Athena GOLD Completes Till Survey at Laird Lake Project in Ontario’S Red Lake GOLD CAMP

ATHENA GOLD COMPLETES TILL SURVEY AT LAIRD LAKE PROJECT IN ONTARIO’S RED LAKE GOLD CAMP

White Rock, BC --- Accesswire --- July 14, 2025 - Athena Gold Corporation (CSE: ATHA) (OTCQB: AHNRF) (“Athena

Gold” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the successful completion of its comprehensive till survey at its

Laird Lake gold project, located in Ontario’s prolific Red Lake Gold District. The survey, completed ahead of schedule,

marks a significant milestone in advancing the Company’s exploration strategy on this highly prospective 4,158-

hectare property, which spans over 10 km of the Balmer-Confederation Assemblage contact.

The till survey, initiated in May 2025, involved the collection of 2,048 till and QAQC samples across the Laird Lake

project, utilizing a grid spacing of 100 m x 100 m within the Balmer and Confederation assemblages and 200 m x 200

m in surrounding felsic intrusive bodies (Figure 1). The program employed the same sampling methodology as West

Red Lake Gold’s successful ti ll survey at the nearby Madsen Mine, which confirmed existing mineralization and

outlined new zones (see West Red Lake Gold press release, January 29, 2025). The survey is designed to identify gold-

in-till anomalies and refine high -priority drill targets, leveraging Athena Gold’s existing dataset, including LiDAR,

detailed mapping, magnetics, and electromagnetic surveys.

“We are thrilled to have completed the till survey at Laird Lake ahead of schedule, a testament to the efficiency and

expertise of our exploration team and our partners at Bayside Geoscience,” said Koby Kushner, President and CEO of

Athena Gold. “The data from this survey is expected to significantly enhance our understanding of the project’s

potential and guide our upcoming drilling campaign, which we hope to initiate this winter.”

Figure 1: Map of Laird Lake project, showing till sample locations.

The Laird Lake project, situated approximately 10 km west of West Red Lake Gold Mines’ flagship Madsen Mine and

approximately 34 km northwest of Kinross Gold’s Great Bear project, is road-accessible and remains underexplored.

The Company’s exploration crew remains on-site, with ongoing prospecting to further delineate high-priority targets.

Athena anticipates receiving assay results from the till survey in late summer 2025 , which will inform follow -up

fieldwork and help define drill targets for a planned winter drilling program. The Company’s systematic, data-driven

approach aims to de -risk its maiden drill program at Laird Lake, maximizing the potential for a significant go ld

discovery in this world-class gold camp.

Qualified Person

Technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Benjamin Kuzmich, P .Geo., a

geoscientist and qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.

About Athena Gold Corporation

Athena Gold 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 Gold’s Laird Lake project is situated in

the Red Lake Gold District of Ontario, covering over 4,000 hectares along more than 10 km of the Balmer -

Confederation Assemblage contact, where recent surface sampling results returned up to 373 g/t Au. 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 Au-Ag project is located in the prolific

Walker Lane Trend in Nevada, where it is currently under option by Firetail Resources Limited. Excelsior Springs spans

over 1,500 hectares and covers at least three historic mines.

For further information about Athena Gold Corporation and our Excelsior Springs Gold project, please visit

www.athenagoldcorp.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Koby Kushner

President and Chief Executive Officer, Athena Gold Corporation

For further information, please contact:

Athena Gold Corporation

Koby Kushner, President and Chief Executive Officer

Phone: 416-846-6164

Email: [email protected]

CHF Capital Markets

Cathy Hume, CEO

Phone: 416-868-1079 x 251

Email: cathy@chfir.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward -looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward -looking

statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and US. securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical

fact, included herein, including, without limitation, statements regarding future exploration plans, future results from exploration,

and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward- looking statements. Although the

Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correc t.

Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "believes", "will", "expects", "anticipates", "intends",

"estimates", ''plans", "may", "should", ''potential", "scheduled", or variations of such words and phrases and similar expres sions,

which, by their nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieve d. In

making the forward- looking statements in this press release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including

without limitation, that there will be investor interest in future financings, market fundamentals will result in sustained precious

metals demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection with the futu re

exploration and development of the Company's projects in a timely manner.

The Company cautions investors that any forward- looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or

performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward- looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to

update any of the forward-looking statements in this press release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise stated.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or

accuracy of this release.