Marathon Gold going the distance in Newfoundland, Idaho

Vancouver – While Marathon Gold‘s (MOZ-T) flagship project sits in the centre of Newfoundland, the company is also ramping up its U.S. presence with a 20,000-metre drill program on its Golden Chest mine in Idaho and its recent acquisition of the historic Bonanza Mine in Oregon.

At the historic Golden Chest mine, located within Idaho’s prolific Coeur d’Alene mining district, Marathon expects to release a compliant resource within the first quarter of 2012 thanks to 10,000 metres of drilling last year.

The mine already hosts historic resources from the New Jersey Mining Company, from which Marathon has already earned a 50% stake in the property and can earn 10% more by spending $3.5-million, and from historic work completed by Newmont Exploration Limited in the 1980s. New Jersey Mining started exploring the property in 2003 and as of late 2010 had established a non-43-101 but SEC compliant underground resource of 242,000 measured and indicated tonnes grading 5.1 grams gold for roughly 38,000 contained oz. gold. Newmont’s work established non-compliant open pit resources of 1.2 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 1.35 grams gold per tonne and 5.5 million inferred tonnes grading 0.98 gram gold.

Results from Marathon’s drilling last year included hole 34 that hit 21.6 metres grading 5.07 grams gold from 26 metres depth, hole 33 that cut 19.9 metres averaging 3 grams gold from 22 metres downhole, and hole 39 that returned 29.1 metres carrying 1.94 grams gold from 3.4 metres downhole, all reported as true widths. The drill holes were all designed to be incorporated into the upcoming resource targeting the open-pit potential of the hillside mineralization.

Most recently the company reported the discovery of a new underground gold-bearing quartz vein at Golden Chest that returned 1.4 metres grading 29.4 grams gold true width. The vein, in the north end of the old mine, sits roughly 12 metres from the existing mine ramp. The company’s 2012 exploration program, using two surface drill rigs, is designed primarily to push the open-pit potential further north.

The Golden Chest property spans 5.2 sq. km over 24 patented and 70 unpatented mining claims and is fully permitted for drilling, underground mining and tailings storage. Gold at the project is associated with the Idaho thrust fault, with most of the veins hosted in a quartzitic unit while an overlying unit consists of an argillite-siltite sequence of rocks.

Heading westward, Marathon secured full ownership of the Bonanza mine in northeastern Oregon from Gazelle Land and Timber in December. The mine sits in the historic Greenhorn gold district and has seen little to no modern exploration. The property spans 13 patented lode claims and one patented parcel covering roughly 121 hectares. Marathon paid 300,000 shares and US$125,000 for the mine, while Gazelle keeps a 2% net smelter return royalty.

Historic reports show the mine produced almost 100,000 oz. gold in the late 1800s from roughly 128,500 tons of ore grading 1.2 oz. per ton. Recovery was about 65% with some gold apparently tied up in sulphides that were difficult to separate at the time. The mine hosts three main veins, with the namesake Bonanza vein traceable for more than 760 metres on surface. Marathon plans to start exploring the property in the second quarter of 2012.

At their flagship property in Newfoundland, Marathon is ramping up exploration for another year. The Valentine Lake project, which saw 25,250 metres of drilling last year, should see some 40,000 metres of drilling this year.

Like the Golden Chest property, Marathon expects to have an open pit resource on the Leprechaun gold deposit at the Valentine project in the first quarter of this year. The target already hosts a 3.3 million tonne measured and indicated resource grading 2.6 grams gold for roughly 277,000 oz. gold, plus 4.4 million inferred tonnes grading 2 grams gold for 285,000 oz. gold.

Marathon is advancing the Leprechaun deposit with its 50-50 joint venture partner Mountain Lake Resource (MOA-V). Marathon also holds 100% interest in the Finger Pond and Baie Verte gold and base metal properties in Newfoundland.

The company came about as a spin-out in late 2010 following Stillwater Mining‘s (SWC-N) takeover of Marathon’s parent company Marathon PGM, with Stillwater still controlling some 15% of Marathon. The company is led by Phillip Walford as president and CEO, who has some 40 years of experience in the mining industry throughout the Americas.

In late 2011 Marathon completed a $10-million equity financing, selling just under 4 million units at $1.40 each, plus 2.7 million flow-through shares at $1.65 each. The company now has roughly 30 million shares outstanding, plus almost 5 million warrants and options at between $1.61 and $1.80. The company’s share price recently closed at 93¢, down from a strong recovery in October to almost $1.70 following several high grade hits on its Leprechaun deposit.