TORONTO , Sept. 9, 2015 /CNW/ - Marathon Gold Corporation ("Marathon" or the "Company") (MOZ.TO) today announced the very positive results of step-out drilling that has increased the strike length of the Marathon Deposit by 100% to over 850 meters (Figure 1). The Marathon Deposit remains open along strike in both directions and also to depth. The new drilling stepped-out more than 400 meters to the southwest ("SW") of previous drilling and the current SW end of the Marathon Deposit open pit resource (Figure 1). The new and widely spaced drilling intersected good intervals of gold-bearing multiple-stacked quartz-tourmaline-pyrite ("QTP") veining (Table 1). This new veining is identical in style to the gold-bearing QTP veining found along an 18km strike length that includes the Leprechaun, Sprite, Victory as well as Marathon Gold Deposits.

Highlights (true thickness):

• Best intercepts in drill holes collared up to 400 meters SW of the Marathon Deposit's current open pit resource included: 3.62 g/t Au over 9.1 meters in MA-15-062; 3.18 g/t Au over 8.4 meters 3.41 g/t Au over 6.3 meters and 3.16 g/t Au over 4.9 meters in MA-15-063; and 6.34 g/t Au over 5.3 meters in MA-15-061.
  
  
• Previous drill holes into the Marathon Deposit that required lengthening intersected 3.73 g/t Au over 9.0 meters with 12.88 g/t Au over 1.5 meters in MA-14-016, and 1.61 g/t Au over 13.6 meters with 2.47 g/t Au over 6.0 meters and 2.08 g/t Au over 2.6 meters in MA-15-028.
  
  
• Near surface drilling to further extend the western hanging-wall of the Marathon Deposit's current open pit resource was successful in intersecting 2.51 g/t Au over 2.3 meters in MA-15-059 and 1.85 g/t Au over 2.1 meters in MA-15-058.
  
  
• Drilling to the northeast ("NE") of the Marathon Deposit's current open pit resource, immediately adjacent to the Valentine Thrust Fault, was successful in intersecting thin zones of QTP veining with 2.81 g/t Au over 2.1 meters in MA-15-052. This drilling was designed to test an eastern corridor of mineralization adjacent to the thrust contact.  The Marathon Deposit main trend was not tested during the current drilling campaign as this mineralized trend strikes under a large bog and will be best drilled during the winter.
  
  
• The strike length of the Marathon Deposit has expanded by 100% to more than 850 meters and now remains open to both the SW and NE as well as to depth. The strike of the main Marathon mineralized corridor extends to the NE and SW beneath bog and overburden (Figure 1). The Leprechaun Deposit, located 7 kilometers to the SW, has a strike length of 960 meters. The Leprechaun Deposit is much more drill defined than the Marathon Deposit and has a Measured & Indicated ("M&I") resource of 775,000 ounces grading 2.28 g/t and Inferred resource containing 140,000 ounces grading 2.79 g/t. The Marathon Deposit has a M&I resource of 195,600 ounces and Inferred containing 23,800 ounces grading 2.64 g/t, which does not include the new summer 2015 drilling. Several highly-prospective, extensions of the Marathon Deposit remain untested along strike. These targets will be drilled when winter ground conditions allow for better access.

"The doubling of the strike length of the Marathon Deposit with very limited drilling and in less than a year since it was discovered is extremely exciting. This success further proves the validity of our exploration strategy and potential for more open-pit and underground resource growth along the length of the Valentine Lake Thrust Fault," said Phillip Walford , President and CEO of Marathon . "It also means that we are closing in on the critical mass we need to proceed with economic studies as we move along to the ultimate goal of development of a gold mine. The more we drill the more gold-bearing QTP veining we intersect and the bigger the gold resources grow at the Valentine Gold Camp."

TABLE 1: Significant assay intervals from the Marathon Zone drill holes MA-15-050, MA-15-052, MA-15-058 to MA-15-065 and extended drill holes MA-14-016 and MA-15-028.

* TT-Denotes true thickness
**No significant intervals in MA-15-049, 051, and 053-057

All of the samples were fire assayed at Eastern Analytical Laboratory Ltd., in Springdale, Newfoundland .

Marathon Gold Corporation acknowledges the financial support of the JEA Program, Department of Natural Resources, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador .

Sherry Dunsworth , M.Sc., P. Geo., VP of Exploration, Marathon's Qualified Person, has reviewed the contents for accuracy and has approved this press release on behalf of Marathon .

About Marathon Gold Corporation

Marathon is a Toronto based gold resource company focused on its 100% owned Valentine Gold Camp located in central Newfoundland . The Valentine Gold Camp currently hosts four near-surface, mainly pit-shell constrained, gold resources totaling 1,060,100 oz. gold at 2.20 g/t (Measured & Indicated) and 200,000 oz. gold at 2.83 g/t (Inferred), ( April 2015 ). These resources, open along strike and to depth, cover less than 6% of the total length of the highly prospective Valentine Lake Thrust Fault and associated splay faults which host the majority of the gold mineralization within the property. Certain of Marathon's exploration expenditures at its mineral properties in Newfoundland are funded by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador through its Junior Exploration Assistance program. For more information please visit www.marathon-gold.com. 

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATIONExcept 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.