Drill Permit Received And Exploration Strategy Updated For Excelsior Springs Gold Project

VACAVILLE, CA  - Athena Gold Corporation has received final approval from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on the proposed Notice of Intent (NOI) drilling and exploration permit for up to 6 drill pads and 11 reverse circulation (RC) drill holes at the Excelsior Springs project in Esmeralda County, Nevada. In addition, Athena is considering an additional 9 RC drill holes on the patented claims held under lease as part of our flagship Excelsior Springs gold Project. Athena has posted the required reclamation bond to secure the Drill Permit. Athena's 5,000+ foot drill program is expected to commence in the first half of 2022, subject to rig availability and other operating conditions.

After careful review and analysis of the substantial historical database for the Excelsior Springs Project and consultation with our technical consultants, Athena has updated its exploration strategy for the Excelsior Springs Project. Under the revised strategy, Athena will focus its 2022 exploration program on numerous near-surface targets on the Excelsior Springs Project using exploratory RC drilling. Once this work is completed, the Company will evaluate the merits of the IP survey designed to delineate deeper targets on the Excelsior Springs Project, contemplated by the phase one work program set out in the technical report prepared by Matthew Dumala and Donald Strachan.

John Power, President & CEO, said, "We have numerous targets that can be tested with RC drilling on the Excelsior Spring Project that we believe will provide meaningful data on zones of mineralization on the property. Our goal is to demonstrate continuity of potential mineralized zones and identify new areas of mineralization. There have been several campaigns of historic RC drilling that have yielded very encouraging results. However, 85% of the mapped structures dip north, northeast, or northwest yet only 5% of the historic drill holes had a southern azimuth which is the azimuth required to test these structures. Our proposed drill program includes several southern directed drill holes to properly test these structures. We also have numerous step-out targets that we continue to evaluate and prioritize."