Mr. Kiran Patankar reports

MAPLE GOLD INTERSECTS 2.05 G/T GOLD OVER 108.6 METRES, INCLUDING 3.05 G/T GOLD OVER 55.8 METRES, WITHIN 300-METRE STEP-OUT IN THE NIKA ZONE, DEFINING A NEW HIGH-GRADE, BULK TONNAGE TARGET AT DOUAY

Maple Gold Mines Ltd. has released initial assay results from the first five drill holes completed during the 10,000-metre (m) 2025 winter drill campaign at its 100-per-cent-owned Douay gold project, located along the Casa Berardi-Douay gold trend in Quebec, Canada. Reported assay results include one hole completed in the Nika zone, three holes completed in the porphyry east zone and one hole completed in the central zone (see the attached tables for complete assay results).

Highlights:

• In the Nika zone, drill hole DO-25-338 intersected 2.05 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (Au) over 108.6 m (from 537.4 m downhole or 490 m vertical depth), including 3.05 g/t Au over 55.8 m, and including 4.93 g/t Au over 17 m. This result was within a broader envelope of mineralization that returned 1.43 g/t Au over 169.5 m.
• DO-25-338 is a significant (300 m) downplunge stepout from the nearest drilling in the Nika zone, and is located well below the defined mineralization and conceptual pit shell in the current Douay mineral resource estimate (MRE). These drill results define a new high-grade, bulk-tonnage target that is open at depth and along strike.
• DO-25-338 returned the best intercept drilled to date in the Nika zone and the fifth best intercept ever reported at Douay based on gold accumulation (grade times thickness).
• The company is planning immediate follow-up drill holes to DO-25-338 during this program.
• In the porphyry east zone, drill hole DO-25-334 intersected 15.50 g/t Au over 1.0 m, drill hole DO-25-335 intersected 3.15 g/t Au over 9.0 m, including 14.30 g/t Au over 1.0 m, and drill hole DO-25-336 intersected 0.98 g/t Au over 35.0 m, including 2.31 g/t Au over 9.0 m.

"The company's ambitious 2025 exploration program is already yielding exciting results," stated Kiran Patankar, Maple Gold's president and chief executive officer. "We have only begun to test Douay's resource expansion potential at depth using our improved geological and targeting models. Hole DO-25-338 was a planned 300 m stepout that intersected exceptional grades and widths, including the best intercept drilled to date in the Nika zone and one of the best grade-thickness intercepts ever encountered at Douay, within the syenite that hosts the existing mineral resource. Today's result builds on the consistent gold mineralization previously identified at shallower depths in the Nika zone and defines a new high-grade, bulk-tonnage target at Douay that remains open in multiple directions."

Ian Cunningham-Dunlop, Maple Gold's vice-president, technical services, added: "One of the key objectives of the 2025 program was to test for potential downplunge extensions of higher-grade zones outside the Douay MRE with bulk-tonnage underground resource potential; these initial drill results have achieved this objective in convincing fashion. We are very encouraged by the potential to expand this new zone and the company has secured a second diamond drill rig to immediately begin follow-up drilling. We expect to release a steady stream of assay results over the coming weeks as they are received and interpreted."

Program details

The company has approved a minimum of 10,000 m of diamond drilling at Douay in 2025. Phase I drilling commenced in January, 2025, with an expected duration of approximately four months (see the company's news release dated Jan. 22, 2025). Breakdown of the planned drill meterage is as follows:

• 70 per cent dedicated to derisking and expanding the Douay MRE through strategic infill and stepout holes (along strike and at depth);
• 30 per cent allocated to testing new regional geological and geophysical targets along strike from the Douay MRE and north, within the Taibi Group sediments along favourable lithologic breaks and lithologic contacts.

Key objectives of the program include: (1) targeting sparsely drilled 100 to 200 m gaps between modelled mineral resource domains (both pit constrained and underground) to convert inferred resources to indicated resources; (2) adding new inferred resources along strike, downdip and downplunge of the existing deposit; (3) focusing on the downplunge extensions of higher-grade zones outside the Douay MRE with bulk-tonnage underground resource potential; and (4) testing new regional geophysical targets with the potential for new mineralized zones. The company is leveraging the results of its year-long data compilation exercise to initially target the shallow portions (less than 500 m depth) of the Douay mineralizing system. This approach is intended to improve understanding of the geometry of the known zones and validate key plunge directions in phase I before systematically stepping downplunge and testing at depth during a proposed phase II. This phased approach will allow the company to manage exploration risk and maximize the potential for exploration success.

At the time of writing of this news release, the company has completed more that 50 per cent of the planned 10,000 m at Douay and expects the program to be completed on time and within budget.

Discussion of Nika zone results

The Nika zone is in the northwestern portion of the Douay MRE and is geologically very similar to the main porphyry zone, with both zones hosted within a mixed basalt-syenite intrusive sequence, including thick syenitic dikes that are well mineralized.

Current drilling in the Nika zone has targeted the potential downplunge extension of broad zones of gold mineralization previously identified in drill hole DO-21-282X, which returned 1.76 g/t Au over 100.3 m, including 5.49 g/t Au over 9.6 m, in what was then the best intersection reported in the Nika zone (see the company's news release dated May 26, 2021).

Drill hole DO-25-338, located 300 m downplunge from drill hole DO-21-282X, returned:

• 1.43 g/t over 169.5 m, including 2.05 g/t Au over 108.6 m, including 3.05 g/t Au over 55.8 m, including 5.95 g/t over 7.8 m, and including 4.93 g/t Au over 17.0 m, including 15.31 g/t over 1.9 m (see the attached table).

This result underscores the potential for bulk-tonnage underground gold mineralization at depth at Douay and represents the best hole completed to date in the Nika zone based on gold accumulation (grade times thickness). Gold mineralization in DO-25-338 is hosted within highly fenite-altered (K-feldspar, amphibole, magnetite) syenite, with hydrothermal breccias creating a fracture network filled by fine quartz, carbonate, 5 to 10 per cent disseminated pyrite (locally 15 per cent) and chlorite. The Nika zone remains open both at depth and along strike, and the company plans immediate follow-up drilling to test the area around hole DO-25-338 during this program.

Discussion of porphyry east zone results

The porphyry zone hosts high-tonnage, lower-grade, structurally controlled gold mineralization within the porphyry west, porphyry central and porphyry east zones, and hosts more than 55 per cent of the contained indicated and inferred gold ounces within the Douay MRE (1).

The three drill holes reported herein, DO-25-334, DO-25-335 and DO-25-336, all intersected the modelled porphyry east zone orebody at anticipated depths with promising gold mineralization hosted within the DIC, a mixed zone with basalt intruded by syenite dikes, and a new lower intermediate tuff horizon in the footwall to the DIC, which may be part of the northern Taibi volcaniclastic units. The porphyry east zone remains open both at depth and along strike.

Drilling at the porphyry east zone has been focused on the overall plunging trend of mineralization within and beneath the 2022 modelled pit shell, which was interpreted to be plunging to the southwest. The three drill holes reported herein targeted this trend over a 450-metre downplunge distance and returned encouraging assay results in all three holes:

• Drill hole DO-25-334 and DO-25-335 targeted middle and shallow portions of the porphyry east zone, and returned 15.50 g/t Au over 1.0 m and 3.15 g/t Au over 9.0 m, including 14.30 g/t Au over 1.0 m, respectively.
• Drill hole DO-25-336 tested the extension of the porphyry east gold mineralization 350 m below the bottom of the 2022 modelled pit (450 m downplunge) and intersected 0.98 g/t Au over 35.0 m, including 2.31 g/t Au over 9.0 m.

Discussion of central zone results

The sparsely drilled central zone is located north of the porphyry zone, and east of the northwestern and Nika zones. One drill hole, DO-25-337, was completed on the central zone to extend higher-grade mineralization to depth and returned 5.00 g/t Au over 1.0 m at an approximate vertical depth of 200 m. An additional deeper hole, DO-25-340, was also completed, with assays pending.

Qualified person

Ian Cunningham-Dunlop, PEng (PEO/EGBC/OGQ), vice-president, technical services, of Maple Gold, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information related to exploration and mineral resource matters contained in this news release. Mr. Cunningham-Dunlop is a qualified person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC)

The company implements strict QA/QC protocols at the Douay gold project covering the planning and placing of drill holes in the field, drilling and retrieving the NQ-sized drill core, drill hole surveying, core transport, core logging by qualified personnel, sampling and bagging of one-half cut drill core for analysis, and the transport of samples from site to commercial laboratories for analysis.

All core drilling conducted by the company is oriented. Samples of drill core were cut by a diamond blade rock saw, with half of the cut core placed in individual sealed polyurethane bags and half placed back in the original core box for permanent storage at the Douay site. Sample lengths typically vary from a minimum 0.3 m interval to a maximum 1.5 m interval, with an average 0.5 to 1.0 m sample length. Drill core samples were delivered by truck in sealed woven plastic bags to AGAT laboratory facility in Val d'Or, Que., for sample preparation with final analysis at AGAT Geochemistry Analytical Lab facility in Thunder Bay, Ont., and Calgary, Alta. AGAT Geochemistry operate meeting all requirements of international standards ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and ISO 9001:2015.

For sample preparation, one-half cut drill core is dried and crushed to 90 per cent passing two millimetres (mm), split to 500 grams, pulverizing to 95 per cent passing 105 microns. Gold is determined by fire assay fusion of a 50-gram subsample with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Samples that return values of more than 10 parts per million (ppm) gold from fire assay and ICP-OES are determined by using 50-gram sample fire assay and a gravimetric finish. Selected samples with visible gold or high-grade mineralization are assayed by metallic screen fire assay on a 1.00-kilogram sample. A subsample from the homogenized pulps after sample prep is sent to Calgary, Alta., for the multiacid digestion (four-acid digest) analysis; 0.2 gram is weighed out for each sample for four-acid digest and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma emissions spectrometry or mass spectrometry (ICP-OES/MS). ICP-OES/MS analyzes various metals, including silver, gold, copper, lead and zinc. All AGAT Geochemistry sites comply with ISO/IEC 17025:2017. AGAT Geochemistry follows the quality management and operational guidelines set out in the international standards ISO/IEC 17025, General Requirement for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories, and ISO 9001, Quality Management Systems. The company maintains a robust QA/QC program that includes the collection and analysis of duplicate samples, and the insertion of blanks and standards (certified reference material).

About the Douay/Joutel gold project

The Douay/Joutel gold project is located adjacent to Highway 109 in the heart of Quebec's Abitibi greenstone belt, Canada's premier gold mining jurisdiction. This large, 100-per-cent-owned land package includes the company's flagship Douay gold project, which hosts an established mineral resource (2) containing 511,000 ounces of gold (indicated) and 2.53 million ounces of gold (inferred), as well as the past-producing, high-grade Joutel mine complex (3). The property contains approximately 400 square kilometres of highly prospective geology within the influence of the major gold-bearing Casa Berardi deformation zone. Gold mines in the immediate region include the Casa Berardi gold mine operated by Hecla Mining Company and the Detour Lake gold mine operated by Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd.

About Maple Gold Mines Ltd.

Maple Gold Mines is a Canadian advanced exploration company focused on advancing its 100-per-cent-owned, district-scale Douay/Joutel gold project, located in Quebec's prolific Abitibi greenstone gold belt. Douay/Joutel benefits from exceptional infrastructure access and boasts approximately 400 square kilometres of highly prospective ground, including an established gold mineral resource at Douay with significant expansion potential, as well as the past-producing Telbel and Eagle West mines at Joutel. In addition, the company holds an exclusive option to acquire 100 per cent of the Eagle mine property, a key part of the historical Joutel mining complex.

Maple Gold's property package also hosts a significant number of regional exploration targets along a 55-kilometre strike length of the Casa Berardi deformation zone that have yet to be tested through drilling, making the property ripe for new gold and polymetallic discoveries. The company is currently focused on carrying out exploration and drill programs to grow mineral resources and make new discoveries to establish an exciting new gold district in the heart of the Abitibi.

(1) For additional details, see the technical report for the Douay gold project, entitled, "Technical Report on the Douay and Joutel Projects Northwestern Quebec, Canada Report for NI 43-101," prepared by SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd., with an effective date of March 17, 2022, and dated April 29, 2022.

(2) The Douay project contains indicated mineral resources estimated at 10 million tonnes at a grade of 1.59 g/t Au (containing 511,000 ounces of gold) and inferred mineral resources estimated at 76.7 million tonnes at a grade of 1.02 g/t Au (containing 2,527,000 ounces of gold). See the technical report for the Douay gold project, entitled, "Technical Report on the Douay and Joutel Projects Northwestern Quebec, Canada Report for NI 43-101," prepared by SLR Consulting (Canada), with an effective date of March 17, 2022, and dated April 29, 2022.

(3) The Eagle, Eagle West and Telbel gold mines at Joutel were in production from 1974 to 1993 and produced 1.1 million ounces of gold at an average grade of 6.5 g/t Au (Agnico Eagle Mines' corporate website).

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