Athena identifies geophysical targets at Laird Lake

Mr. Koby Kushner reports ATHENA DEFINES GEOPHYSICAL TARGETS AND MOBILIZES FIELD CREW AT LAIRD LAKE Athena Gold Corp. has identified promising geophysical targets at its Laird Lake gold project in Ontario's prolific Red Lake gold district. Recent analysis of historical geophysics has highlighted at least six distinct zones of electromagnetic anomalism (G1 to G6), complementing the recently announced geochemical till anomalies (see press release dated Sept. 4, 2025). Concurrently, Athena has mobilized a field crew to follow up on these anomalies and refine targets ahead of its maiden drilling campaign, planned for this coming winter. Highlights: High-resolution SkyTEM survey: A 2017 SkyTEM EM and magnetic survey, conducted by a previous operator at 50-metre line spacing, identified six geophysical anomalies (G1 to G6) within the top 300 metres of the Laird Lake project area. These anomalies are hosted within the Balmer assemblage, a critical geological unit for gold mineralization in the Red Lake gold district. The previous operator had not drilled the project postcompletion of the SkyTEM survey, indicating untested potential. G1 anomaly: interpreted as a shallow folded banded iron formation (BIF). Surface sampling along strike returned anomalous gold values up to 0.7 gram per tonne gold in BIF, coincident with undocumented historical hand-dug trenches. G6 anomaly: A 2016 drill program coincidentally intersected the margin of the G6 anomaly, encountering a sulphide-rich, silica-diopside-altered mafic unit with anomalous gold values, confirming the prospectivity of these geophysical targets. Athena mobilizes field crew: Athena initiates a field program to ground-truth these newly defined targets, along with the recently defined targets (announced Sept. 4, 2025), to delineate drill targets for its maiden drill program. Additionally, Athena has pending assays results from the recently completed phase 1 prospecting program. Strategic location: The 7,457-hectare Laird Lake project spans over 20 kilometres of the Balmer-Confederation assemblage contact, a key structural feature hosting over 90 per cent of the gold mined in the Red Lake gold district. The project is road-accessible, located 10 kilometres west of West Red Lake Gold's Madsen mine and 34 km northwest of Kinross Gold's Great Bear project. "Laird Lake continues to impress, proving to be more target-rich than we previously thought, with potential for multiple styles of gold mineralization as indicated by both the geophysical and geochemical anomalies," said Koby Kushner, president and chief executive officer of Athena. "We anxiously await results from the phase 1 prospecting program and are excited to commence a follow-up program to ground-truth the till anomalies. This follow-up work will be instrumental in refining our high-priority targets for our upcoming winter drilling program, positioning Laird Lake as one of the next exciting grassroots plays to be tested in the Red Lake gold district." Exploration context and next steps The geophysical anomalies were identified through reanalysis of a 2017 SkyTEM survey, which utilized high-resolution electromagnetic and magnetic data to map shallow conductors within the Balmer assemblage. Unlike the recently identified till anomalies (Nemo, Bounty, Hugo and Chungus), which are interpreted to reflect near-surface, disseminated gold mineralization detected through Athena's 2025 till sampling program, the geophysical anomalies lack surface expression and are considered buried targets. The SkyTEM survey is optimized for connected or massive sulphide deposits, suggesting that the geophysical targets (G1 to G6) may represent distinct mineralization styles from the disseminated till anomalies, enhancing the project's exploration potential. Athena's systematic, data-driven approach integrates advanced data sets, including lidar, geological mapping, geochemical sampling, magnetics and EM surveys, to derisk exploration. The G1 anomaly, with its associated surface sampling (0.7 gram per tonne Au) and historical trenching, and the G6 anomaly, validated by historical drilling, are priority targets for Athena's maiden drilling program. The field crew will follow up the successful completion of the 2025 till survey (2,048 samples) and investigate the newly acquired land package expansion to 7,457 hectares, announced in July and September, 2025, respectively. The coming winter drilling campaign will test both geophysical and geochemical targets, aiming to confirm high-grade vein and disseminated gold mineralization proximal to the Balmer-Confederation contact. Quality assurance/quality control The technical information presented in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Benjamin Kuzmich, PGeo, vice-president of exploration for Athena, 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 grams per tonne gold. 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. 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.). Excelsior Springs 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.