Marathon Drills 6.31 g/t over 17.0 meters in Deeper Zone of the Marathon Deposit, Valentine Lake Gold Camp

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - December 14, 2016) - Marathon Gold Corp. ("Marathon" or the "Company") (TSX: MOZ) is very pleased to announce continued growth of the underground high-grade zone of the Marathon Deposit, Valentine Lake Gold Camp. The new deeper drilling succeeded in intersecting wide intervals of high-grade gold at depth including 6.31 g/t Au (uncut) over 17.0 meters in MA-16-149 and 7.77 g/t Au over 5.0 meters in extended MA-16-115. The overall strike length of the deeper mineralized zone of the Marathon Deposit now exceeds 400 meters (Figure 1). Drilling success was also achieved in shallow infill drilling, hanging-wall drilling and southwest step-out drilling with infill drill hole MA-16-146 intersecting 2.22 g/t Au over 24.0 meters including 14.78 g/t Au over 2.0 meters as well as 3.39 g/t Au over 6.0 meters, hanging-wall drill hole MA-16-139 intersecting 11.63 g/t Au (uncut) over 10.0 meters including 55.91 g/t Au (uncut) over 2.0 meters and 2.17 g/t Au over 11.0 meters including 4.24 g/t Au over 5.0 meters, and step-out drill hole MA-16-144 intersecting 6.77 g/t Au over 6.0 meters including 17.29 g/t Au over 2.0 meters. The 50-100-meter-wide (TT) sub-vertical mineralized corridor of the Marathon Deposit is open along strike and now extends to depth in excess of 350 meters.

Drilling has now stopped for the Christmas season and will resume again in early January with two drills focused on developing more open-pit and underground resources in anticipated of the 2017 resource update.

Highlights:

• Best intercepts in deeper drill holes MA-16-149, extended MA-16-115, and MA-16-147 included 7.33 g/t Au over 2.0 meters and 6.31 g/t Au (uncut) over 17.0 meters with 15.08 g/t Au (uncut) over 3.0 meters, 9.74 g/t Au over 2.0 meters and 14.56 g/t Au over 2.0 meters as well as 4.38 g/t Au over 4.0 meters and 3.57 g/t Au over 3.0 meters in MA-16-149; 3.11 g/t Au over 3.0 meters and 7.77 g/t Au over 5.0 meters in extended MA-16-115; and 3.32 g/t Au over 6.0 meters in MA-16-147. These new intercepts occur between 90 - 130 meters down-dip from previously drilling. The deeper higher-grade mineralized zone, intersected in previously released drill holes MA-16-101, 107, 111, 112, 113, 116, 127, 128, 130, 136 and MA-15-047 and 032, now has a strike length in excess of 400 meters (Figure 1).
• Shallow infill drill holes targeted within the 2015 resource pit shell of the Marathon Deposit intersected significant gold intervals with MA-16-146 intersecting 2.22 g/t Au over 24.0 meters including 14.78 g/t Au over 2.0 meters as well as 3.39 g/t Au over 6.0 meters, and MA-16-141 intersecting 2.01 g/t Au over 5.0 meters and 3.91 g/t Au over 3.0 meters.
• Shallow drill holes collared northwest into the hanging wall of the Marathon Deposit intersected significant intervals of high grade gold with MA-16-139 returning intervals of 11.63 g/t Au (uncut) over 10.0 meters including 55.91 g/t Au (uncut) over 2.0 meters and 2.17 g/t Au over 11.0 meters including 4.24 g/t Au over 5.0 meters, and MA-16-140 with 3.05 g/t Au over 3.0 meters.
• Step-out drilling 300 meters southwest of the 2015 resource pit shell of the Marathon Deposit succeeded in intersecting good intervals of high-grade good with MA-16-144 returning 6.77 g/t Au over 6.0 meters including 17.29 g/t Au over 2.0 meters as well as 2.91 g/t Au over 3.0 meters.
• The 50-100 meter-wide and sub-vertical Marathon Deposit alteration and mineralized corridor, including the 2015 open pit resource shell, extends along strike for at least 1.7 kilometers (Figure 1). The 35,000-meter drill program will continue in early January 2017, with the goal of expanding gold resources at the Leprechaun, Sprite, Marathon and Victory Deposits as well as developing new resources at other exploration targets throughout the Valentine Lake Gold Camp.

"Marathon Gold Corp. has been extremely successful throughout 2016. The Company has had very positive drill results to be added to the forthcoming 2017 resource update, announced very positive new metallurgical results for both traditional milling and heap leach options at the Marathon and Leprechaun Deposits, and raised $8 M of flow through financing. Combined with $3 M in treasury. Marathon is positioned to aggressively continue exploring primarily with drill for new resources throughout 2017," said Phillip Walford, President and CEO of Marathon. "We thank all the Marathon crew for their dedication and hard-work in making 2016 such a successful exploration year, wish all a very Merry Christmas, and look forward to another successful exploration year as we focus on maximizing the forthcoming resource update planned for the second quarter of 2017."

TABLE 1: Significant fire assay intervals from drill holes MA-16-137, MA-16-139 to MA-16-142, MA-16-144, MA-16-146 to MA-16-149 and extended MA-16-115, Marathon Gold Deposit, Valentine Lake Gold Camp.

• No significant intervals in MA-16-138 and MA-16-145
• MA-16-143 abandoned at 41m due to faulting

All of the samples were fire assayed at Eastern Analytical Laboratory Ltd., in Springdale, Newfoundland.

Marathon Gold Corp. acknowledges the financial support of the JEA Program, Department of Natural Resources, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Research and Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador has granted approximately 75% of the costs of the current metallurgical program to Marathon Gold and we appreciate this support.

Sherry Dunsworth, M.Sc., P. Geo., VP of Exploration, Marathon's Qualified Person, has reviewed the contents for accuracy and has approved this press release on behalf of Marathon.

About Marathon Gold Corporation

Marathon is a Toronto based gold resource company focused on its 100% owned Valentine Lake Gold Camp located in central Newfoundland. The Valentine Lake Gold Camp currently hosts four near-surface, mainly pit-shell constrained, gold resources totaling 1,060,100 oz. gold at 2.20 g/t (Measured & Indicated) and 200,000 oz. gold at 2.85 g/t (Inferred), (April 2015). These resources, open along strike and to depth, cover less than 10% of the total length of the highly prospective Valentine Lake Thrust Fault and associated splay faults which host the majority of the gold mineralization within the property. For more information please visit www.marathon-gold.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
Except for statements of historical fact relating to Marathon Gold Corp., certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or include words such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "believes", "considers", "intends", "targets", or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "may", "will", "should", "would" and "could". We provide forward-looking statements for the purpose of conveying information about our current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to those identified and reported in Marathon Gold Corp.'s public filings, which may be accessed at www.sedar.com. Other than as specifically required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, whether as a result of new information, future events, results or otherwise.

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Contact

For more information, please contact:

Christopher Haldane
Investor Relations Manager
Tel: 1-416-987-0714
E-mail: chaldane@marathon-gold.com

Phillip Walford
President and Chief Executive Officer
Tel: 1-416-987-0711
E-mail: pwalford@marathon-gold.com