Maple Gold Mines Extends High-Grade Gold Zones Below Current Resource Boundaries at Douay

• Winter drilling programme successfully extended high-grade gold zones 200-600 metres below current mineral resource boundaries in the 531 Zone and Nika Zone 
• All 21 drill holes intersected gold mineralisation, validating improved targeting methods and supporting potential resource growth 
• Significant intersections included 4.87 g/t Au over 15.0m and 2.10 g/t Au over 108.6m, demonstrating bulk tonnage underground potential 
• Programme completed on time and under budget at $300 per metre versus $400 budgeted, with no safety incidents 
• Phase II drilling planned for autumn 2025 alongside updated mineral resource estimate scheduled for second half of 2025

Maple Gold Mines Ltd. (TSXV:MGM) is a Canadian advanced exploration company focused on developing its 100%-owned Douay/Joutel Gold Project in Quebec's Abitibi Greenstone Belt. The company has established itself through systematic exploration of this district-scale property, which encompasses approximately 481 square kilometres of highly prospective ground along the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone.

Under the leadership of President and Chief Executive Officer Kiran Patankar, the company has implemented a disciplined approach to exploration that emphasises data-driven targeting and cost-effective drilling programmes. The management team has strengthened technical capabilities over the past year, with Vice President Technical Services Ian Cunningham-Dunlop leading a revamped exploration team that focuses on understanding structural controls and geological continuity within the deposit.

Winter Exploration Programme Delivers Encouraging Results

The 2025 winter drilling campaign at Douay represented the company's inaugural programme under the new leadership, successfully completing 21 diamond drill holes totalling 12,240 metres between January and May 2025. The programme exceeded its original scope after encouraging early results prompted an expansion from 10,000 metres to 12,240 metres using two drill rigs instead of the initially planned single rig.

Approximately 70% of the drilling focused on de-risking and expanding the existing mineral resource estimate, with particular emphasis on demonstrating lateral and vertical continuity of known high-grade mineralisation through systematic step-out drilling. The remaining 30% tested new regional targets along parallel structures and key lithological contacts, providing insights into broader exploration potential across the property.

The programme achieved all stated objectives whilst maintaining exceptional safety performance with no lost-time incidents. Cost management proved effective, with actual drilling costs of $300 per metre significantly below the budgeted $400 per metre, reflecting operational efficiencies and lower-than-expected camp costs.

All drill holes intersected gold mineralisation, validating the year-long data compilation and targeting exercise undertaken by the technical team. This success rate supports the company's improved geological understanding and provides confidence for future exploration activities across the property.

High-Grade Extensions Confirmed in Priority Target Areas

The 531 Zone, located in the eastern portion of the current mineral resource area, emerged as a particularly promising target following successful step-out drilling that extended high-grade mineralisation approximately 200 metres below the current conceptual pit shell. All five drill holes completed in this zone returned significant gold intersections, with the highest grades including 4.87 g/t Au over 15.0 metres and 3.66 g/t Au over 11.4 metres.

The zone demonstrates geological complexity with multiple subparallel mineralised horizons trending east-southeast with steep south-southwest dips, spaced up to 70 metres apart. Gold mineralisation appears associated with strongly albitised basalt infiltrated by syenite dykes, with the highest-grade core occurring in the hanging wall to an impermeable ultramafic volcanic unit.

The Nika Zone, situated in the northwestern portion of the mineral resource area, provided the programme's most significant intersection through drill hole DO-25-338, which returned 2.10 g/t Au over 108.6 metres. This intersection occurred approximately 300 metres down-plunge from previous drilling and represents the best hole drilled to date in the Nika Zone based on gold accumulation calculations.

Five follow-up holes confirmed the presence of an extensive fenitised alteration corridor extending to depths of 600 metres below the current conceptual pit shell. The zone demonstrates consistent geological characteristics with gold mineralisation hosted within strongly altered syenite featuring hydrothermal breccias and fracture networks filled with quartz, carbonate, and disseminated pyrite.

Enhanced Technical Capabilities and Data Integration Drive Exploration Success

The strengthening of Maple Gold's technical team over the past year appears to have contributed significantly to the winter programme's success. The revamped exploration team has brought specialised expertise in structural geology, resource estimation, and exploration targeting whilst implementing comprehensive data integration protocols. These protocols combine geological mapping, geophysical surveys, and historical drilling information to develop more robust targeting models for identifying gold mineralisation.

This systematic approach has enabled the team to identify structural controls on high-grade mineralisation, particularly where older rock fractures intersect with newer fracture systems. Advanced 3D computer modelling capabilities have enhanced understanding of rock types, alteration patterns, and mineralisation distribution across the property. This modelling incorporates detailed drill core data to define the geological controls that appear to guide higher-grade gold deposits within the system.

The comprehensive database includes digitised historical exploration data spanning several decades, integrated with recent drilling results through consistent collection and analysis protocols. This historical foundation, combined with improved data collection procedures, has proven valuable for identifying previously overlooked targets and contributed to improved drilling success rates. The systematic approach has enabled more efficient allocation of exploration resources across the property.

Summary and Development Outlook

The 2025 winter drilling programme at Douay has successfully demonstrated the potential for significant high-grade gold extensions below current mineral resource boundaries, with intersections extending mineralisation 200-600 metres below existing estimates. The programme's achievement of all stated objectives, combined with cost-effective execution and exceptional safety performance, validates the company's systematic approach to exploration.

Key accomplishments include the validation of improved geological targeting models, successful extension of high-grade zones in multiple areas, and the establishment of a comprehensive database supporting future exploration activities. The programme's 100% success rate in intersecting gold mineralisation provides confidence in the technical team's capabilities and the property's continued exploration potential.

Looking forward, the company plans Phase II drilling in the 531 Zone and Nika Zone during autumn 2025, with target delineation currently underway. An updated mineral resource estimate is scheduled for the second half of 2025, which should incorporate the winter programme results and provide updated guidance on the deposit's development potential. Additional exploration activities include summer surface programmes and sonic drilling to advance regional targets, supporting the broader objective of establishing a significant new gold district in the heart of the Abitibi Greenstone Belt.

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