TORONTO, Sept. 28, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marathon Gold Corporation (“Marathon” or the “Company”) (MOZ.TO) is very pleased to report continued positive results from the latest drill holes designed to penetrate down through the en-echelon stacked quartz-tourmaline-pyrite-gold (QTP) veining of the Main Zone corridor of the Leprechaun Deposit, Valentine Lake Gold Camp, central Newfoundland (Figures 1 & 2). The new drill holes VL-17-655 and VL-16-656, along with the previously released drill holes VL-17-653 and VL-17-654, cover a 250-meter strike length of the 960-meter long Main Zone of the Leprechaun Deposit (Figure 1). These 4 drill holes have all succeeded in hitting continuous wide, high-grade gold intervals in multiple stacked arrays of shallow southwest dipping QTP veining that dominates throughout the 25 to 60-meter wide by more than 350-meter deep Main Zone corridor of the Leprechaun Deposit (Figure 1). The pattern of QTP veining of the Leprechaun and Marathon Deposits is the same as that observed elsewhere throughout the Valentine Gold Camp.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6a2022b9-2cc6-4617-a3d5-699e22ef63c5

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/969b2b7c-5738-4333-bb26-e5902f682235

The drill holes VL-17-655 and VL-17-656, collared 130 meters apart on sections 10,120 and 10,250 (Figure 1), along with VL-17-653 and VL-17-654 on section 10,000, were each designed to penetrate down through the Main Zone corridor of the Leprechaun Deposit, proving the continuous nature of the gold mineralization down through the stacked QTP vein arrays as well as laterally out into the hanging wall. VL-17-655 intersected 2.34 g/t Au over 151 meters including 6.90 g/t Au over 16 meters, 3.40 g/t Au over 14 meters, 4.26 g/t Au over 10 meters, and 7.19 g/t Au over 5 meters. VL-17-656 intersected 3.72 g/t Au over 33 meters including 6.19 g/t Au over 16 meters, 1.84 g/t Au over 34 meters including 3.40 g/t Au over 6 meters and 2.35 g/t Au over 14 meters as well as 19.01 g/t Au over 7 meters.

Drilling continues at the property with the focus now on expanding the Marathon resource with both infill and step-out drill holes designed to increase the M & I category of the resource as well as adding more inferred resource. Marathon has now released the results on just 32% of its planned 60,000-meter drill campaign.

Drilling Highlights:

• VL-17-655 intersected 2.34 g/t Au over 181 meters with 6.90 g/t Au over 16 meters, 6.35 g/t Au over 5 meters, 3.40 g/t Au over 14 meters, 7.19 g/t Au over 5 meters, 5.67 g/t Au over 4 meters, and 4.26 g/t Au over 10 meters as well as 4.08 g/t Au over 6.4 meters, 1.91 g/t Au over 47 meters, and 2.73 g/t Au over 14 meters.
  
  
• VL-17-656 intersected 3.72 g/t Au over 33 meters with 6.19 g/t Au over 16 meters, 19.01 g/t Au over 7 meters with 40.65 g/t Au over 3 meters, 1.84 g/t Au over 34 meters with 4.16 g/t Au over 5 meters and 3.40 g/t Au over 6 meters, and 2.35 g/t Au over 14 meters.
  
  
• New drill holes VL-17-655 and VL-17-656, as well as previously released VL-17-653 and VL-17-654, were collared along at 250-meter strike length and drilled down through the shallow SW dipping arrays of en-echelon stacked QTP veining of the Main Zone corridor.
   
• Re-modelling of the Leprechaun Deposit, with a focus on the Main Zone corridor as well as hanging wall QTP veining, is currently underway in advance of the resource update for the Leprechaun Gold Deposit.

“The results of these new drill holes have aided in defining the higher-grade mineralization in the Leprechaun Deposit and may likely have a positive effect on the overall grade in the upcoming resource update”, said Phillip Walford, President and CEO of Marathon. “Four drill rigs continue to operate at the Marathon Deposit. Marathon Gold Corporation is on track to complete the property-wide resource estimation by early November and begin the PEA.”

TABLE 1: Significant fire assay intervals from drill holes VL-17-655 and VL-17-656, Leprechaun Gold Deposit, Valentine Lake Gold Camp.

*Cut off 33.0 g/t – 2015 Leprechaun Resource Update

Acknowledgments

Marathon acknowledges the financial support of the Junior Exploration Assistance Program, Department of Natural Resources, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Research & Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador has granted approximately 40% of the costs of the current seismic program to Marathon Gold and we appreciate this support.

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 (between 80% - 85% of core length).