Star Metro - Major Landholding Increase at Excelsior Gold-Silver Project, Nevada

WHITE ROCK, BC / ACCESS Newswire / November 11, 2025 / Athena Gold Corporation (CSE:ATHA)(OTCQB:AHNRF) ("Athena" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an exploration update from its Excelsior Springs Project in Nevada. Mammoth Minerals Limited (ASX: M79) (formerly Firetail Resources Limited) has been aggressively exploring and expanding the Excelsior Springs Project, per its option agreement to earn an 80% interest in the project over five years, providing Athena a free-carry to Definitive Feasibility Study thereafter (refer to press releases dated June 2, 2025, August 22, October 7, and November 10, 2025). Recently, Mammoth reported that it had increased its strategic landholding at the Excelsior Springs Project area by 340%, for a total area covering 83.6 km², which additional landholding was secured via direct staking (refer to Mammoth Minerals press release dated November 11, 2025). Portions of this newly staked ground fall within the project's 5 km Area of Interest ("AOI") buffer around the existing Excelsior claims (Figure 1), automatically incorporating them into the joint venture ("JV") upon Mammoth's earn-in, allowing Athena to benefit in these areas without immediate costs via the 20% carried interest plus a 1% Net Smelter Return royalty over these areas. As of today, Athena remains a significant (>5%) shareholder of Mammoth Minerals Limited.

Highlights

• US Geological Survey MRDS database notes multiple mineralized occurrences within the newly staked tenure, including gold, tungsten, antimony, copper, silver and iron:

  • Old Buster Mine: past gold-tungsten-silver producer

  • Kentucky Mine: past gold-silver producer

  • Lidia Queen Mine: past gold-silver-lead producer

  • Mattmueller Mine: antimony occurrence

  • Palmetto Mine: past Ag producer

  • Nevada Prospect: gold occurrence

  • California Prospect: gold occurrence

  • Paymaster Prospect: gold-silver-copper occurrence

  • Helpmeet Claim: copper-barite occurrence

  • Reliance Prospect: copper occurrence

  • Aja Iron: iron occurrence

• Extensive ground disturbances including shafts, pits and costeans mapped from LiDAR imagery with numerous occurrences located outside of those identified from the MRDS database.

• Prospecting activities have commenced across additional tenure including mapping and rock chip sampling, with priority target areas being MRDS occurrences and large groupings of ground disturbances with no open file coverage of the target description.

• High-resolution magnetics completed across the entire Project area - results awaited:

  • Geological interpretation based on available coverages has commenced utilizing a holistic mineral systems interpretation approach - potential causative intrusion system delineated, with mineralized occurrences preferentially located on the margin of an interpreted Caldera.

The expanded landholding contains multiple mineral occurrences warranting further investigation and ground disturbances identified by LiDAR which are actively undergoing field-based evaluation.

Mineral occurrences have been identified using the MRDS database (Mineral Resources Data System) operated by the US Geological Survey. These records describe metallic and industrial commodity deposits, mines, prospects and occurrences in the United States.

A Heli-supported magnetics and radiometric survey have also been completed across the wider mineral claim area, along with high-resolution LiDAR and photogrammetry. The results of the magnetics survey are pending and expected in the coming weeks.

QUALIFIED PERSONS STATEMENT
The technical information presented in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Benjamin Kuzmich, P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration for Athena Gold Corporation, and the Qualified Person for exploration at the Excelsior Springs Project, as defined by NI 43-101 "Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects". Readers are cautioned that historical records referred to in this press release have been examined but not verified by a Qualified Person. Further work is required to verify that historical records referred to in this press release are accurate. Information contained in this press release was taken from Mammoth Minerals Limited's recent press release dated November 11, 2025.

About Athena Gold Corporation
Athena is engaged in the business of mineral exploration and the acquisition of mineral property assets. Its objective is to locate and develop economic precious and base metal properties of merit and to conduct additional exploration drilling and studies on its projects across North America. Athena's Laird Lake project is situated in the Red Lake Gold District of Ontario, covering over 7,000 hectares along more than 10 km of the Balmer-Confederation Assemblage contact, where recent surface sampling results returned up to 373 g/t Au. This underexplored area is road-accessible, located about 10 km west of West Red Lake Gold's Madsen mine and 34 km northwest of Kinross Gold's Great Bear project. Meanwhile, its Excelsior Springs Project is located in the prolific Walker Lane Trend in Nevada, where it is currently under an earn-in option with Mammoth Minerals Limited (formerly, Firetail Resources Limited). The Excelsior Springs Project spans over 2,500 hectares and covers at least three historic mines. Athena also holds 100% interest in its Oneman Lake Au-VMS project in Ontario.

For further information about Athena Gold Corporation, please visit www.athenagoldcorp.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors
Koby Kushner
President and Chief Executive Officer, Athena Gold Corporation

For further information, please contact:

Athena Gold Corporation
Koby Kushner, President and Chief Executive Officer
Phone: 416-846-6164
Email: [email protected]

CHF Capital Markets
Cathy Hume, CEO
Phone: 416-868-1079 x 251
Email: [email protected]

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included herein, including, without limitation, statements regarding future exploration plans, future results from exploration, and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "believes", "will", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "may", "should", ''potential", "scheduled", or variations of such words and phrases and similar expressions, which, by their nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forward-looking statements in this press release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that there will be investor interest in future financings, market fundamentals will result in sustained precious metals demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection with the future exploration and development of the Company's projects in a timely manner.

The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this press release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise stated.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Athena Gold Corporation

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

X.Boucher--SMC