Athena Gold samples up to 20.8 g/t Au at Laird Lake

Executive Summary

• Athena Gold Corp. announced high-grade gold showings at its Laird Lake project in Ontario's Red Lake district, specifically the new Rigby showing which returned up to 20.8 g/t Au over a 40-meter strike length.
• The company has submitted drill permits for a maiden drill program scheduled to commence in Q1 2026, aiming to test geophysical and geological targets identified through historical data reinterpretation.
• Additional prospecting at Nemo and Hugo targets confirmed widespread anomalous gold potential, supporting the decision to proceed with drilling to test Generation 1 and Generation 2 mineralization controls.

Key Details

• Rigby Showing Results:
  • Maximum gold value: 20.8 g/t Au.
  • Structure traced for over 40 meters of strike length, open in both directions.
  • 12 samples collected; 8 returned >1 g/t Au, and 5 returned >10 g/t Au.
  • Mineralization hosted in ~1m wide sheared mafic volcanic rock with highly deformed quartz veins.
  • Highest values from quartz-pyrite veins; sheared host rock contained low-grade values up to 0.23 g/t Au.
• Additional Prospecting:
  • Nemo and Hugo geochemical targets returned anomalous gold in altered and pyrite-mineralized volcanic outcrops/subcrops.
• Drill Program Plans:
  • Permits submitted for Laird Lake project.
  • Expected start: Q1 2026.
  • Program size: Approximately 5,000 meters.
  • Objective: Test compelling geophysical and geological targets.
• Geological Context & Targets:
  • Generation 1: East-west orientation, replacement-style mineralization (pyrite, arsenopyrite, tourmaline).
  • Generation 2: Northeast orientation, locally cutting Generation 1; hosted in quartz-pyrite-chalcopyrite veins.
  • Historical high-grade reference: Up to 373 g/t Au (from Dec. 4, 2024 release).
  • SkyTEM Data: Winter drill program will leverage historical SkyTEM magnetic and EM data.
  • Identified conductive bodies (targets G1 to G6) representing confluence of interpreted structures.
  • Future assays will include critical minerals: copper, nickel, and/or platinum group elements (PGEs).
• QA/QC Protocols:
  • Samples transported to Agat Labs Thunder Bay.
  • Dried to 60°C, passed through 2mm sieve, split to 250g.
  • Pulverized to 85% passing 75 micrometers.
  • Analysis: 25g subsets via aqua regia ICP-OES and MS digestion; 50g subsets via FA-AAS.
  • Overlimit Au samples (>10 g/t) underwent additional 50g gravimetric analysis by fire assay fusion.

Notable Quotes

• "We are pleased to see our continued exploration efforts at Laird bear fruit, with new high-grade gold occurrences found within only 100 m of the road, with prolific head frames in Red Lake in plain sight. The earlier results from the till program have helped guided us here. With a solid mix of geochemical and geophysical targets, we've begun discussions with several local drill contractors to prepare for our maiden drill program, expected to take place in early 2026." — Koby Kushner, Chief Executive Officer