Mr. Tonno Vahk reports

ATON REPORTS THE RESULTS OF SURFACE SAMPLING PROGRAMMES INCLUDING 67.5 G/T AU FROM ABU GAHARISH, 54.9 G/T AU FROM BOHLOG, AND 27.6 G/T AU FROM SEMNA

Aton Resources Inc. has released the results of recent surface sampling programs at several of its regional target areas, undertaken ahead of the reverse circulation percussion drilling program at the company's 100-per-cent-owned Abu Marawat concession in the Eastern Desert of Egypt.

Highlights:

• Aton has recently undertaken several sampling and mapping programs in advance of the now-started RC drilling program.
• A total of 104 selective grab and non-selective surface channel samples were collected from the Semna, Abu Gaharish, Bohlog, Sir Bakis and Massaghat prospects.
• Twenty-five samples were collected from the Semna prospect, returning assays including 27.6 grams per tonne gold, 24.0 g/t Au and 16.95 g/t Au.
• Forty samples were collected from the Abu Gaharish prospect, returning assays including 67.5 g/t Au, 23.3 g/t Au and 16.5 g/t Au.
• Seventeen samples were collected from the Bohlog prospect, returning assays including 54.9 g/t Au and 48.4 g/t Au.
• Eight samples were collected from the Sir Bakis prospect, returning assays including 9.62 g/t Au and 6.61 g/t Au.
• Fourteen samples were collected from the Massaghat prospect, returning assays including 34.5 g/t Au.

"We are pleased to be able to announce another set of exciting surface sampling results from Abu Marawat, which gives us real confidence for the regional RC drill program that has now started," said Tonno Vahk, interim chief executive officer. "This sampling has been undertaken during the last months, as we have been planning up the drilling at our regional targets. The team have been very busy on the ground preparing for the drilling, and we are very happy that it is now under way. As well as the work in the field, we continue to push ahead with our main goal for 2023, which is our application for the mining licence at Abu Marawat. Work on the Rodruin and Hamama West mineral resource estimates is ongoing, and the metallurgical testwork programs are now almost completed. The anticipated issuance of the mining licence at Abu Marawat will be a transformational moment for Aton, and we continue to work closely with our partners at the Ministry of Petroleum and the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority to achieve this shared goal."

Abu Marawat regional sampling program

The company has undertaken several ad hoc surface sampling programs, as part of its preparation and planning activities for the regional RC exploration drilling program that has now started (see news release dated May 19, 2023). All the company's main exploration targets have recently been exploited by artisanal miners, predominantly since the company's suspension of field activities in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has provided the opportunity to carry out additional sampling and mapping of the known structures, as well as previously unidentified mineralized structures that have been exploited by the artisanal miners. The sampling consisted predominantly of selective grab and chip sampling, with fewer one m to two m long non-selective in situ channel samples across potentially mineralized structures.

Sampling was undertaken at the Semna, Abu Gaharish, Bohlog, Sir Bakis and Massaghat prospect areas. Selected results from the program are shown in an attached table. Further sampling has also been undertaken at Zeno and Semna, and the results of this more-recent work will be reported once they become available.

Discussion of results

Semna gold mine

The historical Semna gold mine is located approximately 27 kilometres east-northeast of the company's Hamama West mineral deposit and 13 km northeast of the Rodruin deposit, and has a long history of mining, dating back to the Old Kingdom period, over 4,500 years ago. In modern times, Semna was mined between 1904 and 1906 by two British companies. It has been reported that the Semna mine worked the widest vein exploited during the British era of mining in Egypt, reaching up to six m width in places, and mining grades of over two ounces per ton were reported at the time. Reports from the Mining Journal from 1905 indicated that some remnant pillars within ancient Pharaonic-era stopes assayed up to 5.5 ounces per ton gold. In recent years, the Semna area has recently been heavily exploited by illegal artisanal miners.

The gold mineralization at Semna is strongly structurally controlled and hosted in quartz diorite, consisting of at least four distinct and subparallel zones, striking approximately east-west. The main vein and the south vein zones have been the primary focus of historical mining, but there are also workings developed on other structures. Mapping of recent artisanal excavations and also drill access road cuttings has indicated the presence of previously unidentified structures and apparently mineralized quartz veins, for example the southeast vein. This concurs with the observations and conclusions from the 2018 GPR geophysical survey, which identified numerous anomalous responses away from known mineralized structures, indicating potential for the discovery of hitherto unidentified high-grade mineralized veins and structures at Semna (see news release dated March 21, 2018).

During the current sampling program, 25 samples were collected from the Semna gold mine area, with selected results shown in an attached table. Three of the samples were non-selective chip channel samples, and the remainder were selective grab or grab composite samples. Aton has previously returned channel sampling intercepts, including 5.17 g/t Au over an interval of 9.7 m at surface, and individual channel samples grading up to 18.05 g/t Au (see news release dated Nov. 22, 2017) from Semna.

Six (24 per cent) of the Semna samples from the current program returned assays greater than 10 g/t Au, 14 (56 per cent) returned assays greater than five g/t Au, and 19 (76 per cent) returned assays greater than two g/t Au, with all 25 samples averaging 7.42 g/t Au in grade. Individual results included 27.60 g/t Au from a non-selective chip channel across the central vein zone (sample AHA-39075), as well as 24 g/t Au and 16.95 g/t Au (samples AHA-39082 and AHA-39083) from two previously unidentified structures approximately one km east of the central Semna area.

Aton provisionally plans to drill 17 RC holes for a total of 3,600 metres at the Semna prospect, and this program is currently expected to start in July, 2023.

Abu Gaharish

Abu Gaharish is located approximately 30 km east of Hamama and 12 km east-northeast of Rodruin. Gold mineralization at Abu Gaharish is interpreted as being related to a significant structural and gold-mineralized zone localized by the contact between the late Gaharish granite pluton and the package of country meta-sedimentary and mafic-to-ultramafic rocks. The mineralization appears to be hosted in a complex series of conjugate and ladder-type structures, and Aton's geologists believe that the Abu Gaharish mineralization bears many similarities to that at the world-class Sukari deposit 200 km to the south. Ground-penetrating radar geophysical profiling (see news release dated March 21, 2018) and ultralow-level multielement ionic leach (mobile metal ion) geochemical analyses from a wadi sediment sampling program (see news release dated Oct. 28, 2021) indicate the potential for blind structures and mineralization under wadi sediments to the west of the contact.

During the current sampling program, 40 samples were collected from the Abu Gaharish area, over a three km strike length along the granite contact, with selected results shown in an attached table. Four of the samples were non-selective chip channel samples, and the remainder were selective grab or grab composite samples. Aton has previously reported surface channel sample intercepts, including 1.04 g/t Au over a 31.2 m interval (see news release dated Dec. 19, 2017), and individual non-selective grab samples grading up to 157 g/t Au (see news release Oct. 28, 2021) from Abu Gaharish.

Six (15 per cent) of the Abu Gaharish samples from the current program returned assays greater than 10 g/t, and 16 (40 per cent) returned assays greater than one g/t Au, including individual samples grading up to 67.5 g/t Au (sample AHA-50132).

Aton has developed a provisional 28-hole RC drilling program for a total of 4,040 metres at Abu Gaharish, and this drilling is currently expected to start in early June, 2023.

Bohlog

Bohlog is located approximately 17 km east-northeast of Hamama and eight km north of Rodruin, and was a significant mining area in ancient times. Illegal artisanal miners have again been active in the Bohlog area in recent years. The gold mineralization at Bohlog is spatially related to the late Bohlog granite, which is intruded into early orogenic grey granites. The geological setting, with mineralization close to the margin of a late granite, a distinctive gold-tungsten-lead-copper geochemical signature, and the strong structural controls all indicate similarity to the mineralization at Abu Gaharish.

In early 2017, the company's field crews carried out a program of grab and channel sampling, which returned assays of up to 21.1 g/t Au (see news release dated June 7, 2017). Follow-up deep trenching returned mechanical saw-cut channel sample intercepts, including 1.57 g/t Au over a 20 m interval and 1.65 g/t Au over a nine m interval (see news release dated Feb. 28, 2018).

During the current sampling program, 17 non-selective grab samples were collected from the general Bohlog area, with selected results shown in an attached table.

Eight (47 per cent) of the Bohlog samples from the current program returned assays greater than two g/t, including individual samples grading up to 54.90 g/t Au (sample AHA-50070) and 48.4 g/t Au (sample AHA-50070), from a previously unsampled zone, approximately three km east-southeast of the main Bohlog area.

Aton is currently developing an RC drilling program for the Bohlog prospect, which it plans to drill as part of the continuing RC drilling program.

Sir Bakis gold mine

The historical Sir Bakis gold mine is located approximately 12 km northeast of Hamama and 10 km northwest of the Rodruin deposit, and was also mined underground between 1904 and 1906 by a British company. In recent years, the Semna area has again been recently extensively exploited by illegal artisanal miners.

Previous surface exploration and reconnaissance by the company have returned 150 g/t Au and 32.9 g/t Au from grab samples, and 29.5 g/t Au from channel samples (see news release dated Sept. 13, 2017). Follow-up deep trenching returned wide mechanical saw-cut channel sample intercepts of low-grade surface mineralization, including 0.21 g/t Au over a 109.1 m interval and 0.36 g/t Au over a 45.85 m interval (see news release dated March 19, 2018).

During the current sampling program, eight non-selective grab samples were collected from the general Sir Bakis area, which returned assays including 9.62 g/t Au and 6.61 g/t Au (see an attached table).

Aton is again currently developing an RC drilling program for the Sir Bakis area, which it intends to drill as part of the continuing RC drilling program.

Massaghat

The Massaghat prospect is located approximately 15 km east-northeast of Hamama and about 10 km west-northwest of Rodruin. The company sampled the area in 2012, returning assays of 470 g/t Au and 17.9 g/t Au (see news release dated Aug. 15, 2012). Follow-up sampling in 2017 returned mineralized intercepts, including 7.06 g/t Au over a 2.7 m interval from channel samples (see news release dated Dec. 4, 2017).

During the current sampling program, 14 non-selective grab and grab composite samples were collected from the Massaghat area, which returned assays including 34.50 g/t Au and 2.53 g/t Au (see an attached table).

Sample processing and analytical procedures

Samples were collected in the field by Aton's exploration teams. Grab, grab composite and chip composite samples were selective, whereas chip channel samples were non-selective. Chip channel samples were collected in situ by manually rock chipping across potentially mineralized structures or veins, using a hammer and chisel. Chip composite samples were also collected manually from in situ exposures, using a hammer and chisel, but were more selective in nature. Grab and grab composite samples were selective, and may have been, but were not necessarily, collected in situ, and may have been collected from rock dumps or float material, for example.

The samples were weighed and crushed to minus-four millimetres on site at the Rodruin sample preparation facility, and split to a nominal 250 g to 500 g sample size. The coarse-crushed reject samples are retained on site.

The dried, crushed and split samples were shipped to ALS Minerals' sample preparation laboratory in Marsa Alam, Egypt, where they were pulverized to a size fraction of better than 85 per cent passing 75 micrometres. From this pulverized material, a further subsample was split off with a nominal 50 g size, which was shipped on to ALS Minerals in Rosia Montana, Romania, for analysis. The reject pulps were returned from ALS, and are also retained on site.

Samples were analyzed for gold by fire assay with an atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) finish (analytical code Au-AA23), and for silver, copper, lead and zinc using an aqua regia digest followed by an AAS finish (analytical code AA45). Any high-grade gold samples (greater than 10 g/t Au) were reanalyzed using analytical code Au-GRA21 (also fire assay, but with a gravimetric finish). Any high-grade Ag and base metal samples (silver greater than 100 g/t, and copper, lead and zinc greater than 10,000 parts per million or greater than 1 per cent) were reanalyzed using ore-grade technique AA46 (also an aqua regia digest followed by an AAS finish).

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 world-class Sukari gold mine. Aton has identified numerous gold and base metal exploration targets at Abu Marawat, including the Hamama deposit in the west, the Abu Marawat deposit in the northeast and the advanced Rodruin exploration prospect in the south of the concession. Two historical British gold mines are also located on the concession at Sir Bakis and Semna. Aton has identified several distinct geological trends within Abu Marawat, which display potential for the development of a variety of styles of precious metal and base metal mineralization. Abu Marawat is 447.7 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, as are the international airports at Hurghada and Luxor.

Qualified person

The technical information contained in this news release was prepared by Javier Orduna, BSc (honours), MSc, MCSM, DIC, MAIG, SEG(M), exploration manager of Aton Resources. Mr. Orduna is a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 -- Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

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