized section of the sill spans a 90-metre true width. The larger interval hosts several smaller intercepts including 22.75 metres of 0.77 gpt Au; 28.25 metres of 0.79 gpt, including 10.00 metres of 1.28 gpt Au; and 11.25 metres of 1.25 gpt Au, including 5.25 metres of 1.96 gpt Au (Table 1).

Two holes drilled beneath the southern part of Pit 2.0 extended broad mineralization below historical drilling (Figure 1) in an area that has never been tested to depth. Hole C19-53 was collared 175 metres south of C19-40 and intersected 37.25 metres (25.00 metre true width) of 0.92 gpt Au, including 11.00 metres of 1.25 gpt Au, extending mineralization to 375 metres vertical depth and open. Hole C19-51 explored below the southern end of Pit 2.0, 130 metres southwest of C19-53, and intersected 61.70 metres (35.00 metre true width) of 1.46 gpt Au, including 21.45 metres of 2.03 gpt Au, and including 6.75 metres of 2.57 gpt Au, tracing mineralization from surface to 300 metres vertical depth where it remains open (Figure 3).

The southern region of Zone 2.0 remains largely unexplored below 300 metres from surface, however drilling to-date has shown that the sill is widening to depth hosting large intercepts of relatively continuous mineralization. Additional drilling is planned for this region in 2020 to continue advancing its exceptional exploration opportunities.

Zone 1.5

Four holes were drilled within Zone 1.5 to infill mid-level gaps in drill coverage. Holes C19-42 and C19-42B were collared just north of the boundary fault that separates Zone 1.5 from Zone 2.0 (Figure 1). C19-42, the shallower of the two holes, intersected mineralization 120 metres below surface returning 7.15 metres of 2.80 gpt Au, including 1.35 metres of 11.60 gpt Au, defining a narrow true width to the near-surface mineralized quartz diorite portion of the sill of 30 metres. Hole C19-42B was drilled 200 metres below C19-42 to infill a gap in coverage between previous holes C19-35 (see press release dated October 31, 2019) and C18-01C (see press release dated September 18, 2018) and intersected 47.00 metres (20.00 metre true width) of 1.46 gpt Au, including 8.85 metres of 1.96 gpt Au, and including 6.50 metres of 2.39 gpt Au; with an up-hole intersect of 14.90 metres (5.00 metre true width) of 2.70 gpt Au, including 3.60 metres of 8.86 gpt Au (Figure 4). Figure 4 shows the hole's 270-metre downhole intercept of relatively continuous mineralization to a vertical depth of 560 metres, defining a 110-metre true width to the mineralized portion of the sill. This drill section clearly illustrates the pronounced widening of the sill from 30.00 metres true width in the near surface to 110.00 metres at depth.

C19-49 is located 60 metres north of the C19-42 series holes (Figure 1) and 30 metres northeast of previously drilled hole C19-08, the Company's best hole to-date which reported 56.00 metres grading 13.49 gpt Au, including 30.50 metres of 22.12 gpt Au, and including 16.50 metres of 34.18 gpt Au (see press release dated May 28, 2019). C19-49 was laid out just north of C19-08 and below C17-14 (see press release dated September 18, 2017) to explore for structural features that might help explain C19-08's exceptional gold intercept. The hole intersected 36.55 metres (20.00 metre true width) of 1.65 gpt Au, including 21.75 metres (10.00 metre true width) of 2.22 gpt Au, and including 7.50 metres of 4.28 gpt Au; with lower downhole intercepts of 9.00 metres grading 2.64 gpt gold and 7.10 metres of 2.31 gpt Au. Although C19-49 traced relatively continuous downhole mineralization for almost 130 metres, it did not encounter high-grade material similar to that intersected by C19-08. Additional work is needed in this area to better understand the factors responsible for the noteworthy high-grade intercept recorded in C19-08. It may be the result of localized enhanced disruption of the host rock creating unique conditions that led to a stronger mineralization event. Identifying the contributing factors is crucial as they represent the key elements for the development of additional high-grade mineralization within the sill.

C19-48 was laid out 220 metres northwest of C19-49 within the northern portion of Zone 1.5 (Figure 1) to explore untested areas below hole C17-28, a 780.61-metre hole drilled down the projected northern plunge of Zone 1.5 (see press release dated November 28, 2017). Hole C17-28 intersected several extensive regions of continuous mineralization highlighted by 152.00 metres of 2.47 gpt Au, including 34.70 metres of 4.27 gpt Au, and 9.65 metres of 6.90 gpt Au; 185.05 metres of 1.13 gpt Au, including 38.30 metres of 1.69 gpt Au, and 7.70 metres of 4.82 gpt Au; and 33.25 metres of 1.15 gpt Au, including 3.75 metres of 6.94 gpt Au, tracking mineralization down-plunge to a vertical depth of 660 metres. Hole C19-48 appears to have shallowed and may have run above the plunge of the zone on this section. The down-plunge northward trajectory of the zone to depth remains largely unexplored and represents an area the Company plans to drill in 2020.

Technical Information

Nighthawk has implemented a quality-control program to comply with best practices in the sampling and analysis of drill core. Drill core samples were transported in security-sealed bags for analyses at ALS Global Assay Laboratory in Vancouver, BC ("ALS Global"). ALS Global is an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory. Pulp and metallics assaying for gold was conducted on the entire pulverized sample.

As part of its QA/QC program, Nighthawk inserts external gold standards (low to high-grade) and blanks every 20 samples in addition to the standards, blanks, and pulp duplicates inserted by ALS Global.

About Nighthawk
Nighthawk is a Canadian-based gold exploration company with 100% ownership of a district-scale land position within the Indin Lake Greenstone Belt, located approximately 200 km north of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Nighthawk is focused on advancing the Colomac Gold Project with a current inferred resource of 2.6 million ounces of gold (50.3 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.62 grams per tonne gold), as well as advancing its other regional gold deposits and showings within this largely underexplored Archean gold camp.

The Company has an experienced and dedicated team and is well funded to complete its goals and objectives over the next 12 months.

Qualified Person
Dr. Michael J. Byron, Ph.D., P.Geo., President & Chief Executive Officer of Nighthawk, who is the "Qualified Person" as defined by NI 43-101 for this project, has reviewed and approved of the technical disclosure contained in this news release. Please refer to NI 43-101 technical report "Technical Report and mineral resource estimate update on the Colomac Property of the Indin Lake Project", dated July 26, 2018, as filed under the company's profile on www.sedar.com.

Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange has neither reviewed nor accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, information with respect to the Company's continued exploration programs (including size and budget) and the ability to advance targets and the timing and results thereof; and the ability to expand the current resource at Colomac with additional drilling. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "does not anticipate", or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will be taken", "occur", or "be achieved".

Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is made, and is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Nighthawk to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including risks associated with the exploration, development and mining such as economic factors as they effect exploration, future commodity prices, changes in foreign exchange and interest rates, actual results of current exploration activities, government regulation, political or economic developments, environmental risks, permitting timelines, capital expenditures, operating or technical difficulties in connection with development activities, employee relations, the speculative nature of gold exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities of grades of reserves, contests over title to properties, and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined as well as those risk factors discussed in Nighthawk's annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2018, available on www.sedar.com. Although Nighthawk has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Nighthawk does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nighthawk-drilling-at-colomac-continues-to-encounter-a-widening-of-the-mineralized-portion-of-the-sill-along-strike-and-to-depth-300989305.html

SOURCE Nighthawk Gold Corp.