공시 • 23h
Athena Gold Corporation Provides Updates On Gold Exploration Projects And Drilling Results
Athena Gold Corporation provided an update across its portfolio of gold projects in Ontario, Canada, including Laird Lake, Forester, Oneman Lake, and Nevada, USA, namely Excelsior Springs. Drilling remains ongoing at Athena’s Laird Lake project, located in the Red Lake Gold District, in proximity to West Red Lake Gold’s Madsen Mine and Kinross Gold’s Great Bear Project. The Company has begun consultations with relevant stakeholders near its recently acquired Forester project, located along strike of Orla Mining’s Musselwhite Mine, ahead of its maiden exploration campaign. The Company’s option partner at its Excelsior Springs project in Nevada, Mammoth Minerals Limited, continues to work towards a maiden resource estimate at the Buster Trend, expected in Third Quarter 2026. Following recent identification of visible gold in Hole 5, Athena completed a strategic follow-up hole (LL-26-006), designed to test the G4 anomaly from a different angle, as well as test the Pit zone at depth. Hole LL-26-006 returned encouraging visual results as it intersected an approximately 50m wide section (downhole width, true width unknown at this time), of locally mineralized mafic metavolcanics with abundant quartz veining near the top of the hole, similar to what was observed in Hole LL-26-005. Further, Hole LL-26-006 intersected another section of locally mineralized mafic metavolcanic rocks with abundant veining from ~227-238m down the hole. Drill hole LL-26-007 was designed to test the newly discovered Rigby showing as well as the Balmer-Confederation contact. This hole intersected highly silicified volcanic rocks with local smokey quartz-pyrite veins which are interpreted as the extension of the Rigby showing, and locally mineralized mafic volcanic rocks near the bottom of the hole. Drilling remains ongoing with Hole 8, designed to test both the Rigby and Pit zones at depth. Assay results from hole LL-26-002 to LL-26-007 are pending and expected in early Third Quarter 2026. The Company cautions that visual estimates of mineralization and quartz veining should not be considered a substitute for laboratory assays. Spanning 4,900 hectares, the Forester project is located within the North Caribou Greenstone Belt, down strike of Orla Mining’s Musselwhite Mine. The project is prospective for multiple styles of orogenic gold deposits, including: 1) Banded iron formation hosted gold, high-grade vein-style, similar to Musselwhite, and 2) Bulk-tonnage style gold, primarily at the local Tex Zone. The Tex Zone was last drilled in the 1980’s, presenting a compelling opportunity to apply modern exploration concepts to old forgotten targets. Historical drill programs returned up to 0.7 g/t Au over 89m of core length and open along strike and at depth. Of the 89m of core length, only ~60m was assayed, with residual core lengths assumed to grade 0 g/t Au. This upcoming field season is expected to comprise of airborne geophysics, LiDAR and boots-on-the-ground prospecting. The Company has engaged SkyTEM to fly a high-resolution airborne electromagnetic (EM) and magnetic survey, which is expected to provide deep-penetrating sub-surface structural data to map conductive iron formations and delineate key lithological contacts under cover. Following the survey, the Company’s technical team from Nemo Resource Group is planning a prospecting, mapping, and sampling program, with a key priority area being on tracing the Tex Zone along the contact between mafic metavolcanic rocks and mafic intrusive (gabbroic) rocks. Following a strategic review of the Company’s portfolio and the prioritization of the Forester project, the Company has elected to allow the Oneman Lake claims to lapse to focus its capital and technical resources on higher priority assets, namely Laird Lake and Forester. Athena’s option partner at the Excelsior Springs Gold project in Nevada, Mammoth Minerals Limited, continues to make strong progress pursuant to its option agreement to earn an 80% interest in the project over five years, providing Athena a free-carry to Definitive Feasibility Study thereafter. Recent reverse circulation (RC) drilling has further expanded the mineralized corridor at the Buster Trend, which now extends over 7 km of prospective strike. This work builds on previously reported high-grade diamond drill intercepts, including 14.4 m @ 4.33 g/t Au and broad zones of mineralization around the historic Buster Mine. Geological modelling is underway, with Mammoth targeting delivery of a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate and Exploration Target for the Buster Trend in Third Quarter 2026. The technical information presented in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Benjamin Kuzmich, P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration for Athena Gold Corporation, and the Qualified Person for exploration at the Laird Lake project, as defined by NI 43-101 “Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects”. Mineralization on nearby or adjacent projects is not necessarily indicative of mineralization at Laird Lake.