Marathon PGM Corporation and Bird River Mines Inc., Announce an
Option Agreement for the Ore Fault Property - Bird River Sill, SE Manitoba

Toronto, Ontario, October 11^th, 2007 - Marathon PGM Corporation (MAR -- TSX) ("Marathon" or the "Company") today announced that it has signed a binding letter of intent with Bird River Mines Inc. (BRMI-CNQ) ("Bird River Mines") for a joint venture to actively explore and earn an interest in the Ore Fault and Lotus Claims ("Ore Fault Property", or "OFP") owned by Bird River Mines. The OFP property is located in the Bird River Sill area of southeast Manitoba, adjacent to Gossan Resources' Bird River Sill property, which is under option to Marathon.

"Our initial exploration activities at Bird River have yielded encouraging results" commented Marathon's President and CEO Phillip Walford, "and this option agreement will allow us to work with Bird River Mines in developing additional resources east of the Page Zone. The Ore Fault Property covers prospective ground between the Gossan property to the west and Mustang property to the south and east.  A drill program planned for the Gossan Bird River Sill in early January is being expanded to include the Ore Fault Property".

Under the terms of the joint venture agreement, subject to Bird River Mines shareholder approval and regulatory approvals, Marathon will have the option to earn a 70% interest in the properties by making cash payments of $250,000 to Bird River and carrying out, as operator, $600,000 in expenditures to advance the properties by August 1, 2008.

Once Marathon's interest in the properties reaches 70%, Marathon may require Bird River Mines to sell to Marathon, Bird River Mines' remaining 30% interest in the properties; and Bird River Mines may require Marathon to purchase the remaining 30% interest in the properties for a purchase price of $1,450,000, payable in cash or common shares of Marathon, at Marathon's option, subject to regulatory approval.  Bird River Mines shall retain a 1.0% net smelter return royalty (the "NSR") in all minerals and metals extracted from the properties.  Marathon shall have a first right of refusal on any sale by Bird River Mines of the NSR.

Marathon will also make a firm commitment to $400,000 in exploration expenditures and to pay a cumulative aggregate of $200,000 in cash by May 1, 2008.  The first cash payment of $20,000 is due on signing of the definitive joint venture and option agreement and $80,000 is to be paid upon obtaining shareholder approval.  If all required approvals are not obtained by Bird River Mines on or before December 31, 2007, Bird River Mines shall issue 400,000 of its common shares to Marathon, subject to regulatory approval.

Ore Fault and Lotus Claims
The Ore Fault Zone North Anomaly occurs from surface to a minimum depth of 250 m, has a minimum strike length of 150 m and was drilled in two prior exploration programs totalling 44 holes.  The Ore Fault Zone does not have a NI 43-101 compliant resource at present.  The best drill intersection was 11.1m of 2.0% Ni, 0.54% Cu, 2.18% Zn and 151g/t silver. Platinum group metals are present in the Ore Fault Zone, but evaluation of the PGM mineralization is incomplete. The Ore Fault Zone coincides with strong magnetic and EM geophysical anomalies. A second similar geophysical response (South Anomaly) was outlined approximately 1 km to the south and is considered to be a priority target, as Marathon has no record of it having been drilled.

A further area of interest has been identified by Mustang Minerals ("Mustang") on its ground close to the southeast property boundary of the Ore Fault claims. Two holes spaced 60 m apart drilled by Mustang hit 17.5 m of 0.81% copper and 30.7 m of 0.55% copper (see MUM release of 25-Sep-07). There is no record of any exploration activity on the eastern Ore Fault Property claims.

(To see a map of the Bird River Property, go to http://www.marathonpgm.com/newsmaps/2007-31.jpg)

Table 1: Significant Drill Hole Results⁽¹⁾, ⁽²⁾ and ⁽³⁾

⁽¹⁾ Assay results from: NI43-101 Technical Report on the Ore Fault Property, Prepared for Bird River Mines Inc., by Horst W. Petak, Ph.D., P.Eng., P.Geo. (available on sedar.com)

⁽²⁾ This work was completed prior to NI 43-101 being implemented. Marathon has not yet verified the historical values, and is not treating any of the values as part of a current mineral reserve/resource estimate and should not be unduly relied upon.

⁽³⁾ The "n/d" indicates not detected.

All exploration work is being performed under the guidance and supervision of Phillip C. Walford, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, a professional geologist and Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.  Mr. Walford has approved the contents of this press release.

About Marathon PGM Corporation
The Company has a 100-per-cent interest in the Marathon PGM -- Cu project, located about 10 kilometers north of Marathon, Ont. The project is currently undergoing a definitive feasibility study and a 35,000 m drill campaign. As announced previously, the company has completed a revised preliminary economic assessment in compliance with the provisions of National Instrument 43-101, showing a measured resource of 39.2 million tonnes containing 1.6 million ounces of PGM and gold and 285 million pounds of copper, and an indicated resource of 28.9 million tonnes containing 1.1 million ounces of PGM and gold and 178 million pounds of copper. An additional low-grade resource was also identified in the report completed by P&E Mining Consultants Inc. and filed on SEDAR on April 5, 2007.

As part of its growth strategy, in April 2007, Marathon entered into an option agreement with Gossan Resources on the Bird River Sill PGM and Cu-Ni property, located in southeastern Manitoba.  Prospecting and data compilation of the Bird River property is focused over several key areas, including the Coppermine, Page East, Page West and Galaxy Zones.  Marathon can earn-in up to a total 70% interest by completing a bankable feasibility study and arranging project financing.  In October 2007, Marathon entered into an agreement with Bird River Mines Inc on the Ore Fault and Lotus Properties, located on the eastern margin of Marathon's Bird River property. 

In August 2007, Marathon acquired the Steel Mountain PGM and Cu-Ni property in western Newfoundland and Labrador and has commenced the initial phase of exploration on this 227.5 km² property.  The Company holds a 100% interest in the Steel Mountain property.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION Except for statements of historical fact relating to the Company, certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan," "expect," "project," "intend," "believe," "anticipate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to those identified and reported in Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2006. Circumstances or management' s estimates or opinions could change, and management disclaims any obligation to revise or update forward-looking statements, whether for new information, future events or otherwise. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.