Athena GOLD Secures Contractor FOR Drilling at Excelsior Springs GOLD Project, Esmeralda County, Nevada
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ATHENA GOLD SECURES CONTRACTOR FOR DRILLING AT
EXCELSIOR SPRINGS GOLD PROJECT, ESMERALDA COUNTY,
NEVADA
VACAVILLE, CA –March 8, 2022 – Athena Gold Corporation (OTCQB: AHNR)(CSE: ATHA)
(“Athena” or the “ Company”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with a drill
contractor for the Company’s planned 5,000 foot reverse circulation (“RC”) drill program (the “2022 Drill
Program”) at its flagship Excelsior Springs gold project in Nevada (the “ Excelsior Springs Project” or
the “ Project”). The contractor plans to mobilize to the Project site before the end of March, and as
previously announced by the Company (see news release dated February 9, 2022), its proposed Notice of
Intent drilling and exploration permit for up to 6 drill pads and 11 RC drill holes at the Project has been
approved by the Bureau of Land Management. Athena is also planning up to another 9 RC drill holes on
patented claims held under lease with a private party.
The Company’s 2022 Drill Program is designed to expand known mineralization and further substantiate
that the Excelsior Springs Project is a regional-scale, intrusion-related, gold-bearing, hydrothermal system.
John Power, Athena’s President & CEO commented, “Our location in the Walker Lane Trend places the
Company in the heart of the recent successful resurgence of historic mining districts in Tonopah,
Beatty/Bullfrog and Goldfield. The core of the Excelsior Springs Project is the historic high-grade Buster
mine, and the Company is excited to commence the 2022 Drill Program as we look to expand on the gold
mineralization identified in historic drilling.”
Excelsior Springs Project Highlights:
The Excelsior Springs Project is in the heart of Nevada’s Walker Lane Trend.
61% of the historic drill results show gold mineralization above a typical Nevada, open-pit-mine
cutoff grade of 0.25g Au/T.
Numerous prospective drill targets on the land package of nearly 3,000 acres.
Significant mineralization - Figure 1 below shows historic drill holes with reported significant gold
grades and thicknesses.
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Figure 1. Historic drill holes with reported significant gold grades and thicknesses.
Further information on the Excelsior Springs Property is available in the technical report prepared by
Matthew Dumala, P.Eng. and Donald Strachan, MSc, CPG, dated August 26, 2021 (effective July 21, 2021)
and entitled “Technical Report for the Excelsior Springs Property, Esmeralda County, Nevada, U.S.A.” a
copy of which is available on the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.
About the Excelsior Springs Project
The Excelsior Springs mining claims cover an area of 3.5 km 2 including the historic Buster mine, which
had estimated historical production of 18,000 tonnes (T) at 37.3 grams gold per tonne (g Au/T) gold to a
maximum depth of 70 m. The Excelsior Springs Project is located in the Walker Lane tectonic zone of
southern Nevada, which hosts a number of large historic gold mines. Total gold production from the Walker
Lane tectonic zone has exceeded 20 million ounces (Moz) including notable deposits by Goldfields (5
Moz), Bullfrog (2 Moz), Tonopah (2 Moz), Mineral Ridge (1.5 Moz) and Comstock (8 Moz Au, 200 Moz
Ag).
The reports of past production on the Excelsior Springs Project are historical in nature and may not
accurately indicate the extent or grade of mineralization present at the Excelsior Springs Project. Although
the Company believes the source of the historical information to be generally reliable, such information is
subject to interpretation and cannot be verified with complete certainty due to limits on the availability and
reliability of raw data and other inherent limitations and uncertainties. Readers are cautioned that the
Company has no interest in or right to acquire any interest in any of the above-mentioned properties, other
than the Excelsior Springs Project, and that the mineral deposits, and the results of any mining thereof, on
adjacent or similar properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Excelsior Springs Project or any
potential exploitation thereof.
From the mid-1980s through 2011, several exploration companies conducted drilling programs at the
Excelsior Springs Project, primarily on the patented claims, that began to define the near-surface Buster
Mine gold zone. Gold mineralization at the Excelsior Springs Project occurs within an east-west trending
zone that is 200 to 400m wide and at least 3 km long.
Gold mineralization discovered at the Excelsior Springs Project to date occurs in quartz vein stock-works
and silicified zones in hornfels and calc-silicate altered country rock and is generally close to porphyry
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dykes. The best mineralization (grade and thickness) is found in altered sediments immediately above
porphyry dykes that have intruded along existing east- and east-northeast trending faults. The mineralized
stock-work vein zones are shallow and have a relatively flat plunge, making them amenable to open pit
mining methods.
Most historical exploration at the Excelsior Springs Project has focused on a 2.5 km long section in the
central part of the Buster zone where mineralization is at or near the surface. Surface mapping and an
Induced Polarization (IP) geophysical survey conducted by Zonge International Inc identified multiple
zones of silicification that correlate well with the known mineralization. Many of the silicified zones
defined by the IP (resistivity highs) surveys have not been tested by drilling and remain targets for future
exploration.
Qualified Person
John Hiner, Licensed Geologist and Registered Member of SME (Society for Mining, Metallurgy &
Exploration), a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed the scientific and technical
information that forms the basis of this press release and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Hiner is
not independent of the Company as he is a director of the Company and holds stock options in the Company.
About Athena Gold Corporation
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 its
exploration program on the Excelsior Springs Project, located in Esmeralda County, Nevada, approximately
45 miles southwest of Goldfield, Nevada.
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
John Power
Chief Executive Officer and President
Contact:
Phone: John Power, 707-291-6198
Email: [email protected]
Cautionary Statement to U.S. Investors
This press release references NI 43-101, which differs from the requirements of U.S. securities laws. NI 43-
101 is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators that establishes standards for all public
disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) permits mining companies, in their filings
with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can legally extract or produce.
Pursuant to SEC Industry Guide 7 under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, a “final”
or “bankable” feasibility study is required to report reserves. Currently Athena has not delineated
“reserves” on any of its properties. Athena cannot be certain that any deposits at its properties will ever
be confirmed or converted into SEC Industry Guide 7 or any successor rule or regulation compliant
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“reserves”. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the historic Buster Mine gold
zone will ever be confirmed or converted into reserves or that it can be economically or legally extracted.
The SEC has adopted amendments to its disclosure rules to modernize the mineral property disclosure
requirements for issuers whose securities are registered with the SEC under the United States Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These amendments became effective February 25, 2019, with
compliance required for the first fiscal year beginning on or after January 1, 2021, and historical property
disclosure requirements for mining registrants that were included in SEC Industry Guide 7 will be
rescinded from and after such date.
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 U.S. securities laws. All
statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation,
statements regarding the completion of the 2022 Drill Program, 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 correct. 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 expressions, which, by their
nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved.
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 future exploration and development of
the Company’s projects in a timely manner, the availability of financing on suitable terms for the
exploration and development of the Company’s projects and the Company’s ability to comply with
environmental, health and safety laws.
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 as a result of various factors, including, operating and technical difficulties in connection with
mineral exploration and development activities, actual results of exploration activities, the estimation or
realization of mineral reserves and mineral resources, the inability of the Company to obtain the necessary
financing required to conduct its business and affairs, as currently contemplated, the timing and amount of
estimated future production, the costs of production, capital expenditures, the costs and timing of the
development of new deposits, requirements for additional capital, future prices of precious metals, changes
in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for
commodities, lack of investor interest in future financings, accidents, labor disputes and other risks of the
mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals, permits or financing or in the completion of
development or construction activities, risks relating to epidemics or pandemics such as COVID–19,
including the impact of COVID–19 on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of
operations, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, title disputes, the
inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents, approvals or authorizations, including
of the Canadian Securities Exchange, the timing and possible outcome of any pending litigation,
environmental issues and liabilities, and other factors and risks that are discussed in the Company’s
periodic filings with the SEC and disclosed in the final long form prospectus of the Company dated
August 31, 2021.
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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 required by law.