Marathon Gold Reports Additional Drill Results from the Berry Zone, Valentine Gold Project

TORONTO, Dec. 16, 2020 - Marathon Gold Corp. (“Marathon” or the “Company”; TSX: MOZ) is pleased to report additional drill results from recent exploration drilling at the Valentine Gold Project, central Newfoundland (the “Project”). These latest results represent fire assay data from fourteen drill holes located within the Berry Zone and its northeastern extension. Highlights include:

• VL-20-897 intersected 2.10 g/t Au over 47 metres including 29.67 g/t Au over 1 metre and 23.61 g/t Au over 1 metre and 10.27 g/t Au over 1 metre, and 1.32 g/t Au over 46.8 metres;
• VL-20-907 intersected 18.16 g/t Au over 7 metres including 110.24 g/t Au over 1 metre and 12.45 g/t Au over 1 metre, and 6.12 g/t Au over 4 metres including 13.82 g/t Au over 1 metre, and 39.04 g/t Au over 1 metre;
• VL-20-898 intersected 1.86 g/t Au over 37 metres including 14.20 g/t Au over 1 metre and 10.38 g/t Au over 1 metre and 10.33 g/t Au over 1 metre, and 11.58 g/t Au over 3 metres including 23.33 g/t Au over 1 metre;
• VL-20-903 intersected 1.62 g/t Au over 26 metres, and 8.76 g/t Au over 4 metres including 20.96 g/t Au over 1 metre and 10.26 g/t Au over 1 metre;
• VL-20-899 intersected 1.89 g/t Au over 28 metres including 15.02 g/t Au over 1 metre and 10.65 g/t Au over 1 metre;
• VL-20-892 intersected 2.67 g/t Au over 15 metres including 12.69 g/t Au over 1 metre, and 4.42 g/t Au over 4 metres including 10.40 g/t Au over 1 metre;
• VL-20-902 intersected 22.14 g/t Au over 3 metres including 51.19 g/t Au over 1 metre;
• VL-20-896 intersected 10.51 g/t Au over 3 metres including 26.52 g/t Au over 1 metre, and 1.11 g/t Au over 28 metres;
• VL-20-900 intersected 1.44 g/t Au over 17 metres, and 8.51 g/t Au over 2 metres including 15.12 g/t Au over 1 metre;
• VL-20-906 intersected 2.51 g/t Au over 6 metres including 10.14 g/t Au over 1 metre, and 1.22 g/t Au over 12 metres; and
• VL-20-905 intersected 0.97 g/t Au over 47.4 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 latest fire assay results from the Valentine Gold Project include additional long, high grade intercepts from within the infill drill area at the Berry Zone and from the Frozen Ear Pond Road area further to the northeast. For the purposes of exploration and delineating potential future mineral resources, we now consider the Berry Zone to be a single 1.5 kilometre zone of mineralization, with QTP-Au mineralization generally continuous along this full length. Upcoming results that remain to be released from our 2020 exploration program include assays from 9,155 metres of drilling in forty-five holes from this now more broadly defined Berry area, and a further 2,260 metres in fourteen holes at the greenfield Narrows area located northeast of the Marathon Deposit. These results are expected to be released in batches through the end of the year and into January, with a first mineral resource estimate for Berry expected towards the end of Q1 2021.”

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. 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 sub-parallel to the individual veins and across the strike of Main Zone mineralization.

The results released today are derived from ten drillholes located within the Berry infill drilling area between sections 13600E and 13950E, and an additional four drillholes in the FEP Road area between sections 14750E and 14820E. Twelve holes were oriented steeply down to the northwest testing for “Main Zone” type stacked QTP-Au mineralization (VL-20-892, 895, 896, 897, 898, 900, 901, 903, 905, 906, 907 and 908) and two holes were oriented to the southeast drilling from the hanging wall towards the footwall contact (VL-20-899 and 902; Figures 2, 3 and 4).

All fourteen drillholes returned “significant” drill intersections of greater than 0.7 g/t Au (Table 1), and all fourteen 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.

Figure 1: Location Map, Valentine Gold Project
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Table 1: Significant assay intervals, Sprite Corridor, 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 2020 Pre-Feasibility 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.

Figure 2: Location of Berry Zone Exploration Drill Hole Collars VL-20-892 to VL-20-908
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Figure 3: Cross section 13675 (View NE) Sprite Corridor, Valentine Gold Project.
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Figure 4: Cross section 14760 (View NE) Sprite Corridor, Valentine Gold Project.
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Qualified Person

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

Acknowledgments

Marathon acknowledges the financial support of the Junior Exploration Assistance Program, Department of Natural Resources, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

About Marathon

Marathon (TSX:MOZ) 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. An April 2020 Pre-Feasibility Study outlined an open pit mining and conventional milling operation over a twelve-year mine life with a 36% after-tax rate of return. The Project has estimated Proven Mineral Reserves of 1.3 Moz (26.3 Mt at 1.52 g/t) and Probable Mineral Reserves of 0.6 Moz (14.8 Mt at 1.23 g/t). Total Measured Mineral Resources (inclusive of the Mineral Reserves) comprise 1.9 Moz (31.7 Mt at 1.86 g/t) with Indicated Mineral Resources (inclusive of the Mineral Reserves) of 1.19 Moz (23.2 Mt at 1.60 g/t). Additional Inferred Mineral Resources are 0.96 Moz (16.77 Mt at 1.78 g/t Au). Please see the Technical Report dated April 21, 2020 for further details and assumptions relating to the Valentine Gold Project.

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To find out more information on Marathon Gold Corp. and the Valentine Gold Project, please visit www.marathon-gold.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain information contained in this news release, constitutes forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws (“forward-looking statements”). All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, which address events, results, outcomes or developments that Marathon expects to occur are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or include words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “plans”, “believes”, “estimates”, “considers”, “intends”, “targets”, or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “would” and “could”. We provide forward-looking statements for the purpose of conveying information about our current expectations and plans relating to the future, and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. More particularly and without restriction, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information about Marathon’s intention to complete the Offering and the timing thereof, economic analyses for the Valentine Gold Project, capital and operating costs, processing and recovery estimates and strategies, future exploration and mine plans, objectives and expectations and corporate planning of Marathon, future feasibility studies and environmental impact statements and the timetable for completion and content thereof and statements as to management's expectations with respect to, among other things, the matters and activities contemplated in this news release.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions and accordingly, actual results and future events could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. You are hence cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. A mineral resource that is classified as “inferred” or “indicated” has a great amount of uncertainty as to its existence and economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that any or part of an “indicated mineral resource” or “inferred mineral resource” will ever be upgraded to a higher category of mineral resource. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into proven and probable mineral reserves.

By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. Factors that could cause future results or events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements include receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, completion of all conditions to closing of the Offering, availability of financing to fund Marathon’s exploration and development activities, the ability of the current exploration program to identify and expand mineral resources, operational risks in exploration and development for gold, Marathon’s ability to realize the pre-feasibility study, delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures, uncertainty as to calculation of mineral resources, changes in commodity and power prices, changes in interest and currency exchange rates, the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel, inaccurate geological and metallurgical assumptions (including with respect to the size, grade and recoverability of mineral resources), changes in development or mining plans due to changes in logistical, technical or other factors, title defects, government approvals and permits, cost escalation, changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets, environmental regulation, operating hazards and risks, delays, taxation rules, competition, public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and other uninsurable risks, liquidity risk, share price volatility, dilution and future sales of common shares, aboriginal claims and consultation, cybersecurity threats, climate change, delays and other risks described in Marathon’s documents filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities.

You can find further information with respect to these and other risks in Marathon’s Amended and Restated Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2019 and other filings made with Canadian securities regulatory authorities available at www.sedar.com. Other than as specifically required by law, Marathon undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, whether as a result of new information, future events or results otherwise.