Maple Gold adds a second drill rig at Douay, prepares for Phase I Drilling at Eagle, and announces board changes

“We are pleased to have secured a second rig to accelerate completion of the Fall 2021 drill program and in anticipation of ramping up our exploration activities in Q1 2022,” stated Matthew Hornor, President and CEO of Maple Gold. “It is an exciting time for Maple Gold with two rigs now available to complete up to 20,000 meters of planned drilling across our ~400 km² property package, including testing high priority targets at Eagle in a matter of weeks. I would also like to welcome Michelle Roth as the Company’s next Chairperson, while thanking Sean Charland for having served so ably in that role since 2020. Michelle’s extensive experience across both the private and public sectors strengthens our senior leadership and corporate governance at a key inflection point in the Company’s growth trajectory.”

Fall 2021 Drilling Update

The Fall 2021 drill holes at Douay (see Figure 1 for hole locations) are primarily step-out targets designed to test the strike continuity and expansion potential of some of the better intercepts from recent drill programs in the Nika, Central and 531 Zones. The first rig, which commenced drilling in early November, has already completed drill holes DO-21-313 (Nika Zone), DO-21-315 (Central Zone), DO-21-316 and DO-21-317 (both in the 531 Zone), and is currently drilling DO-21-319 (531 Zone). The second rig has completed DO-21-318 (Central Zone) and is currently drilling DO-21-314 (Nika Zone).

A total of 2,661 metres ("m") have been drilled out of 2,750 m planned as part of the Fall 2021 drill program. The first 845 samples, including all of drill hole DO-21-313 in the Nika Zone, were shipped to ALS Labs on November 26, 2021. Given the encouraging observations from initial drill core, the second rig has been mobilized to continue testing additional step-out targets as part of the Fall 2021 drill program at Douay. Of particular focus are: 1) mineralized horizons extending to the southeast from this year’s 1.6 g/t gold ("Au") over 132 m intercept in the Nika Zone (see news from May 26, 2021); 2) areas down- and up-plunge from this year’s 8.8 g/t Au over 28.5 m intercept in the 531 Zone (see news from September 9, 2021); and 3) over 700 m of undrilled strike extending to the east-southeast of the Central Zone as currently defined.

Phase I Drilling at Eagle

Phase I drilling at Eagle is now expected to commence in January 2022 following a short holiday break. Initial Eagle drill permits have been received with additional permit requests pending. The Company expects to keep one drill rig in the Eagle area to complete the Phase I drill program, after which it will be available to commence drilling in the Telbel mine area.

Additional details on the Phase I drill program at Eagle and the JV’s planned Winter 2022 drill campaign will be released in the coming weeks.

New Independent Non-Executive Chair

Michelle Roth has served as an Independent Director of Maple Gold since November 2020 and currently serves as Chair of both the Audit and Nominating & Corporate Governance Committees as well as a member of the Compensation Committee. She is the founder and CEO of Roth Investor Relations, which provides shareholder engagement solutions to a worldwide client base including mining industry clients with operations in North America, Australia, Africa, Europe and South America. Ms. Roth also acts as a strategic advisor to Nova Royalty and to a privately held cell tower infrastructure/IT managed services company, where she has advised on growth opportunities during the pandemic.

In the public sector, Ms. Roth served as Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Planning Board Chairperson of Manalapan Township, New Jersey, and has also held appointed positions on other governmental boards. During her service, she gained experience with budgeting, succession planning, union negotiations, public/private partnerships and the setting and implementing of land use policy. Ms. Roth earned her MBA in Finance from Fordham University.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical data contained in this press release was reviewed and prepared under the supervision of Fred Speidel, M. Sc., P. Geo., Vice-President Exploration of Maple Gold. Mr. Speidel is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Speidel has verified the data related to the exploration information disclosed in this press release through his direct participation in the work.

About Maple Gold

Maple Gold Mines Ltd. is a Canadian advanced exploration company in a 50/50 joint venture with Agnico Eagle Mines Limited to jointly advance the district-scale Douay and Joutel gold projects located in Quebec’s prolific Abitibi Greenstone Gold Belt. The projects benefit from exceptional infrastructure access and boast ~400 km² of highly prospective ground including an established gold resource at Douay (RPA 2019) that holds significant expansion potential as well as the past-producing Eagle, Telbel and Eagle West mines at Joutel. In addition, the Company holds an exclusive option to acquire 100% of the Eagle Mine Property.

The district-scale property package also hosts a significant number of regional exploration targets along a 55 km strike length of the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone that have yet to be tested through drilling, making the project ripe for new gold and polymetallic discoveries. The Company is well capitalized and is currently focused on carrying out exploration and drill programs to grow resources and make new discoveries to establish an exciting new gold district in the heart of the Abitibi. For more information, please visit www.maplegoldmines.com.

ON BEHALF OF MAPLE GOLD MINES LTD.

"Matthew Hornor"
B. Matthew Hornor, President & CEO

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Forward Looking Statements:

This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively referred to as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation in Canada, including statements about exploration work and results from current and future work programs. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions, uncertainties and management’s best estimate of future events. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company’s expectations and projections. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, refer to Maple Gold Mines Ltd.’s filings with Canadian securities regulators available on www.sedar.com or the Company’s website at www.maplegoldmines.com. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.