Athena receives permits for Laird Lake drilling

Mr. Koby Kushner reports ATHENA RECEIVES PERMITS FOR MAIDEN DRILL PROGRAM AT LAIRD LAKE PROJECT IN ONTARIO'S RED LAKE GOLD CAMP Athena Gold Corp. has received permits (PR 25 00201) for its coming maiden drill program at its flagship Laird Lake project, located in Ontario's world-class Red Lake gold district. With receipts in hand, drill contractors selected and targets further refined (including new geophysical interpretations), the company plans to mobilize in the coming weeks. "Our upcoming program marks a major milestone for Athena, representing our first shot on the net to make a grassroots gold discovery in Ontario. It follows two years of extensive data collection, comprising surface grab sampling, mapping, till geochemistry and geophysical interpretation. This initial, approximately 5,000-metre diamond drilling program will test both geophysical and geochemical anomalies," said Koby Kushner, chief executive officer of Athena. Discussion of drill program An approximately 5,000-metre, eight- to 10-hole diamond drill program has been designed to test geophysical anomalies (G1 and G4-G6) and the Rigby showing within the Bounty geochemical anomaly (see press release dated Nov. 13, 2025). Athena has completed an in-depth review of historical data and supplemented it with new field observations to reinterpret the controls on mineralization. Athena has identified two main controls on mineralization at Laird Lake referred to as Generation 1 and 2. Generation 1 is dominantly in an eastern-western orientation, and is generally observed as a replacement-style mineralization characterized by the presence of pyrite, arsenopyrite and tourmaline. Generation 2 is characterized by a northeastern orientation and locally cutting the first generation. Mineralization is largely hosted within quartz-pyrite-chalcopyrite veins and is able to return high-grade gold values up to 373 grams per tonne gold (see press release dated Dec. 4, 2024). The drill program will leverage the historical SkyTEM magnetic and electromagnetic data. These data have been instrumental in mapping out the various structures that, to date, host all the known gold occurrences. The EM data have outlined a series of conductive bodies (targets G1 to G6) that correspond to a confluence of interpreted structures and represents high-priority drill targets. Additionally, these conductive anomalies have the potential to host critical minerals, particularly copper, nickel and/or platinum group elements. As a result, future analytical results testing these conductors will also assay for these metals in addition to their pathfinders. The geophysical anomalies have also been reprocessed to further refine the targets prior to drilling. The reprocessed SkyTEM data identified multikilometre-long, stacked zones of low to medium conductance, which correspond to magnetic breaks and are interpreted to represent potential sulphide-rich areas. The 2017 drill program completed by Premier Gold Mines Ltd. had intersected broad zones of anomalous gold within these magnetic breaks along strike, returning up to 0.15 g/t over 19 metres (17-LD-003), as well as noting visible gold (17-LD-002) (assessment record 20000015350). The 2026 drill program will focus on the highest conductance anomalies within these trends which is data not previously available during the 2017 program. Additionally, the planned drill holes will intersect multiple zones within each drill hole to maximize success. Exploration agreement Athena is pleased to announce that it has entered into an exploration agreement dated Feb. 20, 2026, with Wabauskang First Nation to promote a co-operative and mutually respectful relationship concerning the Laird Lake project situated in the Red Lake gold district of Ontario or any other additional mining claims or properties in which Athena may acquire an interest, located within the WFN's traditional territory. In connection with the agreement, which transaction is arm's length to Athena, the company has agreed, among other things, to issue 100,000 common shares in the capital of the company, at a deemed price of 6.5 cents per share. The shares issued pursuant to the agreement will be subject to a hold period of four months plus one day from the date of issuance and the resale rules of applicable securities legislation. The issuance of the common shares remains subject to certain conditions, including, but not limited to, receipt of all necessary regulatory and other approvals, including approval from the Canadian Securities Exchange. Qualified person 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, the qualified person for exploration at the Laird Lake project, as defined by National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects). 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 over 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 proposed acquisition of the 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, its 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 Ltd. (formerly, Firetail Resources Ltd.). The Excelsior Springs project spans over 2,500 hectares and covers at least three historic mines. Athena also holds a 100-per-cent interest in its Oneman Lake gold volcanogenic massive sulphide project in Ontario. We seek Safe Harbor.