Marathon Deposit Infill Drilling Confirms Continuity of High-Grade Gold Veining between adjacent Drill Holes in Pit Shell, Valentine Lake Gold Camp, Newfoundland

Drilling Highlights:

• The first 2 drill holes of the 2019 infill drilling campaign in the Marathon Deposit have succeeded in intersecting wide zones of QTP-Au veining with abundant visible gold in the open-pit core area of the main mineralized corridor; the success of these holes confirms the lateral continuity of the higher-grade gold mineralization between adjacent drill holes at shallow depths in the Marathon Deposit (Figure 1):
   
  • MA-19-348 intersected 3.92 g/t Au over 23.0 meters with 8.98 g/t Au over 4.0 meters and 6.86 g/t Au over 3.0 meters and a separate interval of 3.55 g/t Au over 10.0 meters with 6.52 g/t Au over 3.0 meters and other high-grade intervals as in Table 1.
  • MA-19-349 intersected several good zones, 2.10 g/t Au over 29.0 meters including 5.43 g/t Au over 4.0 meters and 4.65 g/t Au over 4.0 meters, 1.96 g/t Au over 24.0 meters including 3.86 g/t Au over 6.0 meters, 4.88 g/t Au over 2.0 meters and 1.33 g/t Au over 38.0 meters.
     
• The excellent gold grades from infill drill holes MA-19-348 and MA-19-349, drilled subvertical, down through en-echelon stacked, shallow SW dipping QTP veining and located between adjacent strongly mineralized drill holes in the main zone, further confirms that the geological model we have been using for the Marathon Deposit and proves the extensive lateral continuity of the QTP bearing veins between adjacent drill holes.

Program Update:

• The winter 2019 infill drilling campaign is underway with the focus on infill drilling at the Marathon Deposit, converting Inferred resources into Measured and Indicated resources in advance of the Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS). The first holes of the program are designed to validate the block model high grade zones that would be mined during the early years of mine production at the Marathon Deposit.
   
• Advanced metallurgical testing continues on material from both the Marathon and Leprechaun Deposits, to optimize both mill and heap leach recoveries. Planning is also underway for geotechnical and environmental programs required for the PFS.
   
• The Project Description is being prepared for submission to the Federal and Provincial regulators. This is an important first step in developing the Environmental Assessment program for mine permitting.

TORONTO, Feb. 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —  Marathon Gold Corporation (“Marathon” or the “Company”) (TSX: MOZ) is pleased to announce excellent results from the first drill holes of the 2019 exploration drilling campaign at the Valentine Lake Gold Camp. The drill holes MA-19-348 and MA-19-349 were strategically located between existing, strongly mineralized drill holes in the open pit portion of the Marathon Deposit (Figure 1). These drill holes succeeded in intersected strongly mineralized, en-echelon stacked QTP-Au veining with wide intervals of higher-grade gold intercepts. This provides additional support of our geological model, demonstrating the extensive lateral continuity of the QTP-Au veining into adjacent drill holes both along and across strike. It is also significant to note that there is significant low- grade mineralization between the higher-grade intervals in drill holes MA-19-348 and MA-19-349.

“The success of new infill drill holes into the Marathon Deposit open-pit cannot be overstated”, said Phillip Walford, President and CEO of Marathon Gold. “Our geological model is sound and additional 2019 infill drill holes, for which assays are still pending, have likewise intersected wide intervals of QTP veining with abundant visible gold. The assays released today are fire assays and all assays above 0.1 g/t are further assayed using the metallic screen method to better estimate the gold content when free gold is present. At the Marathon Deposit, fire assay analysis greater than 1.5 g/t Au typically show a significant increase in grade, sometimes more than 100%, with metallic screening, while analysis below 1.5 g/t Au may show a slight decrease in gold grade”.

TABLE 1: Significant assay intervals, Marathon Deposit, Valentine Lake Gold Camp.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bf94f366-03f1-481f-bb4a-4987c844bc9c

A 3D Model of the Marathon Deposit showing drill holes MA-19-348 and MA-19-349 is available at www.corebox.net.

Acknowledgments

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

Quality Assurance-Quality Control (“QA/QC”)

Sherry Dunsworth, M.Sc., P. Geo., Senior VP of Exploration, Marathon’s Qualified Person, has reviewed the contents for accuracy and has approved this press release on behalf of Marathon. Thorough QA/QC protocols are followed including 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, Newfoundland. All reported core samples are analyzed for Au by fire assay (30g) with AA finish. All samples above 0.10 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 (95% of core length).

About Marathon

Marathon is a Toronto based gold exploration company rapidly advancing its 100% owned Valentine Lake Gold Camp located in Newfoundland and Labrador, one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world. The Valentine Lake Gold Camp currently hosts four near-surface, mainly pit-shell constrained, deposits with measured and indicated resources totaling 2,691,400 oz. of gold at 1.85 g/t and inferred resources totaling 1,531,600 oz. of gold at 1.77 g/t. The majority of the resources occur in the Marathon and Leprechaun deposits, which also have resources below the current open pit shell. Both deposits are open to depth and on strike. Gold mineralization has been traced down over 350 meters vertically at Leprechaun and almost a kilometer at Marathon. The four deposits identified to date occur over a 20-kilometer system of gold bearing veins, with much of the 24,000-hectare property having had only minimal exploration activity to date.

The Valentine Lake Gold Camp is accessible by year-round road and is in close proximity to the provincial electrical grid. Marathon maintains a 50-person all-season camp at the property. Recent metallurgical tests have demonstrated 93% to 98% recoveries via conventional milling and 50% to 70% recoveries via low cost heap leaching at both the Leprechaun and Marathon Deposits.

To find out more information on the Valentine Lake Gold Camp please visit www.marathon-gold.com

For more information, please contact:
Christopher Haldane                                                    
Investor Relations Manager                                        
Tel: 1-416-987-0714                                                  
E-mail: chaldane@marathon-gold.com                    

Phillip Walford
President and Chief Executive Officer
Tel:  1-416-987-0711
E-mail:  pwalford@marathon-gold.com

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
Except for statements of historical fact relating to Marathon Gold Corporation, certain information contained herein constitutes “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”, “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.  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. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to those identified and reported in Marathon Gold Corporation’s public filings, which may be accessed at www.sedar.com.  Other than as specifically required by law, we undertake 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, results or otherwise.