Maple Gold Drills Up to 450 Metres Beyond Joutel's Historical Mine Workings, Pointing to Resource Expansion Ahead

• Four new drill holes at Joutel have extended high-grade gold mineralisation up to 450 metres beyond the historical Eagle-Telbel underground workings, with the system remaining open in multiple directions.
• Standout intercepts include 16.3 g/t gold over 1.3 m within 2.7 g/t gold over 10.2 m (JO-26-13), and 32.6 g/t gold over 0.8 m within 14.0 g/t gold over 2.0 m (JO-26-15), confirming high-grade gold in two distinct mineralised horizons.
• Joutel drilling has achieved a near-100% drill success rate to date, with gold mineralisation demonstrating consistent grade and continuity along the Main Iron Carbonate Horizon (MICH), the primary ore-hosting layer.
• The 2026 winter drill programme is approximately 95% complete at 66 holes (~30,500 m), with additional fully funded drilling planned for H2 2026 and 2027.
• Joutel's maiden mineral resource, which does not yet include 2026 drill results, stands at 126,000 oz Au Indicated at 4.53 g/t Au and 992,000 oz Au Inferred at 4.11 g/t Au.

Maple Gold Mines Ltd. (TSXV: MGM | OTCQX: MGMLF | FSE: M3G0) is a Canada-based gold exploration company advancing its 100%-owned, district-scale Douay/Joutel Gold Project along the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone in Québec's Abitibi Greenstone Belt. The combined project covers approximately 481 square kilometres and hosts a multi-million-ounce gold resource across the Douay and Joutel deposits. Joutel sits alongside the past-producing Eagle, Eagle West, and Telbel gold mines, which collectively produced 1.1 million ounces of gold at an average grade of 6.5 g/t between 1974 and 1993.

High-Grade Gold Zone Expansion Beyond Historical Mine Workings at Joutel

Four new drill holes were completed over a 350-metre strike length and 450-metre vertical distance, targeting gold mineralisation projected up-plunge and along strike from the historical Telbel Mine shaft. The holes were designed to test relatively shallow, under-explored areas outside the footprint of the former underground operations, focusing on the MICH, a chemically altered, iron carbonate-rich rock layer that hosted the bulk of historical gold production at Joutel.

Results confirm that high-grade gold extends well into ground not previously captured by underground mining or the existing mineral resource. Drill hole JO-26-13 returned 2.7 g/t Au over 10.2 m, including 16.3 g/t Au over 1.3 m, stepping out 50 metres east of a previously reported high-grade interval. Drill hole JO-26-14, a further 250-metre step-out to the southeast and positioned 50 metres above the eastern edge of the Telbel underground workings, intersected 7.4 g/t Au over 7.5 m, including 15.5 g/t Au over 2.0 m.

JO-26-15, drilled 350 metres up-dip from JO-26-14, intersected high-grade gold in a separate geological unit below the MICH known as the footwall micro-gabbro, returning 32.6 g/t Au over 0.8 m within 14.0 g/t Au over 2.0 m.

President and CEO Kiran Patankar noted:

"Drilling at Joutel continues to demonstrate strong grade and continuity in previously under-explored areas, with the latest high-grade intercepts now extending gold mineralisation up to 450 m beyond the historical Eagle-Telbel underground workings."

Drilling Continuity and Geological Controls Within Stratiform Host Horizon

The MICH trends southeast and dips steeply, providing a continuous target that can be traced along strike and at depth. Within this horizon, higher-grade gold "shoots" (localised concentrations of gold within the broader zone) plunge at approximately 55 to 60 degrees to the southeast, consistent with the regional structural pattern. The predictability of this geometry allows the company to model and test targets systematically.

To date, five drill holes at Joutel have each returned individual gold assay values above 20 g/t Au, with the single highest at 40.8 g/t Au over 0.5 m. The near-100% drill success rate across 22 completed holes at Joutel reflects the consistency of gold mineralisation along the MICH. 

President and CEO Kiran Patankar added:

"We are continuing to confirm the predictability of the Joutel gold system, and the latest results demonstrate that the MICH remains a highly effective guide for targeting new mineralisation."

A secondary target has also returned high-grade results across multiple locations. The footwall micro-gabbro, an igneous rock unit below the MICH, has now intersected gold grades of 13.3 g/t Au over 3.0 m in JO-25-01, 14.0 g/t Au over 2.0 m in JO-26-15, and 11.4 g/t Au over 3.0 m approximately 2 kilometres to the northwest in a 2022 drill hole. The company has identified this unit as a target for further evaluation.

2026 Winter Drill Programme Progress and Updated Resource Estimates

The 2026 winter programme is approximately 95% complete, with 66 holes totalling approximately 30,500 metres drilled across both Douay and Joutel. Assay results have been received and reported for 32 of those holes, with the remainder pending quality control validation. At Douay, drilling has focused on the down-plunge extensions of several higher-grade zones including Nika, 531, Douay West, Z10, and Porphyry West.

The April 2026 Mineral Resource Estimate was completed before results from the current programme were available, meaning no 2026 drill results have yet been incorporated. Joutel's maiden resource stands at 0.9 million tonnes at 4.53 g/t Au for 126,000 oz Au Indicated and 7.5 million tonnes at 4.11 g/t Au for 992,000 oz Au Inferred. At Douay, the resource totals 779,000 oz Au Indicated and 3.31 million oz Au Inferred. The 2026 exploration budget of $13.9 million covers the full drill programme, assaying, permitting, and site support, funded from a treasury of approximately $30 million.

Concurrent with field work, the company is progressing internal scoping, engineering, and trade-off studies at Douay/Joutel to advance the project toward development-stage assessment.

Outlook

With the 2026 winter programme drawing to a close, Maple Gold's near-term pipeline includes the receipt of remaining assay results and their subsequent integration into a future resource update. The company has guided for expanded step-out programmes at both Douay and Joutel in H2 2026 and 2027, funded from existing cash. Results from a maiden three-hole drill campaign at the Morris VMS Project in Québec are also pending. Internal scoping and trade-off studies at Douay/Joutel are underway and are expected to support progression toward more advanced development studies.

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