Maple Gold Accelerates Growth Strategy with Senior Executive Appointment and Full Consolidation of Joutel

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 20, 2026) - Maple Gold Mines Ltd. (TSXV: MGM) (OTCQX: MGMLF) (FSE: M3G) ("Maple Gold" or the "Company") today announced the immediate appointment of Alex Rodriguez, MBA, ICD.D, as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development & Strategy. Mr. Rodriguez brings over 15 years of experience in corporate development, strategic planning, and M&A, with a strong track record of driving growth, executing strategic initiatives, and creating shareholder value. The Company is also pleased to announce that it has fully exercised its option to acquire a 100% interest in the Eagle Mine Property ("Eagle" or the "Property"), successfully consolidating the past-producing, high grade Joutel Mining Complex within the Company's wholly owned Joutel Gold Project ("Joutel") located along Québec's prolific Casa Berardi-Douay Gold Trend.

"We are thrilled to welcome Alex to Maple Gold as we achieve full consolidation of Joutel," stated Kiran Patankar, President and CEO. "Alex has a proven execution track record, highlighted by his contributions at O3 Mining where he advanced the Marban gold project and led O3's successful C$204-million acquisition by Agnico Eagle. His experience will strengthen our leadership team as we aggressively scale our operations, pursue new growth initiatives, and work to deliver long-term value for shareholders."

Alex Rodriguez, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development & Strategy, added: "Joining Maple Gold at this pivotal stage represents a tremendous opportunity. The consolidation of Douay/Joutel under a single ownership structure creates a compelling platform to unlock value through exploration success, resource growth, and disciplined project advancement. I look forward to working with our exceptional team and contributing to the future success of the Company."

Alex Rodriguez, MBA, ICD.D - SVP, Corporate Development & Strategy

Mr. Rodriguez brings over 15 years of mining corporate development, M&A, strategy, and investor relations experience across Canada, the U.S., Peru, and Chile. He previously led business development at VerAI Discoveries, overseeing strategic partnerships and asset portfolio growth across the Americas. Prior to that, Mr. Rodriguez served as Vice President, Corporate Development at O3 Mining Inc., where he played an integral role in advancing the Marban gold project and spearheading a C$204-million acquisition by Agnico Eagle Mines Limited. Earlier in his career, he served as Head of Business Development at Volcan Compañía Minera, where he led M&A, streaming, and financing initiatives with an aggregate value of more than US$1 billion. Mr. Rodriguez holds a B.A. in Economics from Universidad Nacional de Trujillo (Peru), an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Completion of Eagle Acquisition

The Company is pleased to announce that it has acquired a 100% interest in Eagle, a core inlier claim at Joutel that hosts the historical Eagle underground mine. Pursuant to the Option Agreement dated July 16, 2021 (the "Option Agreement") between Maple Gold and Globex Mining Enterprises Inc. ("Globex") (see news release dated July 19, 2021), the Company completed cash and share payments to Globex totaling C$1.2 million and incurred C$1.2 million in cumulative exploration expenditures prior to the five-year anniversary of the Option Agreement. Legal title to the Property, together with all its associated rights, interests, applicable permits, and reclamation bonds, will be transferred to the Company. Globex will retain a 2.5% Gross Metal Royalty ("GMR"), which is subject to a Right of First Refusal and can be reduced to a 1.5% GMR in consideration for a cash payment of C$1.5 million.

The current mineral resource at Eagle, which forms part of the Company's updated Douay/Joutel Project Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") (see news release dated April 27, 2026), consists of 73,000 ounces ("oz") of gold ("Au") Indicated (0.5 million tonnes ("Mt") at 5.04 grams per tonne ("g/t") Au) and 386,000 oz Au Inferred (3.0 Mt at 4.07 g/t Au). The MRE was calculated by Mr. Denis Decharte, P.Eng., of SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd., an Independent Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101, on behalf of Maple Gold.

Compilation of historical data combined with new drilling indicates that high-grade gold mineralization at Eagle extends well beyond the historical underground workings and that the system remains open in multiple directions with strong potential for expansion through follow-up drilling. The Company is planning aggressive, fully funded step-out drill programs at Eagle and Joutel in H2 2026 and 2027.

Equity Incentive Grants

Pursuant to the Company's Equity Incentive Plan (the "Plan") dated December 17, 2020, as amended, and TSX Venture Exchange policies, Maple Gold's Board of Directors has approved the grant of stock options ("Options") to an employee to purchase an aggregate of 200,000 common shares of the Company (each, a "Common Share"), with an exercise price of $2.55 per Common Share. The Options will vest in three equal tranches over a 24-month period. Once vested, each Option is exercisable into one Common Share for a period of five years from the date of the grant.

The Company's Board of Directors also granted a total of 50,000 restricted share units ("RSUs") to an employee. The RSUs will vest in three equal tranches over a 36-month period. Once vested, each RSU entitles the holder to receive either one Common Share or a combination of cash and Common Shares, as determined by the Company in accordance with the terms of the Plan, net of applicable withholdings.

Qualified Person

Ian Cunningham-Dunlop, P.Eng. (PEO/EGBC), Executive Vice President of Maple Gold, has reviewed, verified and approved the scientific and technical information related to exploration and Mineral Resource matters contained in this news release. No limitations or failures to verify were identified. Mr. Cunningham-Dunlop is a Qualified Person for the purpose of NI 43-101.

About Maple Gold

Maple Gold Mines Ltd. is a well-funded Canadian gold exploration company focused on advancing its 100%-owned, district-scale Douay/Joutel Gold Project located in Québec's prolific Abitibi Greenstone Gold Belt. Douay/Joutel benefits from exceptional infrastructure access and boasts ~481 square kilometers of highly prospective ground including an established, multi-million-ounce gold mineral resource at the Douay¹ and Joutel² deposits, both with significant expansion potential, as well as the past-producing Eagle and Telbel mines at Joutel that were key parts of the historical Joutel Mining Complex³. The total Douay/Joutel Mineral Resource Estimate now stands at 905,000 oz Au Indicated (19.1 Mt at 1.48 g/t Au) and 4,297,000 oz Au Inferred (130.2 Mt at 1.03 g/t Au)^1,2.

Maple Gold's property package also hosts a significant number of regional exploration targets along a 55-kilometer strike length of the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone that have yet to be tested through drilling, making the property ripe for new gold and VMS discoveries. The Company is currently focused on carrying out exploration and drill programs to grow mineral resources and make new discoveries to establish an exciting new gold district in the heart of the Abitibi. For more information, please visit www.maplegoldmines.com.

ON BEHALF OF MAPLE GOLD MINES LTD.

"Kiran Patankar"

Kiran Patankar, President & CEO

For Further Information, Please Contact:

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS PRESS RELEASE.

Forward-Looking Statements and Cautionary Notes:

This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively referred to as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation in Canada. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "aims," "potential," "goal," "objective,", "strategy", "prospective," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, resource expansion and discovery potential across the Company's gold projects, and its intention to pursue such potential, and the Company's exploration work and results from current and future work programs. Although the Company believes that forward-looking statements in this news release are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct, as forward-looking statements are based on assumptions, uncertainties and management's best estimate of future events on the date the statements are made and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations and projections, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. For a more detailed discussion of additional risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements in this news release, please refer to the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators available on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval Plus (SEDAR+) at www.sedarplus.ca or the Company's website at www.maplegoldmines.com. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and/or the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any intention to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

¹ The Douay Project contains Indicated Mineral Resources estimated at 779,000 oz Au (18.2 Mt at 1.33 g/t Au), and Inferred Mineral Resources estimated at 3,305,000 oz Au (122.7 Mt at 0.84 g/t Au). See the Technical Report titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report, Douay/Joutel Gold Project, Northwestern Quebec, Canada" prepared by SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd. dated June 11, 2026 (effective date of April 24, 2026).

² The Joutel Project contains Indicated Mineral Resources estimated at 126,000 oz Au (0.9 Mt at 4.53 g/t Au), and Inferred Mineral Resources estimated at 992,000 oz Au (7.5 Mt at 4.11 g/t Au). See the Technical Report titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report, Douay/Joutel Gold Project, Northwestern Quebec, Canada" prepared by SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd. with an effective date of April 24, 2026, and dated June 11, 2026.

³ The Eagle, Telbel and Eagle West Gold Mines at the Joutel Mining Complex were in production from 1974 to 1993 and produced 1.1 million ounces of gold at an average grade of 6.5 g/t Au (Agnico Eagle Mines Limited's corporate website).

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/305711

Source: Maple Gold Mines Ltd.