Maple Gold Mines Hits 100% Success Rate in Major Drilling Program, Targets 5 Million Ounce Resource

• Maple Gold's 2025 winter drilling program at Douay delivered exceptional results, including 4.87 g/t gold over 15 meters in the 531 Zone and 2.21 g/t gold over 31 meters in the Nika Zone, confirming significant underground mineralization potential.
• The company is targeting expansion from 3 million ounces to 5 million ounces through systematic exploration, with both the 531 and Nika zones remaining open in multiple directions for further extension.
• Following restructuring to 100% ownership, Maple Gold maintains a strategic relationship with Agnico Eagle while gaining operational control, enabling more efficient capital deployment and larger-scale exploration programs.
• Management is pursuing a phased approach combining open-pit and underground mining, targeting an initial 100,000-150,000 ounce per year operation that could self-fund further exploration and resource development.
• The program achieved 100% success rate with gold intersected in all 21 holes, completed under budget at $300/meter versus $400/meter budgeted, while advancing 3D geological modeling and structural understanding.

Maple Gold Mines (TSXV: MGM) is emerging as a significant exploration and development story in Quebec's prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt, following the successful completion of its most substantial drilling program in nearly two years. Under new leadership, the company has delivered compelling results from its flagship Douay Gold Project while establishing a clear path toward becoming a multi-million ounce gold district.

Exceptional Drilling Results Validate New Technical Approach

The company's 2025 winter drilling program represents a watershed moment for Maple Gold, with President and CEO Kiran Patankar describing it as, 

"The first exploration program that the company had undertaken under new leadership."

The 12,240-meter program, expanded from an initial 10,000 meters due to early success, achieved a remarkable 100% hit rate with gold mineralization intersected in every hole.

The standout results came from two key zones. In the 531 Zone, hole DO-25-351 intersected 4.87 g/t gold over 15 meters, including an exceptional 11.25 g/t gold over 5 meters. The Nika Zone delivered equally impressive results, with hole DO-25-54Ext returning 2.21 g/t gold over 31 meters, including 5.54 g/t gold over 7 meters. These intercepts represent significant step-outs from previous drilling, with some holes extending mineralization 200-600 meters below the current resource pit shells.

Patankar emphasized the systematic nature of the program's success: 

"When you have consistency, when you hit gold in every hole, when you are doing bolder stepouts... having 100% success rate while executing properly, being under budget, having a great cost saving and safety performance, all that stuff is important when you have a major partner."

Strategic Resource Position in Rare Territory

Maple Gold currently controls a 3.04 million ounce gold resource at Douay, positioning it among an exclusive group of companies. As Patankar noted, 

"We're one of just 20-ish companies that 100% owns a 3 million ounce plus, potentially open pitable project in Canada. So it puts us in rare territory to begin with."

The company's ambitious growth strategy targets expanding this resource to 5 million ounces through continued exploration. The recent drilling results support this objective, with both the 531 Zone and Nika Zone representing relatively small portions of the overall resource base despite their high-grade potential. The Nika Zone currently contains only 173,000 ounces (7% of total resources), while the 531 Zone holds 270,000 ounces, suggesting significant upside potential.

Structural & Geological Understanding Drives Targeting

The success of Maple Gold's drilling program reflects a fundamental shift in technical approach, emphasizing detailed geological understanding over previous methodologies. The company has invested heavily in structural modeling, completing oriented core drilling and re-logging approximately 30,000 meters of historical core to better understand mineralization controls.

The Douay system benefits from its location along a major first-order structure in the Casa Berardi corridor, with mineralization associated with an alkaline porphyry intrusive complex. Patankar explained the geological significance: 

"We've got an intrusive, but we've also got a major structural corridor... these appear to be subparallel subvertical gold zones that appear to be structurally controlled."

This enhanced understanding has enabled more effective targeting, with the identification of plunge controls and structural corridors guiding future exploration. The company's 3D modeling capabilities continue to evolve, with Patankar noting: 

"The model is being updated, but the validation of a year's worth of technical reset is clearly there in this program."

Interview with CEO, Kiran Patankar

Development Strategy Balances Scale and Economics

Rather than pursuing a large-scale development approach typical of major mining companies, Maple Gold is implementing a more measured strategy designed to optimize economics while maintaining growth potential. The company envisions an initial mine plan producing 100,000-150,000 ounces annually, focusing on higher-grade zones that can generate strong returns at current gold prices. Patankar outlined the rationale: 

"Based on the success that we've had, we want to grow the resource to 5 million ounces... but the point of adding growth through the drill bit is also to produce something that is ultimately going to be economic."

This approach leverages the current gold price environment, where smaller, higher-grade operations can achieve attractive economics. The strategy emphasizes early cash generation from open-pit mining at Douay West, where the company holds 500,000 ounces of indicated resources at 2 g/t, combined with underground development of high-grade zones like 531 and Nika.

Partnership Framework Provides Strategic Advantages

Maple Gold's relationship with Agnico Eagle represents a unique competitive advantage in the junior mining space. Following restructuring of their joint venture agreement, Maple Gold now holds 100% ownership while maintaining strategic partnership benefits. This structure provides access to larger-scale exploration programs while avoiding the capital market volatility that typically constrains junior exploration companies.

The partnership model enables more efficient capital deployment, as Patankar explained: 

"If you're a junior company in this market, subject to the whims of the capital markets, and you're trying to put together 25,000 meter drill programs on an annual basis... you can continually go back and dilute shareholders at sometimes lower share prices and call those death spiral type financings, or you can do them more efficiently."

This framework supports Maple Gold's goal of conducting 25,000-meter annual drill programs, significantly larger than typical junior exploration efforts, while maintaining focus on value creation for shareholders.

Regional Exploration Potential Extends District Scale

Beyond the core Douay deposit, Maple Gold controls approximately 400 square kilometers of highly prospective ground along the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone. The property package includes the past-producing Joutel Mine Complex, which represents potential for a second flagship asset within the district.

Current summer exploration programs are advancing regional targets, with a 3,000-meter drill program planned for Joutel in fall 2025. Patankar emphasized the district-scale potential: 

"There's certainly going to be, and we're actually doing right now, in the summer, some things that are going to help us on the regional exploration side... we see broad potential here."

The regional exploration strategy leverages the company's enhanced geological understanding and targets both intrusion-related gold systems and volcanic massive sulfide mineralization across the broader property package.

Path to Economic Studies & Development Timeline

Maple Gold is working with engineering consultants to advance toward preliminary economic assessment, with trade-off studies examining various development scenarios including open-pit versus underground mining, processing alternatives, and infrastructure options. The company expects to complete gap analysis and potentially green-light a PEA by early 2026. Patankar outlined the comprehensive approach: 

"We're doing trade-off studies... open pit versus underground, whole or leech versus gravity, cyanidation, flotation... build standalone mill infrastructure and tailings containment on site versus utilize existing mill capacity in the region."

The remainder of 2025 will focus on additional drilling in the 531 and Nika zones, resource update completion by year-end, and continued regional exploration. This timeline supports the company's strategy of demonstrating economic potential while maintaining exploration momentum.

The Investment Thesis for Maple Gold Mines

• Exceptional Resource Base: 3+ million ounce resource in Quebec's premier mining jurisdiction, targeting growth to 5 million ounces through systematic exploration of high-grade underground extensions
• Proven Exploration Success: 2025 drilling program achieved 100% success rate with multiple high-grade intercepts, including 4.87 g/t over 15m and 2.21 g/t over 31m, demonstrating significant resource growth potential
• Strategic Partnership Advantage: Unique relationship with Agnico Eagle provides major company expertise and potential while maintaining 100% ownership and operational control
• Disciplined Development Path: Management pursuing economically optimized mine plan targeting 100,000-150,000 oz/year production, leveraging high gold prices for attractive project economics
• District-Scale Potential: ~400 km² land package along Casa Berardi corridor includes past-producing Joutel complex, offering multiple development scenarios and exploration upside
• Strong Technical Foundation: Enhanced geological understanding through oriented drilling and structural modeling enables more effective targeting and resource definition
• Favorable Jurisdiction: Quebec location provides mining-friendly regulatory environment, existing infrastructure, and proximity to established gold operations
• Experienced Leadership: Management team with major company background implementing disciplined, data-driven approach to exploration and development
• Capital Efficiency: Recent drilling completed under budget at $300/m vs $400/m budgeted, demonstrating operational excellence and cost control
• Near-term Catalysts: Resource update by year-end 2025, continued high-grade drilling results, and potential PEA advancement provide multiple value inflection points

Quebec's Abitibi Greenstone Belt represents one of the world's premier gold mining districts, hosting major operations including Casa Berardi, Detour Lake, and Malartic. The region benefits from exceptional infrastructure, mining-friendly regulatory framework, and proximity to skilled labor and service providers. Current gold prices above $3,300/ounce create favorable economics for projects that previously required higher production rates to achieve acceptable returns.

Maple Gold's position along the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone places it within this established gold corridor, benefiting from proven geological potential and existing regional infrastructure. The company's strategy of developing smaller, higher-grade operations aligns with current market preferences for projects offering shorter payback periods and reduced capital intensity. As Patankar noted, 

"In a higher gold price environment, there is a narrative to try to drive a development production story that's tighter, less capital intensive, more efficient, and can pay back its capital quicker."

The Quebec government's mining incentives, including exploration tax credits and supportive policies, enhance project economics while the province's commitment to mining development provides regulatory certainty. This combination of geological prospectivity, infrastructure access, and government support creates an optimal environment for gold development projects like Douay.