Mr. Steve Roebuck reports

AVIDIAN GOLD'S REVIEW OF 2020 HIGHLIGHTS AND 2021 EXPLORATION PLANS

Avidian Gold Corp. has provided a summary of the major 2020 exploration accomplishments, 2020 corporate activity and its 2021 exploration/corporate plans. The 2020 exploration program focused primarily on the Amanita property, located five kilometres southwest and adjacent to the Fort Knox gold mine situated within the Fairbanks gold mining district in Alaska. A small exploration program was also carried out on the Golden Zone property in preparation for a 2021 program. Both the Amanita and Golden Zone properties are situated within the prolific Tintina mineral belt, which is known to host numerous multimillion-ounce gold deposits. Both properties are accessible on a year-round basis.

Avidian was able to successfully conduct its exploration programs during the COVID-19 pandemic and operated with preventive COVID-19 protocols in place and is pleased to report that no COVID-19-related cases occurred.

Key exploration results from Avidian's 2020 exploration programs follow.

Amanita property, Alaska:

• Completed a high-resolution drone magnetic survey (443.6 line kilometres) over the entire property at 50-metre line spacing with selected areas flown at a 25-metre line spacing in order to assist with continuing drill targeting;
• Completed a helicopter-borne lidar survey, which also provided an orthophoto to aid its 2020 drill program and future drill programs;
• Completed nine HQ-diameter oriented core holes for a total of 1,945 metres as follows:
  • Three core holes (AM20-1, AM20-2 and AM20-8) were drilled in the vicinity of trench C and trench D (completed in 2019) to test the northeast-southwest-trending zone of gold mineralization;
  • Two core holes (AM20-3 and AM20-4) drilled to test for possible northeast-southwest-trending parallel gold zones anywhere from 20 metres to 250 metres southeast of hole AM20-2;
  • Three core holes (AM20-5, AM20-6 and AM20-7; note that hole AM20-6 was abandoned at 54.25 metres due to rock conditions and hole AM20-7 was drilled at the same collar location) drilled to test for a possible strike extension of mineralized trenches on trend with hole AM20-1 and AM20-2) 140 metres to the northeast and 230 metres to the southeast, respectively);
  • One hole (AM20-9) drilled 1.1 kilometres southwest of the trenches to test possible southwest extension of the mineralization coincident with geophysical targets;
• Complete hole assay results have only been received for holes AM20-1 and AM20-2, with the remainder of the balance of the core hole results pending; drill holes AM20-01 and AM20-02 were designed to test for the downdip extent of the mineralization encountered in trenches C-North and D-West, respectively; the mineralization between these two trenches trends in a northeast direction over a strike extent of at least 200 metres; highlights from these holes are listed as follows:
  • Gold mineralization was encountered in both holes, with the highlight being 22.72 metres of 3.11 grams per tonne gold from hole AM20-02; this intersection occurs approximately 60 metres below trench D-West, which returned 27.0 metres of 4.22 grams per tonne gold (see press release dated Jan. 7, 2020);
  • AM20-01 was designed to pass under the north-trending intersection of 22.5 metres of 11.51 grams per tonne gold in trench C-North and intercept this zone at a vertical depth of approximately 50 metres; the upper 75 metres of AM20-01 is structurally complex and movement along these structures likely displaced the mineralization as no significant mineralization was intercepted in the upper part of the hole; several thin anomalous (greater than 0.25 gram per tonne) gold values were encountered, including 3.12 metres of 1.39 grams per tonne gold at a depth of 95 metres; the structural complexity in the upper 75 metres of AM20-01 is also evident in the propertywide magnetic survey that indicates multiple major structural trends intersecting in the area of AM20-01;
  • Hole AM20-02 was designed to test the downdip extension of trench D-West intersection of 27.0 metres of 4.22 grams per tonne gold, interpreted to reflect the same mineralized zone targeted by hole AM20-01; the upper parts of the hole contain intersections of 4.54 metres of 0.68 gram per tonne gold and 6.10 metres of 1.49 grams per tonne gold, but the highlight intersection is 33.89 metres of 2.56 grams per tonne gold, which includes 27.22 metres of 3.11 grams per tonne gold, which itself includes 12.87 metres of 6.23 grams per tonne gold; this intersection lies approximately 60 metres below the trench D-West intersection, demonstrating its downdip extension; this mineralization remains open at depth and along strike.

Golden Zone property, Alaska:

• A helicopter lidar and orthophoto survey was flown over the entire property;
• A 588.7-line-kilometre drone-mag magnetometer survey was flown over the northern portion of the property covering the Breccia Pipe deposit area;
• Staked an additional 1,975 hectares (4,880 acres) of claims adjoining the southwestern portion of the property along the strike extension of the newly discovered MJ mineral occurrence (grab samples of 5.17 grams per tonne gold and 4.2 grams per tonne gold plus 2.77 per cent copper), extending the mineralized trend to 19 kilometres in strike length and overall property size to 125.3 square kilometres; three mineral occurrences are located on the newly staked area known as Silver Kitty, Ready Cash and Canyon Creek;
• Immediately west of the Silver Kitty occurrence, described as a chalcopyrite- and sphalerite-bearing skarn adjacent to a porphyritic stock, a grab sample returned 12.5 grams per tonne gold; this sample is located approximately 500 metres southwest and on trend with the MJ discovery;
• At the Ready Cash occurrence, a grab sample returned 0.4 gram per tonne gold, 17.7 grams per tonne silver and 4.7 per cent copper (see press release dated Sept. 30, 2020).

It should be noted that, due to their selective nature, assay results from grab samples noted may not be representative of the overall grade and extent of mineralization on the subject areas. All drill core assays and trench results noted herein are presented in core/sample lengths as at this time there are insufficient data with respect to the orientation of the mineralized intersections to calculate true widths.

Jungo, Nevada

While no fieldwork was conducted during 2020, work permits were approved and granted late in the year. The 1,960-hectare Jungo property, located within the prolific Humboldt trend in northwestern Nevada and proximal to the seven-million-ounce-gold Sleeper and 25-million-ounce-gold Hycroft deposits, is now permitted for exploration work activities, including drilling. The property has several immediately available drill targets situated within a five-kilometre-long, northeast-southwest-trending zone of gold plus copper mineralization.

2020 corporate activity highlights:

• Promoted Steve Roebuck, PGeo, to president;
• Raised $3.7-million as a private placement between Eric Sprott and Crescat Capital LLC, primarily for exploration activities on the Amanita project in Alaska and for general corporate purposes;
• Purchased the Amanita NE property, which is a 418-hectare upland mining lease, located 6.5 kilometres east of Kinross Gold's Fort Knox gold mine and immediately west of Kinross Gold's Gil deposit in the Fairbanks mining district; upon completion of the purchase, Avidian flew a high-resolution lidar and orthophoto survey over the entire property and a drone magnetic survey at 25-metre line spacing (212.9 line kilometres);
• Converted 1,320 acres (5.3 square kilometres) of its 3,607-acre/14.6-square-kilometre Amanita property to an upland mining lease; the Amanita mining lease is valid for 20 years and conveys the exclusive right to explore for minerals within the leased area and the exclusive right to mine, extract and remove all minerals subject to obtaining all the required permits and approvals necessary to be able to mine and produce from the lease area;
• On Oct. 28, 2020, Avdian commenced trading on the OTCQB Venture marketplace under the ticker symbol AVGDF; listing on the OTCQB will increase exposure in the United States and make trading in Avidian stock much more accessible to U.S. investors;
• Avidian's majority controlled private subsidiary High Tide Resources Corp. completed a four-hole, 999-metre drilling program on its Labrador West Iron ore property, designed to test the lithological and grade continuity between several key and widely spaced historical Rio Tinto Exploration Canada Inc. drill holes completed on the property from 2010 to 2012; the property (2,475 hectares) is well located with respect to infrastructure and in close proximity to Rio Tinto/Iron Ore Company of Canada's 23-million-tonne-per-year Carol Lake iron ore mining operations; High Tide acquired the property in August, 2019, through an option agreement with Altius Resources Inc.; highlight results include (see press release dated Nov. 11, 2020, for further details):
  • Hole 20LB0056 -- 35.3 per cent total iron over 25.7 metres and 33.8 per cent total iron over 60.0 metres;
  • Hole 20LB0057 -- 29.6 per cent total iron over 314.7 metres;
  • Hole 20LB0058 -- 26.9 per cent total iron over 115.7 metres and 31.0 per cent total iron over 57.2 metres;
  • Hole 20LB0059 -- 26.8 per cent total iron over 321.5 metres;
  • Two of the four holes, 20LB0056 and 20LB0058, were stopped while still in high-grade iron oxide mineralization due to bad ground conditions.

Plan for 2021 activities

Avidian currently holds three major property blocks -- two in Alaska and one in Nevada. Each of these properties represents large land positions in recognized, prolific gold belts where historically multimillion-ounce deposits have been discovered. All three properties are at an advanced exploration stage and either host a resource or have drill/trench intercepts of economic interest. They also have historical databases and multiple identified drill-ready targets. In 2021, Avdian's focus will be dominantly on the Amanita and Golden Zone properties.

Amanita and Amanita NE properties, Alaska:

• Follow-up drilling to expand strike and depth of mineralized zones intersected in 2020, particularly in the vicinity of hole AM20-2;
• Scout drilling on targets not tested in 2020;
• Propertywide soil survey to identify new anomalies to drill test.

Golden Zone property, Alaska:

• Resource expansion drilling at Breccia Pipe deposit and MEZ area;
• Scout drilling at Copper King area;
• Further mapping and sampling at new discovery areas to expand their footprint and produce drill targets;
• Expand existing drone magnetic survey to the southwest;
• Additional soil sampling.

Jungo, Nevada:

• If warranted and appropriately financed, initial drilling of established targets.

Corporate -- additional value creation:

• Assist in High Tide's go-public event in the first half of 2021 and spin out the public shares of High Tide to Avidian shareholders in a tax-efficient manner;
• Continue to increase the visibility of Avidian, especially in the United States, through Avidian's OTCQB listing, where there is a high level of interest in domestic gold exploration projects;
• Convert the balance of the State of Alaska claims at Amanita into the existing upland mining lease.

Background information on the Golden Zone property

The property is located 320 kilometres north of Anchorage, Alaska, and is conveniently accessed by a 16-kilometre road west of the main highway between Anchorage and Fairbanks, which is also the main corridor for power and rail between the two cities. The property covers an area of 125.3 square kilometres.

High-grade gold-plus-or-minus-base-metal mineralization (greater than four grams per tonne gold to greater than 25 grams per tonne gold) spatially related to intrusions, which are believed to be at shallow depths, extends along a strike length of 19 kilometres. Mineralization styles include quartz/arsenopyrite/base metal sulphide veins and stockworks, local semi-massive sulphide skarn mineralization and replacement-style mineralization in conglomerate. The multitude of large-footprint targets at Golden Zone indicates this property has district-scale potential.

The property currently hosts a National Instrument 43-101 resource indicated gold resource of 267,400 ounces (4,187,000 tonnes at 1.99 grams per tonne gold) plus an inferred gold resource of 35,900 ounces (1,353,000 tonnes at 0.83 gram per tonne gold).

Background information on the Amanita property

The Amanita property comprises an upland mining lease and State of Alaska claims totalling 1,460 hectares (14.6 square kilometres) and is located 15 kilometres northeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, and approximately five kilometres southwest and contiguous to the Fort Knox open-pit gold mine.

The Amanita property represents an opportunity to identify one or more oxide gold resources within the Tonsina trend structural corridor, which extends directly onto the adjacent Fort Knox gold mine property. Historical drilling along this corridor (referred to as the Tonsina trend) indicates that oxide gold mineralization extends from surface to a depth of at least approximately 150 metres.

Quality assurance/quality control

For precious metal analysis, sampling included insertion of certified standards and blanks into the stream of samples for chemical analysis. Every 20th surface sample was a standard or a blank. Samples were prepared at ALS Global's laboratory in Fairbanks, Alaska, and shipped to its Vancouver facility for gold analysis by fire assay and other elements by ICP analysis. Selected samples were also analyzed by metallic screen analysis. ALS is a certified and accredited laboratory service. Gold results varied from below detection to a high of 22.3 grams per tonne.

For iron ore analysis, sample shipments were securely delivered by courier to Activation Laboratories (ActLabs) in Ancaster, Ont., for sample preparation and analytical testing. Sample preparation was through the laboratory's standard rock preparation protocol, which begins with jaw crushing followed by pulverization of a sample split (250 grams) to generate a pulp having 95 per cent passing a 0.074-millimetre screen. Iron content was measured using the XRF (X-ray fluorescence) technique following lithium metaborate fusion. Prior to fusion, the loss on ignition (LOI), which includes H2O plus, CO2, S and other volatiles, is determined from the weight loss after roasting the sample. The fusion disk is made by mixing the roasted sample with a combination of lithium metaborate and lithium tetraborate. Samples are fused in platinum crucibles using an automated crucible fluxer and automatically poured into platinum moulds for casting. Samples are then analyzed on a Panalytical Axios Advanced wavelength dispersive XRF.

ALS and Actlabs are independent of Avidian Gold and High Tide Resources.

Qualified persons

The technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Dr. Tom Setterfield, PGeo, vice-president, exploration, of Avidian, and Steve Roebuck, PGeo, president of Avidian, who are qualified persons as defined in NI 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Avidian Gold Corp.

Avidian brings a disciplined and veteran team of project managers together with a focus on advanced-stage gold exploration projects in Alaska. Avidian's Golden Zone project hosts an NI 43-101 indicated gold resource of 267,400 ounces (4,187,000 tonnes at 1.99 grams per tonne gold) plus an inferred gold resource of 35,900 ounces (1,353,000 tonnes at 0.83 gram per tonne gold). Additional projects include the Amanita and the Amanita NE gold properties, which are both adjacent to Kinross Gold's Fort Knox gold mine in Alaska, and the Jungo gold/copper property in Nevada.

Avidian is the majority owner of High Tide Resources, a private company with an option on the Labrador West iron ore property located in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Avidian is focused on and committed to the development of advanced-stage mineral projects throughout first-world mining-friendly jurisdictions using industry best practices combined with a strong social licence from local communities. Further details on the corporation and the individual projects, including the NI 43-101 technical report on the Golden Zone property, can be found on the corporation's website.

We seek Safe Harbor.