Maple Gold Reports Final Joutel Winter Drill Results, Including 8.6 g/t Gold over 4.2 Metres Within 2.5 g/t Gold over 18.3 Metres in the Eagle Mine Area, and Launches Expanded, Fully Funded 25,000 Metre Fall Drill Campaign
Rhea-AI Summary
Maple Gold (OTCQX: MGMLF) reported final results from its 10,870 m 2026 winter drill program at the 100%-owned Joutel Gold Project, including 8.6 g/t gold over 4.2 m within 2.5 g/t over 18.3 m in hole JO-26-18 between the Eagle and Telbel shafts, and 2.5 g/t over 2.0 m within 1.2 g/t over 9.7 m in JO-26-19. Drilling has extended high-grade mineralization up to 450 m beyond historical Eagle-Telbel mine workings and identified ~69 m of hydrothermal breccia over 1 km southeast of Telbel, indicating system continuation.
The winter campaign achieved an 86% success rate, with 19 of 22 holes intersecting target mineralization, none of which are yet included in the 2026 Douay/Joutel Mineral Resource Estimate (0.9 Mt at 4.53 g/t Au Indicated and 7.5 Mt at 4.11 g/t Au Inferred). Maple Gold has launched a fully funded, $9 million, 25,000 m fall drill program focused on near-surface resource growth, targeted conversion from Inferred to Indicated, and metallurgical testing, supported by an internal scoping/engineering study and a ~$23 million treasury.
Positive
- High-grade intercept JO-26-18: 8.6 g/t Au over 4.2 m within 2.5 g/t over 18.3 m
- Additional intercept JO-26-19: 2.5 g/t Au over 2.0 m within 1.2 g/t over 9.7 m, plus 4.3 g/t over 1.6 m
- Mineralization extended up to 450 m beyond Eagle-Telbel mine workings and >1 km southeast of Telbel
- High drill hit rate: 19 of 22 winter holes (86%) intersected target mineralization
- Maiden Joutel underground resource: 0.9 Mt at 4.53 g/t Au Indicated and 7.5 Mt at 4.11 g/t Au Inferred
- Fully funded fall program: 25,000 m of drilling with a $9 million budget backed by ~$23 million treasury
Negative
- None.
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
Highlights
High-grade gold mineralization at Joutel has been extended up to 450 metres ("m") beyond the Eagle-Telbel mine workings; system remains open along strike and at depth.
New drill hole intercepts, located between the Eagle and Telbel shafts at approximately 200 m vertical depth and approximately 100 m above the Eagle mine workings, include:
JO-26-18: 8.6 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold ("Au") over 4.2 m within 2.5 g/t Au over 18.3 m.
JO-26-19: 2.5 g/t Au over 2.0 m within 1.2 g/t Au over 9.7 m.
Reconnaissance drilling >1 kilometre ("km") southeast of the Telbel shaft intersected ~69 m of anomalous gold-bearing hydrothermal breccia—the same mineralization style associated with historical gold production at Eagle-Telbel—highlighting potential well beyond the mine complex.
Assays for all 22 winter drill holes (10,870 m) have now been reported, with 19 of 22 drill holes (
86% ) from the inaugural Joutel drill campaign intersecting target mineralization.None of the winter drill results were included in the Company's updated 2026 Douay/Joutel Mineral Resource Estimate (the "2026 MRE") (see news release dated April 27, 2026). The maiden Joutel underground resource comprises:
Indicated: 0.9 million tonnes ("Mt") at 4.53 g/t Au for 126,000 ounces ("oz") Au.
Inferred: 7.5 Mt at 4.11 g/t Au for 992,000 oz Au.
The Company has launched an expanded, fully funded 25,000 m fall drill campaign focused on accelerating near-surface resource growth and targeted resource conversion at Joutel.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 10, 2026) - Maple Gold Mines Ltd. (TSXV: MGM) (OTCQX: MGMLF) (FSE: M3G0) ("Maple Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to report new results from the final four (4) holes of its 10,870 m winter drill campaign (the "Winter Program") at the Joutel Gold Project ("Joutel"), part of its
“The success of the Winter Program, together with the 2026 MRE, underscores Joutel’s potential as a premier asset within our district-scale gold platform, and we are moving decisively to turn exploration success into meaningful resource growth,” stated Kiran Patankar, President and CEO of Maple Gold. "To support this work, we have launched an aggressive 25,000 m Fall Program backed by a strong treasury, a completed internal scoping study that is guiding our exploration and development decisions, and additional near-term catalysts across Douay/Joutel. We believe Maple Gold is well positioned to deliver value for shareholders as we continue to advance one of Québec's most compelling emerging gold districts."
Joutel's Geological Setting
Joutel hosts the historical Eagle, Eagle West and Telbel gold mines (together, the "Joutel Mining Complex") which produced 1.1 million ounces of gold at an average grade of 6.5 g/t Au between 1974 and 19931. The Joutel Mining Complex lies along the southern branch of the regional Casa Berardi Deformation Zone ("CBDZ"), a major gold-bearing structure in Québec's prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt (Figure 1). Gold mineralization is hosted within the uppermost cycle of the Joutel volcanic complex (the "Mine Sequence"), which includes a thick rhyodacitic to dacitic pyroclastic footwall unit overlain by interbedded clastic and chemical sedimentary rocks, felsic pyroclastics, and mafic flows. Within the Mine Sequence, the continuous Main Iron Carbonate Horizon ("MICH") hosted the bulk of historical gold production (Figures 2 and 3). The MICH trends southeast and dips sub-vertically. Both the Eagle and Telbel mines host higher-grade 'shoots' within the MICH that plunge to the southeast, consistent with the regional plunge lineation. The MICH is the primary exploration target along strike and up- and down-plunge of the known high-grade mineralization. Secondary targets include sub-parallel carbonate horizons, altered zones within felsic tuffs, and a continuous microgabbro unit in the footwall to the MICH.
Winter Program Results and Key Findings
The four (4) drill holes (JO-26-16, JO-26-17, JO-26-18 and JO-26-19) reported today were designed to test shallow areas with limited drilling between, and along strike from, the historical Eagle and Telbel Mines (Figures 2, 3, and 4). These holes targeted interpreted zones of high-grade gold mineralization projected up-plunge from historic mined-out stopes within the MICH host unit.
The best results came from drill hole JO-26-18 drilled between the Eagle and Telbel mine shafts, which returned 8.6 g/t Au over 4.2 m within 2.5 g/t Au over 18.3 m within the MICH. Drill hole JO-26-19 returned 2.5 g/t Au over 2.0 m within 1.2 g/t Au over 9.7 m in a 50 m horizontal step-out northwest along the MICH from previously reported drill hole JO-25-07 which returned 5.3 g/t Au over 6.8 m (see news release dated February 26, 2026). Hole JO-26-19 also intersected 4.3 g/t Au over 1.6 m in the parallel and continuous microgabbro unit in the footwall to the MICH.
Further southeast, drill hole JO-26-16, located >1 km from the Telbel mine shaft, intersected ~69 m of hydrothermal breccia—a key mineralization style associated with the MICH. This strongly suggests that the gold mineralizing system at Joutel extends well beyond the Joutel Mining Complex and the potential for additional southeast plunging shoots with a similar attitude to Eagle-Telbel.
Importantly, all Winter Program results were received after the November 1, 2025 cutoff date for the 2026 MRE, representing additional resource upside. Complete assay results for the drill holes reported herein are presented in Table 1.
Figure 1: Property map of the Douay/Joutel Project
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Figure 2: Joutel plan view map of the Eagle-Telbel Mine Area highlighting 2025-2026 Completed Drill Holes
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Figure 3: Joutel longitudinal section with Eagle-Telbel Underground Workings & Mined-Out Stopes (in grey), 2026 MRE blocks and 2025-2026 Completed Drill Holes with Significant Assay Results. Looking Northeast.
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Figure 4: Joutel DDH Cross-Section – Telbel Mine East – Drill Holes JO-25-06, JO-25-07 and JO-26-18 with Significant Assay Results. Looking West.
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Table 1: Joutel 2026 Winter Program – Significant Assay Results
| Target | From | To | Length* | Au_FA |
| Drill Hole | (m) | (m) | (m) | (g/t) |
| Tebel Mine - Eastern Step-Outs | ||||
| JO-26-16 | 275.3 | 287.0 | 11.7 | 0.3 |
| JO-26-17 | No Significant Assays | |||
| Eagle Mine - Between the Dykes | ||||
| JO-26-18 | 311.0 | 333.7 | 22.7 | 2.0 |
| Including | 311.0 | 329.3 | 18.3 | 2.5 |
| Including | 311.0 | 317.2 | 6.2 | 6.2 |
| Including | 313.0 | 317.2 | 4.2 | 8.6 |
| Including | 313.0 | 314.0 | 1.0 | 15.5 |
| And Including | 316.3 | 317.2 | 0.9 | 19.7 |
| JO-26-19 | 295.3 | 305.0 | 9.7 | 1.2 |
| Including | 300.3 | 305.0 | 4.7 | 1.9 |
| Including | 303.0 | 305.0 | 2.0 | 2.5 |
| And | 346.5 | 359.6 | 13.1 | 0.6 |
| And Including | 358.0 | 359.6 | 1.6 | 4.3 |
* Intersections are reported as drilled widths; true widths are estimated to be 60
The Winter Program was designed to test both the continuity of the system and the strength of the Company's geological and targeting model. Five (5) key takeaways at Joutel are shaping how the Company approaches H2 2026:
The Joutel system is predictable, and the geological model is well understood: An
86% drill success rate that returned multiple thick intervals of high-grade gold mineralization (Table 2) within modeled stratigraphy provides confidence to target continued near-surface resource expansion along all prospective mineralized horizons during the Fall Program, with a particular focus on the MICH.Significant expansion potential remains: The majority of step-out holes drilled this season intersected gold mineralization, reinforcing the strength of the system and meaningful opportunities to further expand the resource at shallow depths, and eventually at depth, where the mineralized system remains wide open.
Confirmation of high-grade: Seven (7) drill holes returned 11 individual high-grade core intervals >15 g/t Au with a high of 40.8 g/t Au over 0.5 m, underscoring the strength of mineralization within this system (Table 3).
Understanding of plunge control and potential for sub-parallel zones: Drilling to date has confirmed both the continuity of the MICH and a strong southeast plunge to the high-grade mineralization, which helps drive future targeting up-plunge to surface and also down-plunge to depth below the historical underground workings. Drilling has also identified parallel zones within the hanging wall felsic volcanic tuffs and the footwall microgabbro unit and these represent additional targets for the Company in the Fall Program.
Completed scoping study guiding integrated exploration/development approach: The Fall Program will continue to prioritize resource expansion, while also targeting resource conversion from Inferred to Indicated in selected areas to deliver a more robust resource base and completing metallurgical test work to support broader development objectives at Douay/Joutel.
Fall Program Outline
Maple Gold has commenced an aggressive Fall Program at Joutel, including 25,000 m of diamond drilling, focused on three (3) key objectives:
Filling in the gaps between and around the past-producing Eagle and Telbel mines, targeting the shallow, under-explored areas between the two mine shafts where the Winter Program returned some of the strongest results.
Strengthening the overall resource base, by improving drill density, confidence and classification of Class 4 (Speculative) material in the 2026 MRE and completing targeted conversion from Inferred to Indicated in selected areas, to support future resource updates and development studies.
Testing the highest-priority expansion zones, including areas northwest of Eagle, between Eagle and Telbel, and southeast of Telbel, where this year's step-out holes confirmed the mineralized horizon extends well beyond the mine complex and 2026 MRE.
The Fall Program is expected to generate a steady pipeline of exploration results through the remainder of 2026 while supporting future resource updates and development studies. The Company recently completed an internal Douay/Joutel scoping/engineering/trade-off analysis to support future development studies aimed at evaluating potential mining scenarios within the district. This work included an evaluation of a centralized mill facility to process material from both the Joutel and Douay deposits, leveraging their close proximity (~35 km by road) to drive operational efficiencies.
As part of ongoing Project de-risking initiatives, the planned Fall Program will also include metallurgical testing at Joutel to better understand ore behaviour and support process flowsheet design for optimal gold recoveries, alongside additional trade-off, engineering and financial analysis.
Overall Program Update
During H1 2026, the Company completed 68 drill holes totaling ~31,700 m at Douay/Joutel and three (3) drill holes totaling ~1,300 m at its Morris VMS Project located east of Matagami, Québec. Assay results have now been reported for 14 holes from Douay and all 22 holes from Joutel. Additional assay results will be reported as they are received, following QA/QC validation.
Table 2: Top 10 Joutel Grade x Thickness Intersections from the Winter Program
| Target | From | To | Length* | Au_FA |
| Drill Hole | (m) | (m) | (m) | (g/t) |
| JO-25-01 | 512.2 | 517.5 | 5.3 | 7.6 |
| JO-25-05 | 517.5 | 525.5 | 8.0 | 8.5 |
| JO-25-07 | 300.8 | 307.5 | 6.8 | 5.3 |
| JO-26-09 | 244.0 | 247.0 | 3.0 | 4.1 |
| JO-26-11 | 556.4 | 566.8 | 10.4 | 8.6 |
| And | 585.4 | 602.5 | 17.1 | 3.8 |
| JO-26-13 | 606.5 | 614.3 | 7.8 | 3.5 |
| JO-26-14 | 598.5 | 606.0 | 7.5 | 7.4 |
| JO-26-15 | 238.8 | 240.9 | 2.0 | 14.0 |
| JO-26-18 | 313.0 | 317.2 | 4.2 | 8.6 |
* Intersections are reported as drilled widths; true widths are estimated to be 60
Table 3: Top High-Grade (>15 g/t Au) Intersections from the Winter Program
| Target | From | To | Length* | Au_FA |
| Drill Hole | (m) | (m) | (m) | (g/t) |
| JO-25-01 | 513.7 | 515.2 | 1.5 | 25.4 |
| JO-25-05 | 517.5 | 518.0 | 0.5 | 40.8 |
| And | 523.3 | 523.8 | 0.5 | 29.8 |
| And | 525.0 | 525.5 | 0.5 | 30.8 |
| JO-26-11 | 557.7 | 558.9 | 1.2 | 25.4 |
| And | 598.9 | 600.2 | 1.3 | 34.3 |
| JO-26-13 | 612.1 | 613.4 | 1.3 | 16.3 |
| JO-26-14 | 600.0 | 602.0 | 2.0 | 15.5 |
| JO-26-15 | 239.4 | 240.2 | 0.8 | 32.6 |
| JO-26-18 | 313.0 | 314.0 | 1.0 | 15.5 |
| And | 316.3 | 317.2 | 0.9 | 19.7 |
* Intersections are reported as drilled widths; true widths are estimated to be 60
Additional Notes
Starting azimuth, dip and final length (Azimuth/Dip/Length (m)) for the four (4) drill holes reported in this news release are noted as follows: JO-26-16 (045/45/375), JO-26-17 (045/45/438), JO-26-18 (037/54/420), and JO-26-19 (040/45/399).
Quality Assurance and Quality Control
The Company implements strict Quality Assurance ("QA") and Quality Control ("QC") protocols at Joutel covering the planning and placing of drill holes in the field, drilling and retrieving the NQ-sized drill core, drill hole surveying, core transport, core logging by qualified personnel, sampling and bagging of ½ cut drill core for analysis, and the transport of samples from site to commercial laboratories for analysis.
All core drilling conducted by the Company is oriented. Samples of drill core were cut by a diamond blade rock saw, with half of the cut core placed in individual sealed polyurethane bags and half placed back in the original core box for permanent storage at the Douay site. Sample lengths typically vary from a minimum 0.3 m interval to a maximum 1.5 m interval, with an average 0.5 to 1.0 m sample length. Drill core samples were delivered by truck in sealed woven plastic bags to ALS Geochemistry laboratory facility in Val-d'Or, Quebec for sample preparation with final analysis at ALS Geochemistry Analytical Lab facility in North Vancouver, BC. for the fire assay fusion method and induced coupled plasma ("ICP") atomic emission spectroscopy. ALS Geochemistry facilities operate meeting all requirements of International Standards ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and ISO 9001:2015.
Drill core samples were crushed to
All ALS Geochemistry sites operate under a single Global Geochemistry Quality Manual that complies with ISO/IEC 17025:2017. ALS Geochemistry follows the quality management and operational guidelines set out in the international standards ISO/IEC 17025 – "General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories" and ISO 9001 – "Quality Management Systems".
Qualified Person
Pascal Lessard, géo (OGQ #00434), Vice President, Exploration of Maple Gold, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information related to exploration and Mineral Resource matters contained in this news release. Mr. Lessard is a Qualified Person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
About Maple Gold
Maple Gold Mines Ltd. is a well-funded Canadian gold exploration company focused on advancing its
Maple Gold's property package also hosts a significant number of regional exploration targets along a 55-kilometre strike length of the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone that have yet to be tested through drilling, making the property ripe for new gold and VMS discoveries. The Company is currently focused on carrying out exploration and drill programs to grow mineral 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.
"Kiran Patankar"
Kiran Patankar, President & CEO
For Further Information, Please Contact:
Sarah Herriott, Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Development
Phone: +1 (647) 265-8688
Email: sherriott@maplegoldmines.com
Website: www.maplegoldmines.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/maplegoldmines
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Forward-Looking Statements and Cautionary Notes:
This news 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. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "aims," "potential," "goal," "objective," "strategy," "prospective," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could," or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements about the resource expansion and discovery potential across the Company's gold projects, and its intention to pursue such potential, and the Company's exploration work and results from current and future work programs. Although the Company believes that forward-looking statements in this news release are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct, as forward-looking statements are based on assumptions, uncertainties and management's best estimate of future events on the date the statements are made and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations and projections, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. For a more detailed discussion of additional risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements in this news release, please refer to the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators available on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval Plus (SEDAR+) at www.sedarplus.ca or the Company's website at www.maplegoldmines.com. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and/or the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any intention to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
1 The Eagle, Telbel and Eagle West Gold Mines at the Joutel Mining Complex were in production from 1974 to 1993 and produced 1.1 million ounces of gold at an average grade of 6.5 g/t Au (Agnico Eagle Mines Limited's corporate website).
2 The Douay Project contains Indicated Mineral Resources estimated at 779,000 oz Au (18.2 Mt at 1.33 g/t Au), and Inferred Mineral Resources estimated at 3,305,000 oz Au (122.7 Mt at 0.84 g/t Au). See the Technical Report titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report, Douay/Joutel Gold Project, Northwestern Quebec, Canada" prepared by SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd. dated June 11, 2026 (effective date of April 24, 2026).
3 The Joutel Project contains Indicated Mineral Resources estimated at 126,000 oz Au (0.9 Mt at 4.53 g/t Au), and Inferred Mineral Resources estimated at 992,000 oz Au (7.5 Mt at 4.11 g/t Au). See the Technical Report titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report, Douay/Joutel Gold Project, Northwestern Quebec, Canada" prepared by SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd. with an effective date of April 24, 2026, and dated June 11, 2026.
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