Mr. Steven Dean reports

ARTEMIS PROVIDES UPDATE ON BLACKWATER SITE ACTIVITIES

Artemis Gold Inc. has provided an update on the site activities related to the advancement of the Blackwater gold project in central British Columbia. In support of the definitive feasibility study (DFS) and in preparation for commencement of construction for Blackwater, Artemis has been conducting the following activities:

1. Ore grade control drilling to refine the detailed grade schedule and mine plan for the first year of production;
2. Metallurgical test work;
3. Geotechnical drilling as part of site preparation work;
4. Work advancing the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) proposals associated with the process plant and power line;
5. A BC Hydro study.

The work program in the first six months of 2021 is on track to culminate with the completion of the DFS on Blackwater by mid-2021.

Ore grade control drilling program

To date, the company has completed approximately 22,500 metres of ore grade control drilling over 396 holes with a total of 7,376 samples prepared and dispatched for analysis to SGS Canada Inc. in Burnaby, B.C. The total program is expected to be completed by April for a total of approximately 35,000 metres of reverse circulation (RC) drilling planned.

Initial test work at the laboratory focused on comparing conventional assay methods (fire assay and four-acid digestion) with the LeachWell assaying method. Results to date have exhibited excellent repeatability between those assay methods. Approximately 1,794 assay results were received as at the end of February.

The RC ore grade control drilling program is focused on an area in the southwestern portion of the Blackwater pit, scheduled to be mined in year 1 of operations as per the company's 2020 prefeasibility study ("Blackwater Gold Project British Columbia NI 43-101 Technical Report on Pre-Feasibility Study"; with an effective date of Aug. 26, 2020, available on the company's website and on SEDAR). The program is expected to provide up to 16 times higher data density than what was used for the mineral resource estimate incorporated into the 2020 PFS to allow optimization of grade selectivity and mine schedule for managing ore to be processed. This practice is expected to significantly derisk mine performance, particularly in the initial years of production.

Metallurgical test work

As part of the ore grade control drilling program, the company is also performing metallurgical test work on the sampled RC material, which increases the company's metallurgical sample size by 1,794 samples to assess variability of gold and silver recoveries. Samples are subjected to the LeachWell assay process with the grade of the residual tails fire assayed and compared with whole-material fire assay results in order to estimate net recoverable gold and silver. To date, the LeachWell test work has returned an average gold recovery of 95.7 per cent with an average silver recovery of 71.4 per cent, which further supports the life of mine estimates for gold recovery of 93 per cent and silver recovery of 65 per cent estimated in the 2020 PFS.

Geotechnical drilling

A geotechnical drilling program commenced in November, 2020, to support detailed design of the tailings storage facility and the freshwater reservoir for Blackwater. This program included downhole seismic surveys and was further in January, 2021, to incorporate additional drilling within the proposed plant-site area. The company is pleased to announce the successful completion of the expanded program with 28 holes drilled for a total of 1,395 metres.

GMP proposals

Artemis is working to secure GMP proposals for the processing facility and transmission line for Blackwater to reduce risk and mitigate the potential for capital cost and schedule overruns by entering into fixed-price contracts for these components of the initial construction capital costs. Final GMP proposals for the processing plant have been received and are being evaluated with the selection of a preferred bidder on the processing plant expected to be announced in March, 2021. Once the preferred bidder is selected, Artemis will begin negotiations and finalize detailed engineering and commercial terms on a fixed-price engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract. The company is targeting a final fixed-price EPC contract for the processing facility in Q3 2021. Further updates related to the power line GMP will be provided in Q2 2021.

BC Hydro study

A system impact study has been initiated with BC Hydro to determine the scope and cost of interconnection requirements for Blackwater. The preliminary results of the study are expected in April, 2021, with a final study targeted for release in May, 2021.

Steven Dean, chairman and chief executive officer, commented: "The Blackwater gold project continues to advance rapidly, with announcements on the preferred GMP contractors and lead project debt providers expected shortly. Artemis remains on track to release the results of its definitive feasibility study for Blackwater by mid-2021."

Further updates will be provided by the company in due course.

Technical disclosure

All grade control work and metallurgical test work referenced in this press release have been completed by SGS Canada Inc., based in Burnaby, B.C. Test work was completed using one-kilogram LeachWell accelerated cyanide leach (gold and silver), ICP-MS finish. Residues and head samples were assayed using 50-gram fire assay, AAS finish (gold). All silver results are assayed though four-acid digestion of two-gram subsamples, AAS finish.

Data verification consisted of ensuring that the samples selected came from within the area where mineral reserves were estimated and that the selected samples were representative of the ore to be mined. The qualified person checked that the sampling protocol used was applicable for the planned test work. In the qualified person's opinion, the test work conducted was completed by a reputable geochemical/metallurgical testing facility and used industry-standard methods. The qualified person has visited the test work facility.

Qualified person

Klaus Popelka, PGeo, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release.

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