Mr. Koby Kushner reports

ATHENA GOLD PROVIDES EXPLORATION UPDATE FROM EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, NEVADA

Athena Gold Corp. has provided an exploration update from its Excelsior Springs project in Nevada. Mammoth Minerals Ltd. (ASX: M79) (formerly Firetail Resources Ltd.) has been aggressively exploring Excelsior, per its option agreement to earn an 80-per-cent interest in the project over five years, providing Athena a free carry to definitive feasibility study thereafter (see press releases dated June 2, 2025, and Aug. 22, 2025). Recently, Mammoth reported significant results from its continuing RC (reverse circulation) drilling campaign (refer to Mammoth Minerals press release dated March 18, 2026). As of today, Athena remains a significant (greater than 5 per cent) shareholder of Mammoth Minerals Ltd.

Highlights from Mammoth Minerals (Excelsior Springs project, Nevada)

• Multiple significant new assay results received from the current RC drilling program along the seven-kilometre-long Buster trend:
  • 33.54 metres at 1.25 grams per tonne Au (gold) from surface (MEXRC2617), including:
    • 9.15 m at 3.18 g/t Au from 18.29 m;
    • 3.05 m at 7.70 g/t Au from 51.83 m.
  • 13.72 m at 1.15 g/t Au from 62.5 m (MEXRC2601):
    • Represents new area of mineralization approximately 100 m west of previous drilling, with further drilling planned along strike and down dip.
  • 7.62 m at 2.1 g/t Au from 219.51 m (MEXRC2605):
    • Extends mineralization over 100 m down dip from previous drilling and remains open below 180 m.
  • Additional wide shallow intercepts include 12.20 m at 2.56 g/t Au from surface (MEXRC2613);
  • RC drilling is continuing along strike and down-dip to increase confidence and expand the mineralized footprint at Buster.

Qualified persons statement

The technical information presented in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Benjamin Kuzmich, PGeo, vice-president of exploration for Athena Gold, and the qualified person for exploration at the Excelsior Springs project, as defined by National Instrument 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' recent press release dated March 18, 2026.

Options and share issuance

The company announces that it has granted an aggregate of 2.02 million stock options at an exercise price of six cents per common share to certain directors, pursuant to the terms of the company's equity incentive plan.

The options shall vest immediately, expire 10 years from the date of grant and are subject to approval by the Canadian Securities Exchange.

The options, and any common shares issued upon the exercise of, are subject to a statutory hold period of four months from the date of grant in accordance with applicable securities laws and the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange.

The company also announces that, further to its press release dated March 2, 2026, it has issued 100,000 common shares in the capital of the company to the Wabauskang First Nation, at a deemed price of 6.5 cents per share, pursuant to an exploration agreement dated Feb. 20, 2026. The shares issued pursuant to the agreement, which is at arm's length, are subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day from the date of issuance, in accordance with applicable securities laws and the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange.

About Athena Gold Corp.

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. Also located in Northwestern Ontario is Athena's Forester project, a 4,900-hectare land package located less than 30 km southeast of Orla Mining's Musselwhite gold mine, with historical drill intercepts showing strong potential for both high-grade, narrow-vein and low-grade, bulk-tonnage gold mineralization. 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 Ltd. (formerly, Firetail Resources Ltd.). The Excelsior Springs project spans over 2,500 hectares and covers at least three historic mines. Athena also holds a 100-per-cent interest in its Oneman Lake Au-VMS (gold-volcanogenic massive sulphide) project in Ontario.

We seek Safe Harbor.