New Phase of Growth Drilling Commences at High-Priority Gradina Prospect at

Athena Gold Corporation (CSE:ATHA)(OTCQB:AHNR) (“Athena Gold” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that, further to its press release of September 11, 2024, the Company has executed a definitive agreement (the “Definitive Agreement”) dated September 30, 2024 with Libra Lithium Corp. (“Libra”), a privately-held company, to acquire up to a 100% right, title and interest in the Laird Lake and Oneman Lake gold projects in Ontario (collectively called the “Properties”) (the “Acquisition”).

Upon final regulatory approvals, members of Libra’s board and management teams are expected to join Athena Gold. David Goodman, LLB, CFA, will join the Board of Directors as Chairman and Koby Kushner, P.Eng., CFA, will take on the role of President, CEO, and Director. John Power, current President of Athena Gold, is expected to remain as Secretary and Director. Ty Minnick will remain as Chief Financial Officer. The Board of Directors will consist of Athena’s current Board of Directors which includes John Power, Brian Power and John Hiner and be expanded to five members with David Goodman and Koby Kushner. Members from Libra’s technical team, Benjamin Kuzmich, MSc, P.Geo, and Andrew Jedemann, MSc, P.Geo, are expected to join Athena Gold as Vice President, Exploration, and Exploration Manager, respectively.

“Our team has spent the last few months compiling all historical data across Athena’s portfolio in Nevada. As we dig deeper into the data at Excelsior Springs, we can’t help but become more excited,” said incoming CEO, Koby Kushner. “I believe Athena has some of the best drill intercepts from a junior mining company in Nevada, and that our team is well equipped to re-envision what was historically a high-grade, underground brownfields site, into a large-scale, high-margin, open pit gold target. Meanwhile, our team continues to put boots on the ground in Ontario, where we have samples pending from our recent reconnaissance program at Laird Lake.”

“Building upon our recent advancements at Excelsior Springs, I look forward to collaborating with Koby and his dedicated technical team with our collective goal to continue building shareholder value. While Excelsior Springs remains our flagship project, I am keen to diversify our portfolio with the addition of Laird Lake and Oneman Lake projects in Ontario,” said John Power, President & CEO. “I am particularly excited about Laird, which covers an underexplored portion of the Red Lake Mining Camp and is proximal to Great Bear and Madsen mines under development. I would also like to extend a warm welcome to Libra as a shareholder in Athena.”

Highlights:

• Athena is to acquire Libra’s Laird Lake and Oneman Lake projects in Ontario through the issuance of common shares to Libra, such that Libra will own 43,865,217 shares in Athena upon completion of the planned amalgamation.
• Laird Lake (4,158 ha) is located in Ontario’s Red Lake Gold Camp, which has produced over 29 million ounces of goldi from some of the highest-grade gold…