Athena Gold Provides Exploration Update From Excelsior Springs, Nevada

Executive Summary

• Mammoth Minerals reported multiple high‑grade gold intercepts from its RC drilling program on the Buster Trend of the Excelsior Springs Project, expanding the known mineralized zone westward and down‑dip.
• Athena Gold disclosed a grant of 2,020,000 stock options to directors (CDN$0.06 exercise price) and issuance of 100,000 common shares to Wabauskang First Nation at CDN$0.065 per share.

Key Details

• Drilling Intercept Highlights
• 33.54 m @ 1.25 g/t Au from surface (hole MEXRC2617) – includes 9.15 m @ 3.18 g/t Au starting at 18.29 m and 3.05 m @ 7.70 g/t Au starting at 51.83 m.
• 13.72 m @ 1.15 g/t Au from 62.5 m (hole MEXRC2601).
• 7.62 m @ 2.10 g/t Au from 219.51 m (hole MEXRC2605) – extends mineralization >100 m down‑dip, open below 180 m.

• 12.20 m @ 2.56 g/t Au from surface (hole MEXRC2613).

• Exploration Impact

• New mineralized area located ~100 m west of previous drilling; further strike and down‑dip drilling planned to increase confidence and expand footprint.

• RC program continues along strike and down‑dip to delineate Buster Trend resources.

• Option Grant (Equity Incentive Plan)

• 2,020,000 stock options granted to certain directors.
• Exercise price: CDN$0.06 per common share.
• Vesting: immediate; expiration: 10 years from grant date.

• Subject to CSE approval and a statutory hold period of four months.

• Share Issuance

• 100,000 common shares issued to Wabauskang First Nation at a deemed price of CDN$0.065 per share under an exploration agreement dated Feb 20 2026 (previously announced Mar 2 2026).

• Shares subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day.

• Qualified Person Statement

• Technical information reviewed and approved by Benjamin Kuzmich, P.Geo., VP Exploration, Athena Gold Corp.

Notable Quotes

(No direct quotes were provided in the release.)