TORONTO , Feb. 2, 2015 /CNW/ - Marathon Gold Corporation ("Marathon" or the "Company") (MOZ.TO) today announced positive results from the initial two drill holes (MA-15-026 and MA-15-027) of the winter 2015 drilling campaign at the Marathon Zone, located 7 kilometers northeast along strike from the Leprechaun Gold Deposit and 5 kilometers southwest along strike from the Victory Gold Deposit, Valentine Gold Camp (Figure 1). The gold-bearing quartz-tourmaline-pyrite (QTP) veining at the Marathon Zone consists of multiple vertical stacked, dominantly shallow southwest dipping, tensional veining identical in appearance to gold-bearing QTP veining found elsewhere throughout the Valentine Gold Camp.

Drill holes MA-15-026 and MA-15-027, located in the southwestern portion of the growing Marathon Zone, intersected wide intervals of gold mineralization with narrower high-grade ore shoots. The best intercepts included 2.02 g/t Au over 17.0 meters (TT) and 1.90 g/t Au over 12.5 meters (TT) in MA-15-027. The 2014 and 2015 drilling, including drill holes MA-15-028 to MA-15-033 with assays pending, has outlined a gold mineralized corridor with a strike length of over 300 meters, a true width ranging from 50 to 100 meters, and a vertical depth of more than 200 meters. This expanding gold mineralized corridor is open along strike as well as to depth (Figure 1).

Continued winter 2015 drilling will focus on expanding the strike length of the gold mineralized corridor at the Marathon Zone. The results of this new drilling will be added to the growing database and may lead into the development of a near-surface open pit resource for this important new gold deposit within the Valentine Gold Camp. All of the work programs for 2015 will be executed within the context of maintaining a strong cash position.

Highlights (all drill intercepts reported at true thickness):

• The step-out drill hole MA-15-027 with 2.02 g/t Au over 17.0meters including 12.27 g/t Au over 1.0 meters, and 1.90 g/t Au over 12.5 meters including 15.88 g/t Au over 0.5 meters and 12.19 g/t Au over 0.5 meters, confirming the southwestern continuation of the gold-mineralized corridor and proving this gold-rich zone is open along strike.
• The step-out drill hole MA-15-026 with 2.23 g/t Au over 6.0 meters and 1.44 g/t Au over 6.0 meters, further confirming the southwestern continuation of the gold-mineralized corridor.
• The intersection of multiple stacked, gold-bearing QTP veining in all 33 drill holes completed to date in the Marathon Zone, including the latest drill holes with assays pending, proves that the Marathon Zone has a strike length in excess of 300 meters, a true width that ranges from 50 to 100 meters and a vertical depth in excess of 200 meters. The Marathon Zone is open both along strike and to depth.
• The aim of the winter 2015 drilling program is to increase strike length of the Marathon Zone and to rapidly develop a significant new open-pit resource(s) in this area proximal to the Valentine Lake Thrust Fault, Valentine Gold Camp.
• All of the eight holes completed to date during the 2015 drilling program have intersected either QTP veining in the Main Zone of the Marathon Zone gold deposit or they have intersected a secondary zone developing to the south-east of the Main Zone.

"The results of drill holes MA-15026 and MA-15-027 are important in continuing to extend the strike length of the Marathon Gold deposit towards the southwest, and in showing that the near surface mineralization tends to thicken rapidly to depth. The Marathon Gold Deposit is now approaching the Leprechaun Gold Deposit in terms of strike length and consistency of the mineralization. This is a very exciting time for Marathon Gold Corporation and its shareholders", said Phillip Walford , President and CEO of Marathon.

TABLE 1: Significant assay intervals from the Marathon Zone drill holes MA-15-026 and MA-15-027

*TT-Denotes true thickness

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 CorporationMarathon Gold is a Toronto based gold resource company with exploration focused on its 100% owned Valentine Gold Camp located in central Newfoundland . The Valentine Gold Camp currently hosts two near-surface, mainly pit-shell constrained, NI 43-101 compliant gold resources totaling 816,000 oz. gold at 2.24 g/t (Measured & Indicated) and 149,000 oz. gold at 2.64 g/t (Inferred), (August, 2013). These resources, open along strike and to depth, cover less than 5% of the total length of the highly perspective Valentine Lake Thrust Fault and associated splay faults which host the majority of the gold mineralization within the property. Newly discovered gold zones, including the Sprite Zone and Marathon Zone, have returned wide intervals of near-surface good gold grades and have yet to be incorporated into new gold resources for the Valentine Gold Camp. For more information please visit www.marathon-gold.com.