MOZ Marathon Gold Corporation

TORONTO, Dec. 16, 2011 /CNW/ - Marathon Gold Corporation ("Marathon" or the "Company") today announced that it has purchased the Bonanza Mine, located in north eastern Oregon, USA from the Gazelle Land and Timber LLC ("Gazelle"). The Bonanza Mine is a historic high-grade producer and Marathon owns 100% of the property. "As Marathon's focus has always been to rapidly develop gold resources in the mining friendly jurisdictions of Canada and the USA, this property exhibited real merit and promise and was a natural fit for the Company. The Bonanza Mine was one of the larger mines in the historic Greenhorn Gold District and we are not aware of any modern exploration work being conducted on this former high-grade producer. We believe this property has excellent upside exploration potential and as we own 100% of the asset, we anticipate it generating value for the Company," stated Phillip Walford, President and CEO of Marathon Gold Corporation. "Closing what was already a successful year for Marathon with this strategic acquisition is a highlight for the Company and we are eager to begin exploration work on this property in 2012." The Bonanza Mine is comprised of 13 patented lode claims and one patented parcel totaling approximately 300 acres. Under the terms of the agreement with Gazelle, Marathon paid 300,000 shares and $125,000 USD for the Bonanza Mine. Gazelle will retain a 2% NSR on the property which includes a right to buy back 1% of the NSR for $1,000,000 USD at the election of Marathon. Gazelle will also retain the timber rights for 20 years from the date of purchase. Additional lode claims are being added to the land package. These claims have no royalties. About the Bonanza Mine The deposit is located in Baker County approximately 30 miles west of the town of Baker in north east Oregon, USA. The mine went into production in 1877 and there is no recorded production after 1904. Recorded mine production was 128,500 tons grading 1.2 ounces per ton and 99,900 ounces of gold was produced from that ore with an average recovery of 65%. Some of the gold was reported to be tied up in sulfides and difficult to liberate with the metallurgy of that time. Available accounts indicate that high grade portions of the veins were selectively mined and the lower grade and lower recovery material was left. The cut off grade for low grade was anything grading less than 0.6 ounces per ton. The mine was developed on multiple levels to a depth of 1,200 ft. Three main veins are listed as being important for mining, the South Vein, Bonanza Vein and North Vein. The Bonanza Vein can be followed on surface from more than 2,500 ft. The Veins vary from a foot to 6 ft wide and locally can be up to 30 ft wide, dipping steeply to the southwest. Marathon plans to begin work on the Bonanza Mine in the second quarter of 2012. Phillip Walford, P. Geo., President and CEO, Marathon's Qualified Person, has reviewed the contents for accuracy and has approved this press release on behalf of Marathon. 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, and a project in the prolific Coeur d'Alene Mining District of Idaho.  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 CONTACT: Marathon Gold CorporationJennie Guay Investor Relations ManagerTel: 1-416-987-0714 Email: jguay@marathon-gold.com

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