Marathon Gold Hits 6.53 g/t Au over 15.3 meters and 2.36 g/t Au over 29.75 meters at the 100% Owned Leprechaun Gold Deposit, Valentine Lake Project

Marathon Gold Corporation ("Marathon" or the "Company") (MOZ: TSX) today announced continued positive results from the summer 2012 drilling program at the Valentine Lake Project, Newfoundland (Figure 1). Step-out drilling at the Leprechaun Gold Deposit has intersected new high-grade gold mineralization up to 150 meters down-dip from the previously defined Main Zone boundary. This new drilling in the central part of the Leprechaun Gold Deposit continues to expand the high-grade Main Zone that is currently open at depth.

Highlights include:

• Significant down-dip expansion of the Main Zone and growth of underground mining targets with new high-grade Main Zone mineralization including 6.53 g/t Au over 15.3 meters with 51.04 g/t Au over 0.9 meters, 15.14 g/t Au over 1.8 meters, and 13.71 g/t Au over 1.8 meters in VL-12-444, and 2.36 g/t Au over 29.75 meters with 46.50 g/t Au over 0.85 meters and 7.03 g/t Au over 0.85 meters in VL-12-448.
• Increased along strike continuity of high-grade Main Zone mineralization with infill drilling including 5.03 g/t Au over 10.0 meters with 31.21 g/t Au over 1.0 meters in VL-12-445, 4.75 g/t Au over 7.6 meters with 20.24 g/t Au over 0.95 meters in VL-12-449 (Photo 1), and 7.56 g/t Au over 5.7 meters with 12.61 g/t Au over 1.9 meters in VL-12-451.
• Continued growth of the 100% owned Leprechaun Gold Deposit with down-dip expansion of the high-grade Main Zone mineralization and development of underground targets.

"The results from this summer's step-out drilling program have been very successful. These new results confirm that the Leprechaun Gold Deposit is extending to depth. The central part of the deposit continues to exhibit high-grade gold mineralization which provides us with further encouragement, as it demonstrates that this deposit has the potential to be mined on surface or underground," said Phillip Walford, President and CEO of Marathon Gold.

TABLE 1: Significant Assay Intervals from drill holes in the Leprechaun Gold Deposit *

*  Drill hole VL-12-442 returned no significant mineralized intervals.
** Denotes: MZ - Main Zone, and HW - Hanging Wall Zone

The Valentine Lake Project is now 100% owned by Marathon Gold Corporation (see July 9, 2012 news release). Marathon has begun a summer-fall 2012 program of prospecting, geological mapping and trenching along the highly prospective 23 kilometer strike length of the property outside of the current boundaries of the Leprechaun Gold Deposit. All grades in this release are uncut, and all thicknesses are estimated true thicknesses. A total of 86 drill holes totaling 22,495 meters (56.2%) of the planned 2012 drilling campaign have now been completed.

All of the samples were analyzed at Eastern Analytical Laboratory Ltd., in Springdale, Newfoundland. Samples were assayed using lead collection fire assay with AA (atomic absorption) finish. Due to the coarse nature of the gold at the Leprechaun Gold Deposit, the metallic screening method is used on economically important intersections using standard fire assay techniques. The reported values in this release are fire assay results.

Sherry Dunsworth, M.Sc., P. Geo., VP of Exploration, Marathon's Qualified Person, has reviewed the contents for accuracy and has approved this press release on behalf of Marathon.

About the Valentine Lake Project

Marathon Gold Corporation is now the 100% owner of the Valentine Lake Project. The Leprechaun Gold Deposit is situated at the south-western end of the Valentine Lake Project, and the Valentine East Gold Zone is located 17 kilometers along strike running in a north-easterly direction.  The J. Frank Zone, which currently extends over an area in excess of 850 meters in length and 250 meters in width, is located up to 0.5 kilometers southwest along strike from the current Resource boundary of the Leprechaun Gold Deposit. These gold occurrences form part of a 23 kilometer long, highly prospective gold-bearing mineralized corridor focused along the Valentine Lake thrust fault.

About the Leprechaun Gold Deposit

The Leprechaun Gold Deposit has a NI 43-101 compliant Measured and Indicated Resource of 6,446,000 tonnes grading 2.05 g/t gold, for a total estimated 424,000 ounces of gold (news release, March 29, 2012). The Inferred Resource is 5,742,000 tonnes grading 1.65 g/t gold, for an estimated 305,000 ounces of gold. This resource was estimated using a 0.5 g/t gold minimum cut-off over a 3 meter minimum width. The Leprechaun Gold Deposit is open at depth and along strike.

About Marathon Gold Corporation

Marathon Gold Corporation is a North American gold resource development company, with projects located in the mining friendly province of Newfoundland and Labrador, the prolific Coeur d'Alene Mining District of Idaho and the historic gold rich Greenhorn District of Oregon, USA.  Marathon has a project pipeline consisting of early stage exploration to advanced resource development projects. Marathon is continually evaluating new gold resource development projects of merit that are located within the Americas.  Marathon's focused and low-cost approach to exploration and resource development has an established record of delivering rapid growth.  For more information visit: www.marathon-gold.com

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Except for statements of historical fact relating to Marathon Gold Corporation, certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or include words such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "believes", "considers", "intends", "targets", or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "may", "will", "should", "would" and "could". We provide forward-looking statements for the purpose of conveying information about our current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes.  By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to those identified and reported in Marathon Gold Corporation's public filings, which may be accessed at www.sedar.com.  Other than as specifically required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, whether as a result of new information, future events, results or otherwise.

Marathon Gold Corporation
Jennie Guay
Investor Relations Manager
Tel: 1-416-987-0714
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