Mr. Mark Campbell reports

ATON CONFIRMS THE DISCOVERY OF A NEW ZONE OF GOLD MINERALIZATION AT GAHARISH NORTH

Aton Resources Inc. has provided investors with an update on exploration activities at the Abu Gaharish and Gaharish North prospects at the company's 100-per-cent-owned Abu Marawat concession, located in the Eastern Desert of Egypt.

Highlights:

• Results from the last round of channel profile sampling and individual channel and grab sampling at the Gaharish North area have expanded the mineralized zone along the entire eastern margin of the Gaharish granite, with gold mineralization now identified over a strike length in excess of 5.0 kilometres.
• Gold-tungsten-bismuth-copper mineralization is confirmed at the Gaharish North area, with selective grab samples returning assays, including 17.80 grams per tonne gold, 15.85 grams per tonne gold, 14.80 grams per tonne gold and 14.70 grams per tonne gold.
• Surface channel sample profiles returned assay intersections including 5.2 metres of 1.13 grams per tonne gold from Gaharish North and 4.6 metres of 1.25 grams per tonne gold from Abu Gaharish.
• Selective grab and channel sampling has extended the gold mineralization to islands of granite west of the Abu Gaharish main zone and has returned assays including 7.88 grams per tonne gold.
• Results from the interpreted Abu Gaharish ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey are encouraging, with significant responses under wadi sediments to the west of the main zone, indicating the possible extension of the structural system that hosts the Abu Gaharish mineralization farther to the west under cover.

"After Rodruin, Abu Gaharish is our second priority target and these results show why," said Mark Campbell, president and chief executive officer. "With gold mineralization occurring over a five-kilometre gold strike length and with the potential for the mineralized structures to extend under cover, Abu Gaharish is a very significant gold exploration target. We will certainly be looking to do some drilling this year at Abu Gaharish once we have started drilling at Rodruin. We are very excited by the potential of the Gaharish area and intend to do more work on it."

Sampling at Gaharish North and Abu Gaharish

Additional surface sampling has been completed at the Abu Gaharish prospect and the newly discovered Gaharish North zone to follow up on initial grab and channel samples assaying up to 22.6 grams per tonne gold and 26.6 grams per tonne gold (see news releases dated June 7, 2017, and Dec. 19, 2017). A total of 89 surface samples were collected from the general Abu Gaharish area, including 27 individual channel samples taken over an average sample length of about one metre and 62 selective grab samples. Sixty-one samples were collected at Gaharish North, 14 in the main Abu Gaharish area, a further eight on the eastern flank of the Gaharish pluton between these two areas and six in the Umm Aabass area, southwest of the Gaharish pluton, about four kilometres southwest of Abu Gaharish. Additionally, 13 generally short profiles (GHC-056 to GHC-068) were channel sampled for a total of 97.5 metres, three at Gaharish North and 10 at Abu Gaharish, with the channel profiles averaging 7.5 metres in length. A total of 49 channel samples were collected over nominal, but not exclusively, two-metre intervals and were manually collected using hammer and chisel under the supervision of senior Aton geologists.

All samples were crushed to minus four millimetres at the company's on-site sample preparation facility at Hamama, with approximately 500-gram splits shipped to ALS Minerals at Rosia Montana, Romania, for analysis. Samples were analyzed for gold by fire assay using analytical code AA-Au23 (repeated by AA-Au25 for samples that returned gold grades greater than 10 grams per tonne). One hundred twenty-five of all the samples taken to date were also analyzed for a 34 multielement suite by ICP atomic emission spectrometry using analytical code ME-ICP61.

Five (6 per cent) of the total of 89 selective grab and individual channel samples returned gold assays of over 10 grams per tonne gold, 23 (26 per cent) returned gold assays of over one gram per tonne gold, and 30 (34 per cent) returned gold assays of over 0.5 gram per tonne gold. Samples from the newly discovered Gaharish North zone returned gold assays of 17.80 grams per tonne gold, 15.85 grams per tonne gold, 14.80 grams per tonne gold and 14.70 grams per tonne gold. A single sample (AHA-17533) from a quartz vein in the central area returned an assay of 16.85 grams per tonne gold, and a single sample from a 2.2-metre-long individual channel sample (AHA-17786) across granite containing narrow sheeted or stockwork veinlets in an island of granite to the west of the Abu Gaharish main zone returned an assay of 7.88 grams per tonne gold.

        SUMMARY OF THE SURFACE GRAB AND INDIVIDUAL CHANNEL SAMPLE RESULTS

Zone                > 10 g/t        > 5 g/t        > 1 g/t      > 0.5 g/t   Total
                Number     %   Number     %   Number     %   Number     % 
  
Abu Gaharish         0    0%        1    7%        4   29%        5   36%     14   
Gaharish North       4    7%        6   10%       18   30%       24   39%     61   
Central area         1   13%        1   13%        1   13%        1   13%      8    
Um Aabass            0    0%        0    0%        0    0%        0    0%      6    
Total                5    6%        8    9%       23   26%       30   34%     89 

Surface channel sample profiles returned assay intersections including 5.2 metres of 1.13 grams per tonne gold from Gaharish North (profile GHC-068) and 4.6 metres of 1.25 grams per tonne gold from Abu Gaharish (profile GHC-064). Mineralized intersections from the surface channel profile sampling are presented in the attached table.

            SELECTED SURFACE CHANNEL SAMPLING MINERALIZED 
               INTERSECTIONS FROM THE ABU GAHARISH AREA

Channel profile ID            Area       From      To     Width        Au 
                                           (m)     (m)       (m)     (g/t)
            
GHC-058                Abu Gaharish       0.0     1.6       1.6      3.34     
GHC-059                Abu Gaharish       0.0     2.1       2.1      2.46     
GHC-063                Abu Gaharish       2.2     4.0       1.8      2.54     
GHC-064                Abu Gaharish       0.0     4.6       4.6      1.25     
GHC-067              Gaharish North       0.0     1.9       1.9      1.49     
GHC-068              Gaharish North       2.0     7.0       5.2      1.13     

To date, 125 samples from the Abu Gaharish area have also been submitted for multielement geochemical analyses, in addition to gold fire assay. Significant anomalism of several elements was identified from the multielement analyses, including silver (six samples assayed over 100 grams per tonne silver, with a high of 354 grams per tonne silver); lead (three samples assayed over 1 per cent lead, with a high of 2.73 per cent lead, or 27,300 parts per million); copper (two samples assayed over 0.5 per cent copper, with a high of 0.87 per cent copper, or 8,690 parts per million); and tungsten (five samples assayed over 0.1 per cent tungsten, with a high of 0.16 per cent tungsten, or 1,550 parts per million). Other anomalous elements include arsenic (highest assay of 291 parts per million); bismuth (highest assay of 652 parts per million); cadmium (highest assay of 243 parts per million); molybdenum (highest assay of 281 parts per million); antimony (three samples assayed over 0.1 per cent, with a high of 2.92 per cent, or 2,920 parts per million); and zinc (highest assay of 1,340 parts per million).

Gold is weakly correlated with silver, copper, lead and zinc; silver is strongly correlated with arsenic, moderately with copper, and weakly with lead, bismuth and tungsten; copper and lead are strongly correlated; arsenic is strongly correlated with cadmium and antimony; tungsten is weakly correlated with silver, arsenic, copper, antimony and tin; bismuth is weakly correlated with silver, arsenic, cadmium and antimony; and zinc is weakly correlated with gold, copper and lead. Silver, cadmium and antimony are all very strongly correlated together. The geochemical association of gold with silver, lead, copper, tungsten, antimony, arsenic, bismuth and molybdenum, and the relatively low enrichment of zinc is consistent with a potential reduced intrusion-related gold style of mineralization, related to the Gaharish granite.

Abu Gaharish GPR survey

A total of six deep penetrating GPR profile lines were completed at the Abu Gaharish prospect by Terravision Exploration during November, 2017, with a combination of three-metre and six-metre antenna lengths, using its proprietary GPRplus equipment. The final report was received in March, 2018. Four long east-west profiles (GH-1 to GH-4) were completed over and along strike from the main zone mineralization to attempt to identify the mineralized structures and the granite contact between the Gaharish granite and the country metavolcanic and sedimentary sequence, and also to test for possible repetition of the generally west-dipping mineralized structures under wadi sediment cover to the west of the main zone. Additionally, two shorter, more detailed profiles (GH-5 and GH-6) were run across the main zone mineralization using shorter three antennas to provide orientation over the mineralized structures and ancient workings seen at surface in the main zone. Profile GH-5 was coincident with the western end of profile GH-2.

Results from the Abu Gaharish prospect are very encouraging, with significant responses under wadi sediments, as well as within islands of granite to the west of the main zone. The velocity responses pick out structures across the wadi area, which may indicate the presence of mineralized quartz veins and structures similar to those found in the main zone, which has previously returned channel sample intersections of 31.2 metres of 1.04 grams per tonne gold from surface (see news release dated Dec. 19, 2017). A wide zone of increased velocity, approximately 130 metres wide, was recorded within profiles GH1 and GH3 and was possibly also picked up at the western end of GH4. This is interpreted as indicating the potential presence of a blind zone of en echelon veins, or possibly a shear structure associated with narrow sheeted veining, covered by wadi sediments. This large structural zone lies within and appears to skirt the rim of the late postorogenic Gaharish granite and is probably at least 1.2 kilometres in length. The GPR response of this interpreted zone is generally typified by a major increase in velocity, which is analogous to the responses identified from the six-metre profiles over the main zone veins. In addition to this zone, multiple structures have been identified across the wadi, suggesting that a complex series of veins or structures occurs within a zone approximately 800 metres wide and at least one kilometre long. The results of the GPR survey give support to the hypothesis that the Abu Gaharish area may host a significant body of structurally controlled gold mineralization of RIRG (reduced intrusion-related gold) affinity.

Discussion

The confirmation of a new zone of gold mineralization at Gaharish North, with mineralized quartz veins occurring both within the postorogenic Gaharish granite as well as in the surrounding country rocks, as at Abu Gaharish, is considered very significant. This confirms that gold mineralization occurs over an over-five-kilometre strike length along the eastern margin of and within the late postorogenic polyphase Gaharish pluton. The new sampling of granite islands surrounded by wadi sediments to the west of the Abu Gaharish main zone has further extended the zone of known mineralization at Abu Gaharish. The GPR program has strongly suggested the potential existence of a structural zone largely buried under wadi sediments that has given analogous responses to those observed over the main zone at Abu Gaharish, which returned a surface channel intersection of 31.2 metres of 1.04 grams per tonne gold. The latest sampling at Abu Gaharish has confirmed the existence of additional and previously unidentified gold mineralization in the Gaharish granite in the broad structural target zone identified by the GPR survey.

The gold mineralization in the Abu Gaharish-Gaharish North area occurs both within and close to the margins of the late Gaharish granite. The Gaharish granite is part of the suite of evolved postorogenic alkalic granites that is regionally associated with tin, molybdenum and tungsten-gold mineralization within the Egyptian Eastern Desert. The geochemical association of the Gaharish area mineralization with accessory lead, copper, tungsten, antimony, arsenic, bismuth, molyndenum and comparatively low enrichment of zinc is consistent with a potential RIRG system.

The confirmation of gold (-copper-bismuth-tungsten) mineralization along the entire eastern margin of the Gaharish granite implies the potential existence of a large and significant gold-mineralizing system. The latest phase of sampling confirms that gold mineralization exists to the west of the known mineralization at Abu Gaharish, and the results from the deep-penetrating GPR survey indicate good potential that the structural system that hosts the Abu Gaharish mineralization extends farther to the west and is largely covered by wadi sediments. The results of the latest sampling and the GPR program continue to indicate potential for the existence of a substantial structurally controlled zone of gold mineralization of RIRG affinity at Abu Gaharish. Aton believes that the identification of gold-copper-bismuth-tungsten mineralization at Gaharish North, together with the extension of the structurally controlled mineralized system at Abu Gaharish, indicate the potential development of a large system of RIRG gold mineralization along the entire eastern margin of the Gaharish granite, potentially greater than five kilometres long in strike length.

Activity update:

• Laboratory test work has been completed at the Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Research Institute (Housing and Building National Research Centre) in Cairo on the geotechnical samples collected from the trial pits in the Wadi Um Salamat area for the Hamama West heap-leach facility design work, and the final report has been received.
• A short program of excavator trenching has been completed at Hamama East to test for possible surface zones of gold and zinc oxide mineralization. Samples have been dispatched to ALS Minerals in Romania, and results are expected soon.
• Access road construction is continuing at Rodruin, and it is estimated that the road will reach the main western workings before the Hamama camp shuts down for the Ramadan break.
• A preliminary program of surface sampling has been undertaken over the Zeno prospect area. Numerous significant ancient workings have been identified at the Zeno area, and visible gold has been identified from several samples. Samples have been dispatched to ALS Minerals in Romania, and results are expected soon.

About Aton Resources Inc.

Aton Resources is focused on its 100-per-cent-owned Abu Marawat concession, located in Egypt's Arabian-Nubian shield, approximately 200 kilometres north of Centamin's Sukari gold mine. Aton has identified several distinct geological trends within Abu Marawat that display potential for the development of RIRG and orogenic gold mineralization, VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide) precious metal and base metal mineralization, and epithermal-IOCG (iron-oxide copper gold) precious metal and base metal mineralization. Abu Marawat is over 738 square kilometres in size and is located in an area of excellent infrastructure; a four-lane highway, a 220-kilovolt power line and a water pipeline are in close proximity.

Qualified person

The technical information contained in this news release was prepared by Roderick Cavaney, BSc, MSc (honours), MSc (mining and exploration geology), FAusIMM, GSA, SME, vice-president, exploration, of Aton Resources. Mr. Cavaney is a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

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