Mr. Koby Kushner reports

ATHENA GOLD PROVIDES EXPLORATION UPDATE FROM EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, NEVADA

Athena Gold Corp. has provided an exploration update from its Excelsior Springs project in Nevada. Mammoth Minerals Ltd. has been aggressively exploring Excelsior pursuant to its option agreement to earn an 80-per-cent interest in the project over five years, providing Athena a free-carry to definitive feasibility study thereafter (see company press releases dated June 2, 2025, and Aug. 22, 2025). Athena remains a significant shareholder of Mammoth. Mammoth has reported exceptional high-grade silver, gold and critical mineral results from the second phase of reconnaissance channel and rock sampling at the Blue Dick mine prospect, with notable high-grade silver assays up to 17,582 grams per tonne Ag (silver) (see Mammoth press release dated June 15, 2026).

Highlights from Mammoth-Excelsior Springs project, Nevada

• Rock and channel sampling of prospective high-grade trends at the Blue Dick mine prospect delivered bonanza silver grades, increasing confidence and confirming strike continuity across mineralized trends, with significant new assay results including:
  • 0.20 metre at 17,582 g/t Ag, 0.75 g/t Au (gold), 2.76 per cent Cu (copper), 1.72 per cent Sb (antimony) -- MREX00625 -- channel sample;
  • 0.50 m at 3,407 g/t Ag, 0.54 per cent Cu, 0.47 per cent Sb -- MREX00621 -- channel sample;
  • 15,336 g/t Ag, 7.46 g/t Au, 2.53 per cent Cu, 0.31 per cent Sb -- MREX00718 -- grab sample;
  • 3,945 g/t Ag, 14.4 g/t Au, 0.73 per cent Cu, 0.17 per cent Sb -- MREX00721 -- grab sample;
  • 1,760 g/t Ag, 1.98 per cent Cu, 0.32 per cent Sb -- MREX00626 -- grab sample;
  • 1,450 g/t Ag, 1.87 g/t Au, 0.22 per cent Sb -- MREX00745 -- grab sample;
  • 12.2 g/t Au, 48.9 g/t Ag -- MREX00698 -- grab sample.
• channel sampling of adits and rock exposures across the Blue Dick mine prospect has also highlighted critical mineral potential, with significant results including:
  • 3.02 m at 1.61 per cent Cu, 14.3 g/t Ag -- MREX00666-669 -- channel sample;
  • 4.57 m at 1.49 per cent Cu, 24.5 g/t Ag -- MREX00656-661 -- channel sample;
  • 5.84 m at 0.99 per cent Cu -- MREX00643-649 -- channel sample.
• These latest results define high-confidence targets that extend over hundreds of metres of strike within more than six kilometres of prospective strike at Blue Dick, where parallel trends each extend for over three km. These areas will form key targets for the RC drilling program planned to commence in Q3 2026.

Qualified persons statement

The technical information presented in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Benjamin Kuzmich, PGeo, vice-president of exploration for Athena Gold, and the qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 -- Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Readers are cautioned that historical records referred to in this press release have been examined but not verified by a qualified person. Further work is required to verify that historical records referred to in this press release are accurate. Information contained in this press release was taken from Mammoth Minerals' recent press release dated June 15, 2026.

About Athena Gold Corp.

Athena is engaged in the business of mineral exploration and the acquisition of mineral property assets. Its objective is to locate and develop economic precious and base metal properties of merit and to conduct additional exploration drilling and studies on its projects across North America. Athena's Laird Lake project is situated in the Red Lake gold district of Ontario, covering more than 7,000 hectares along more than 10 kilometres of the Balmer-Confederation Assemblage contact, where recent surface sampling results returned up to 373 g/t Au. This underexplored area is road accessible, located about 10 km west of West Red Lake Gold's Madsen mine and 34 km northwest of Kinross Gold's Great Bear project. Also in Northwestern Ontario is Athena's Forester project, a 4,900-hectare land package located less than 30 km southeast of Orla Mining's Musselwhite gold mine, with historical drill intercepts showing strong potential for both high-grade, narrow-vein and low-grade, bulk-tonnage gold mineralization. Meanwhile, Athena's Excelsior Springs project is located in the prolific Walker Lane trend in Nevada, where it is currently under an earn-in option with Mammoth Minerals (formerly Firetail Resources Ltd.). The Excelsior Springs project spans more than 2,500 hectares and includes at least three historic mines.

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