Marathon Gold Intersects Wide Interval of Gold Mineralization in the Sprite Zone with 1.85 g/t Au over 20.0m including 16.86 g/t Au over 1.0m

TORONTO, May 4 /CNW/ --
TORONTO, May 4 /CNW/ - Marathon Gold Corporation (MOZ-TSX) announced today the near surface intersection of a wide interval of gold
mineralization in the Sprite Zone, located 700 m northeast along strike
from the Leprechaun Gold Deposit. Drill hole VL-11-264 intersected 1.85
g/t Au over 20.0m including 16.86 g/t Au over 1.0m within 20m of the
surface  (Figure - SZ). Previous historical drilling in the Sprite Zone had returned
additional significant gold values including  2.28g/t Au over 36.51m
including 10.6 m unsampled in the interval and including 19.17 g/t over
3.0m in hole VL - 27. As well, VL-35 intersected 3.18 g/m over 4.1m and
VL-40 had 3.01 g/t in hole VL-50 in 13 drill holes widely spaced over a
750 strike length.

'The wide near surface intercept is a good start to exploring in the
Sprite Zone. It has good potential to add to the gold resource on the
property. Exploration will start up again in a few weeks at Valentine
Lake and we are looking forward to an aggressive summer exploration
program,' said Phillip Walford, President and CEO of Marathon Gold
Corporation.

Highlights:

    --  The wide gold intersection of 1.85 g/t Au over 20.0m with 16.86
        g/t Au over 1.0 in VL-11-264 confirms the potential for
        additional near surface mineralization as we plan future
        exploration drilling at the Sprite Zone
    --  These new drill results show the continuation of near surface
        gold mineralization, including wide intervals with high-grade
        intercepts, in an area at least 700m to the northeast of the
        current NE boundary of the Leprechaun Gold Deposit
    --  Future drilling between the Leprechaun Gold Deposit and Sprite
        Zone will explore the potential for development of an open pit
        that extends the 700m beyond the current Leprechaun pit
        boundary into the Sprite Zone

TABLE 1: Significant Assay Intervals for the Sprite Zone

 ___________________________________________________________
|    DDH  |Section|From (m)|To (m)|Core Width (m)|Gold (g/t)|
|_________|_______|________|______|______________|__________|
|VL-11-260| 11200 |   131  |  134 |         3    |    0.47  |
|_________|_______|________|______|______________|__________|
|VL-11-262| 11175 |   145  |  148 |         3    |    0.65  |
|_________|_______|________|______|______________|__________|
|VL-11-264| 11175 |     8  |   11 |         3    |    1.88  |
|_________|_______|________|______|______________|__________|
|VL-11-264| 11175 |    23  |   43 |         20   |    1.85  |
|_________|_______|________|______|______________|__________|
|including| 11175 |    28  |   29 |         1    |   16.86  |
|_________|_______|________|______|______________|__________|
|VL-11-264| 11175 |    61  |   72 |         11   |    0.45  |
|_________|_______|________|______|______________|__________|
|VL-11-267|11162.5|    66  |   71 |         5    |    0.65  |
|_________|_______|________|______|______________|__________|
|VL-11-267|11162.5|    95  |   98 |         3    |    0.55  |
|_________|_______|________|______|______________|__________|
|VL-11-270|11212.5|    37  |   41 |         4    |    0.56  |
|_________|_______|________|______|______________|__________|
|VL-11-270|11212.5|    73  |   76 |         3    |    1.02  |
|_________|_______|________|______|______________|__________|
|VL-11-277| 11200 |    38  |   41 |         3    |    0.73  |
|_________|_______|________|______|______________|__________|
|VL-11-279|11187.5|    29  |   36 |         7    |    0.89  |
|_________|_______|________|______|______________|__________|
|including|11187.5|    29  |   32 |         3    |    1.59  |
|_________|_______|________|______|______________|__________|
|VL-11-279|11187.5|    89  |   92 |         3    |    0.51  |
|_________|_______|________|______|______________|__________|

Note: (1) VL-11-272 abandoned due to loss of water, and (2) true widths
for the Sprite Prospect are unknown at this time.

All of the samples were analyzed at Eastern Analytical Laboratory Ltd.,
in Springdale, Newfoundland. Samples were assayed using lead collection
fire assay with AA (atomic absorption) finish. Results from fire assay
are used for drill hole planning only. Assay results for the future
updates of the December, 2010 resource will be determined by an ongoing
metallic screening process. Due to the coarse nature of the gold at the
Leprechaun Deposit, the metallic screening method is used on
economically important intersections using standard fire assay
techniques. The reported values in this release are fire assay results.

About the Valentine Lake Joint Venture: The Valentine Lake Project is a 50/50 joint venture between Marathon
Gold and Mountain Lake. The Leprechaun Gold Deposit is situated at the
south-western end of the Valentine Lake Property and the Valentine East
Gold Zone is located 13 km along strike running in a north-easterly
direction.  These gold occurrences form part of a 23 km long, highly
prospective gold-bearing mineralized corridor. Marathon is the operator
of the Project, and the companies have agreed to jointly fund a $6
million budget in 2011 that will include a planned 25,000 metres of
drilling.

Leprechaun Deposit: The Leprechaun Deposit has a new (News release, December 16, 2010) NI 43-101 compliant Measured and Indicated Resource of 3,284,000
tonnes grading 2.62 g/t gold for a total estimated 277,000 ounces of
gold. The inferred mineral resource is 4,409,000 tonnes grading 2.01
g/t gold for an estimated 285,000 ounces of gold.  The new resource was
estimated using a 0.5 g/t gold minimum cut-off over a 3 meter minimum
width. The Leprechaun Gold Deposit is open at depth and along strike
with 74% of the current M & I ounces occurring within 150m of surface.

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 Gold Corporation ('Marathon') is one of Canada's newest gold
resource development companies, with projects located in the mining
friendly province of Newfoundland and Labrador and now a project in the
prolific Coeur d'Alene Mining District of Idaho.  Marathon has a tiered
project pipeline consisting of early stage exploration to advanced
resource development projects that may be built into mineable
reserves.  Marathon is continually evaluating new gold resource
development projects of merit that are located within the Americas. 
Marathon's focused and low-cost approach to resource development and
exploration has an established record of delivering rapid growth. 
Marathon is the operator of the Valentine Lake Project under the joint
venture with MOA.  For more information visit: www.marathon-gold.com

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