Mr. Phillip Walford reports

MARATHON DEPOSIT DRILLING INTERSECTS 25.33 G/T AU (UNCUT) OVER 14.0 METERS WITH 310.35 G/T AU (UNCUT) OVER 1.0 METERS, VALENTINE LAKE GOLD CAMP

Marathon Gold Corp. has released positive results from the remaining drill holes of the 2016 drilling campaign at the Marathon deposit, Valentine Lake gold camp, including the spectacular intercept of 25.33 grams per tonne gold (uncut) over 14.0 metres including 310.35 g/t Au (uncut) over one metre near surface in drill hole MA-16-154. In addition, wide intervals of high-grade gold were intersected in deeper sections of drill holes MA-16-153 to MA-16-156 and extended MA-15-034 with best deep intercepts including 3.03 g/t Au over 18.0 metres in MA-16-053, 2.64 g/t Au over 40.0 metres in MA-16-154 and 2.84 g/t Au over 31.0 metres in MA-16-156.

These latest excellent drill results will be incorporated into the upcoming resource update for the Marathon deposit which is expected to be released by the end of February, 2017. The 50-to-100-metre-wide and subvertical mineralized corridor of the Marathon deposit, consisting of dominantly shallow southwest-dipping en-echelon stacked quartz-tourmaline-pyrite-gold veining, has a current well-defined strike length of over 550 metres, extends to depth for more than 400 metres, and is open both along strike and to depth.

The 2017 drilling campaign is now under way with two rigs drilling around the clock at both the Marathon and Leprechaun deposits. The forthcoming Marathon resource update will be used to optimize new drilling and the results of the winter 2017 drilling at both the Marathon and Leprechaun deposits, plus planned drilling at the Sprite and Victory deposits as well as other new gold showings, will all be incorporated into a later 2017 resource update in advance of the preliminary economic assessment for the Valentine Lake gold camp.

Highlights

• Spectacular, near-surface mineralization in MA-16-154 returned 25.33 g/t Au (uncut) over 14.0 metres including 310.35 g/t Au (uncut) over one metre. These results represent the second-highest gold assay ever intersected to date in the Marathon deposit. The highest gold assay achieved to date was 1,183.62 g/t Au over one metre in MA-14-024.
• Best intercepts 200 metres or more below surface included 3.03 g/t Au over 18.0 metres with 7.03 g/t Au over three metres and 6.87 g/t Au over four metres in MA-16-153; 2.64 g/t Au over 40.0 metres with 13.12 g/t Au over five metres, 8.81 g/t Au over one metre and 9.67 g/t Au over one metre in MA-16-154; 1.85 g/t Au over 20.0 metres with 5.57 g/t Au over four metres and 4.44 g/t Au over one metre in MA-16-155; 2.84 g/t Au over 31.0 metres with 7.45 g/t Au over two metres, 4.26 g/t Au over two metres and 11.82 g/t Au over four metres in MA-16-156; and 3.40 g/t Au over five metres with 11.43 g/t Au over one metre in extended MA-15-034.
• These new, deep, high-grade gold intercepts occur between 70 and 120 metres downdip from previous drilling and demonstrate the continuity and strength of the mineralization corridor of the Marathon deposit. The deeper higher-grade-mineralized zone, intersected in previously released drill holes MA-16-101, 107, 109, 111, 112, 113, 116, 127, 128, 130, 136, 149, 150, 151, 152, and MA-15-047 and 032, has a strike length in excess of 400 metres.
• The 50-to-100-metre-wide (TT) and subvertical Marathon deposit alteration and mineralized corridor, including the 2015 open-pit resource shell, extends along strike for at least 1.7 kilometres. Much of this 1.7 km strike length has been drill tested with only wide-spaced holes and therefore requires additional drilling before being included into a resource update. The current 2015 resource pit shell included just 450 metres of the total 1.7 km strike length and the new resource will expand beyond the 500-metre strike length to incorporate the recent very positive results from drilling to the southwest.

"The success of our 2016 drilling at the Marathon deposit has been documented in numerous positive press releases throughout the year and these results will be incorporated into our much-anticipated resource update to be released by the end of February, 2017. We continued to deliver very impressive drill intercepts as we grow both our knowledge of the geometry of gold-mineralizing system and gold resources at the Valentine Lake gold camp," said Phillip Walford, president and chief executive officer of Marathon. "An aggressive 2017 winter drilling campaign is now under way as Marathon Gold continues to build gold resources at the Valentine Lake gold camp in advance of an expected late 2017 to early 2018 preliminary economic assessment."

      SIGNIFICANT FIRE ASSAY INTERVALS FROM DRILL HOLES MA-16-153 TO MA-16-157
      AND EXTENDED MA-15-034, MARATHON GOLD DEPOSIT, VALENTINE LAKE GOLD CAMP

DDH            From     To     Core length      True width       Gold        Gold (cut)
                                       (m)             (m)      (g/t)             (g/t) 
MA-16-153       167    171               4             3.4       1.23
                200    203               3             2.6       2.95
                210    213               3             2.6       5.61
                299    304               5             4.3       2.40
                322    329               7             6.0       5.84
including       327    329               2             1.7      19.50
                341    359              18            15.3       3.03
including       341    344               3             2.6       7.03
including       355    359               4             3.4       6.87
MA-16-154        41     55              14            11.9      25.33              5.52
including        47     51               4             3.4      87.04             17.70
including        48     49               1             0.9     310.35             33.00
                259    299              40            34.0       2.64
including       270    275               5             4.3      13.12
including       284    285               1             0.9       8.81
including       288    289               1             0.9       9.67
                338    342               4             3.4       2.51
                345    348               3             2.6       2.49
MA-16-155       254    257               3             2.7       3.13
                261    264               3             2.7       3.38
                345    348               3             2.7       2.32
                377    380               3             2.7       2.99
                383    386               3             2.7       2.20
                411    431              20            18.0       1.85
including       411    415               4             3.6       5.57
including       430    431               1             0.9       4.44
                447    450               3             2.7       2.05
                469    472               3             2.7       2.53
MA-16-156        76     80               4             3.4       5.41
                284    315              31            26.4       2.84
including       284    286               2             1.7       7.45
including       297    299               2             1.7       4.26
including       311    315               4             3.4      11.82
MA-16-157        61     64               3             2.9       1.51
                 77     80               3             2.9       1.95
MA-15-034 Ext.  250    255               5             4.5       3.40
including       253    254               1             0.9      11.43
                270    274               4             3.6       1.48

All of the samples were fire assayed at Eastern Analytical Laboratory Ltd., in Springdale, Nfld.

Marathon Gold acknowledges the financial support of the JEA program, Department of Natural Resources, government of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Research and Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador has granted approximately 75 per cent of the costs of the current metallurgical program to Marathon Gold and the company appreciates this support.

Sherry Dunsworth, MSc, PGeo, vice-president of exploration, Marathon's qualified person, has reviewed the contents for accuracy and has approved this press release on behalf of Marathon. All core samples were collected using established quality assurance/quality control protocols, including insertion of blanks, standards and duplicates at regular intervals in each sample batch. All reported core samples were analyzed for Au by fire assay (30 g) with AA finish at Eastern Analytical Ltd., Springdale, Nfld. Significant mineralized intervals are reported in the table as core lengths and estimated true thickness (70 to 85 per cent of core length).

About Marathon Gold

Marathon Gold is rapidly advancing its 100-per-cent-owned Valentine Lake gold camp located in Newfoundland, one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world. The Valentine Lake property currently hosts four near-surface, mainly pit-shell-constrained, gold resources totalling 1,060,100 ounces gold at 2.20 g/t (measured and indicated) and 200,000 ounces gold at 2.85 g/t (inferred) (April, 2015).

We seek Safe Harbor.