Mr. Akiba Leisman reports

MAKO MINING PROVIDES Q1 2023 PRODUCTION RESULTS AND CORPORATE UPDATE

Mako Mining Corp. has provided first quarter 2023 (Q1 2023) production results from its San Albino gold mine in northern Nicaragua, which is the seventh full quarter of production results since declaring commercial production on July 1, 2021. Financial results for Q1 2023, including detailed reporting of Mako's operating costs, are expected to be released by the end of this month.

Q1 2023 production highlights:

• 47,238 tonnes mined containing 8,072 ounces of gold at a blended grade of 5.32 grams per tonne gold and 11,001 ounces of silver at a grade of 7.24 grams per tonne silver:
  • 18,029 tonnes mined containing 5,611 oz Au at 9.68 g/t Au and 6,219 oz Ag at 10.73 g/t Ag from diluted vein material;
  • 29,210 tonnes mined containing 2,461 oz Au at 2.62 g/t Au and 4,782 oz Ag at 5.09 g/t Ag from historical dump and other mineralized material above cut-off grade;
  • 36.3:1 strip ratio overall which includes accelerated waste development of the phase 3 in West pit.
• 49,675 tonnes milled containing 10,119 oz Au at a blended grade of 6.34 g/t Au and 7,869 oz Ag at 4.93 g/t Ag:
  • 38 per cent and 62 per cent from diluted vein and historical dump and other, respectively;
  • 587 tonnes per day (tpd) milled at 94-per-cent availability;
  • Recoveries of 82.5 per cent for gold in Q1 2023.
• 144,315 tonnes in stockpile containing 8,563 oz Au at a blended grade of 1.85 g/t Au;
• 8,374 oz Au equivalent recovered and 8,820 oz AuEq sold during the quarter.

Akiba Leisman, chief executive officer of Mako, states: "In Q1 2023 the plant began consistently operating at 600 tonnes per day. The company achieved this milestone of operating at 20 per cent above nameplate capacity with no additional capital requirements. Q1 production was moderately lower than Q4 2022 as the company transitioned from phase 2 to phase 3 mining of the West pit at San Albino. Mining the high-grade phase 3 West pit commenced at the end of April, and production will be further supplemented as Mako begins mining Las Conchitas later this month. A maiden resource at Las Conchitas is nearing completion and is now scheduled to be publicly released in early Q3."

Mining

The mine averaged 588 tpd of diluted vein and historical dump plus other material in Q1 2023 with a strip ratio of 36.3 which included accelerated waste development of the phase 3 in West pit. The current stockpile is 144,315 tonnes containing 8,563 oz Au at 1.85 g/t Au.

Phase 2 mining of diluted vein material from the primary West pit at San Albino concluded in February and was supplemented by diluted vein material coming from the Central and SW pits during the quarter. Beginning in March, the company focused on waste development for phase 3 of the West pit. Beginning the last week of April, mining the high-grade phase 3 diluted vein material began, and permits to begin mining the initial Las Conchitas pits are expected imminently, which will also increase the amount of diluted vein material going forward.

The average grade of the diluted vein was 9.68 g/t Au during the quarter. A combination of geological mapping, additional lab testing and new procedures implemented by the company's mine geologist have all contributed to improved mining selectivity, which limits the amount of preg-robbing material being fed to the plant, thereby enhancing recoveries. New blending processes allowed the mill to maintain high throughput without sacrificing recovery.

Lastly, initial development for a second waste dump began during the quarter with an initial capacity of six million tonnes (Mt) which can eventually be expanded to 23 Mt.

Milling

All components of the 500 tpd gravity and carbon-in-leach processing plant have been fully operational since the beginning of May, 2021. During Q1 2023, the plant has been averaging 587 tpd at 94-per-cent availability, including averaging 607 tonnes per day net of availability in March. In Q1 2023 the plant processed 38 per cent diluted vein material and 62 per cent historical dump plus other material to achieve an average blended grade of 6.34 g/t Au. Gold recovery for the quarter was 82.5 per cent. Due to the transition between phase 2 and phase 3 mining at the West pit of San Albino, there was a relatively lower percentage of diluted vein material available compared with previous months. Now that high-grade diluted vein material from phase 3 of the West pit has commenced along with material coming from Las Conchitas later this month, the relative percentage of diluted vein material will revert toward historical norms of approximately 50 per cent. This will lead to higher gold production levels beginning later this quarter.

The gold recovery in Q1 2023 was very close to the gold recovery during Q4 2022 despite the mill processing rate being 24 tpd higher and the gold head grade being 1.2 g/t lower than the previous quarter. A total of 8,820 gold equivalent ounces (8,721 gold ounces) were sold in Q1 2023.

Qualified person

John Rust, a metallurgical engineer and qualified person (as defined under National Instrument 43-101), has read and approved the technical information contained in this press release. Mr. Rust is a senior metallurgist and a consultant to the company.

Corporate update

Grant of RSUs and options

The company also announces the grant of 540,000 incentive stock options to certain directors, officers, employees and/or consultants. The options will be exercisable, in whole or in part, at a price of $2.13 for a period of five years with vesting in one-quarter equal instalments over a period of three years, with the first 25 per cent vesting on the date of grant.

The company also announces that as part of its incentive plans, it has granted 38,829 restricted stock units (RSUs) to officers of the company. As such, the issuance of the RSUs to insiders is considered a related party transaction within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 -- Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions. The company relies on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements provided under sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(a) of MI 61-101 on the basis that participation in the RSUs by insiders will not exceed 25 per cent of the fair market value of the company's market capitalization. The company will file a material change report in respect of the related party transaction in connection with the grant of RSUs.

About Mako Mining Corp.

Mako Mining is a publicly listed gold mining, development and exploration company. The company operates the high-grade San Albino gold mine in Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua, which ranks as one of the highest-grade open-pit gold mines globally. Mako's primary objective is to operate San Albino profitably and finance exploration of prospective targets on its district-scale land package.

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