Nighthawk Gold Corp. (“Nighthawk” or the “Company”) (TSX: NHK; OTCQX: MIMZF) is pleased to report the initial drill assay results from its 2022 Exploration Program, with encouraging results from its 24 and 27 Deposits (collectively, the “24/27 Deposit”) located in the Colomac Centre Area on its property in the Northwest Territories, Canada.

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Figure 1 – 24/27 Deposit Isometric View – Looking Southwest (Graphic: Business Wire)

Keyvan Salehi, P.Eng. (Nighthawk President & CEO) commented, “We received more encouraging drill assay results from the Colomac Centre. The 24/27 Deposit drilling yielded higher-grade, near-surface mineralization outside the current Mineral Resource Estimate¹ pit shells. Drill Hole TFS22-02 intersected 6.75 g/t Au over 12.75 m and was the highlight of this batch of results (see Figure 1). The potential expansion of the open-pit mineralization in the Colomac Centre appears to be supported by the data received so far.”

2022 Exploration Program

Drilling in 2022 primarily targeted areas outside the 2022 MRE¹ pit shells. Nighthawk’s goal is to continue expanding the potential pit-constrained mineralization, particularly in the higher-grade areas. This latest batch of results represents 4,387 m of drilling, bringing the total reported assay results to 10,003 m of drilling for 2022. Please refer to Figure 2 for the Colomac Centre Location Map.

24/27 Deposit

Most of the 2022 exploration drilling at 24/27 Deposit was designed to target higher-grade, near surface mineralization outside of the known mineralization. Gold mineralization in these areas is hosted by grey-white smoky quartz veins, within a sheared intermediate volcaniclastic rock bounded on the east by sediments. Most of the 24/27 Deposit drill assay results returned mineralized intersections outside the current Mineral Resource Estimate¹ pit shells, which suggest the potential expansion of the mineral resources in these areas. Please refer to Figure 3 for a Plan View Map of the 24/27 Deposit drilling. Mineralized widths at the 24 Deposit were confirmed to be wider than previously thought, as evidenced by drill hole TFS22-02, which intersected mineralization of 6.75 g/t Au over 12.75 m (including 16.45 g/t Au over 2.75 m) and 1.20 g/t Au over 26.75 (including 8.41 g/t Au over 1.1 m) closer to surface than previously expected. Please refer to Figures 1, 4 and 5 for the 24/27 Deposit Isometric View, 24 Deposit Section View, and 27 Deposit Section View of the highlighted drill holes, respectively. TFS22-13 and TFS22-11 are step out drill holes located approximately 250 m to the north, along strike, of the 24/27 Deposit. Both drill holes intersected narrow mineralized quartz veining within the same intermediate volcanic on as the 24 Deposit and warrant continued exploration along strike. Additional drill assays are pending for the south extension of the 24/27 Deposit.

Technical Information

The pit shell outlines in Figures 1 to 5 are from the 2022 MRE¹ and were completed by InnovExplo Inc. and are defined by a US$1,600/oz gold price assumption.

Nighthawk has implemented a quality-control program to comply with best practices in the sampling and analysis of drill core. Drill core samples were transported in security-sealed bags for analyses at ALS Global Assay Laboratory in Vancouver, BC (“ALS Global”). ALS Global is an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory. Halved drill core is stored on site and pulps are returned and stored for record.

As part of its QA/QC program, Nighthawk inserts external gold standards (low to high-grade), blanks and duplicates every 20 samples in addition to the standards, blanks, and pulp duplicates inserted by ALS Global.

Qualified Person

John McBride, MSc., P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration for Nighthawk, who is the "Qualified Person" as defined by NI 43-101 for this project, has reviewed and approved of the technical disclosure contained in this news release.

About Nighthawk

Nighthawk is a Canadian-based gold exploration company with 100% ownership of more than 930 km² of district-scale land position within the Indin Lake Greenstone Gold Belt, located approximately 200 km north of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. The Company is advancing several highly prospective exploration targets. The Colomac Centre and Satellite deposits currently has a Mineral Resource Estimate¹ of 58.2 million tonnes grading 1.44 g/t Au for 2.69 million ounces in the Indicated category and 19.7 million tonnes grading 2.10 g/t Au for 1.33 million ounces in the Inferred category. Nighthawk’s experienced management team, with a track record of successfully advancing projects and operating mines, is working towards demonstrating the economic viability of its assets and rapidly advancing its projects towards a development decision.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, information with respect to the Company’s mineral resource estimates, potential expansion of pit-constrained mineralization, potential expansion of mineral resource estimates, the potential for higher-grade assay results, continued exploration and drilling initiatives and having the necessary funding required to complete these initiatives, the prospectivity of exploration targets, the potential economic viability of the assets, and the advancement of projects towards a development decision. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “add” or “additional”, “advancing”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, “appears”, “believes”, “can be”, “continue”, “demonstrating”, “estimates”, “encouraging”, “expand” or “expanding” or “expansion”, “expect” or “expectations”, “forecasts”, “forward”, “goal”, “increase”, “intends”, “justification”, “support”, “plans”, “potential” or “potentially”, “prospective”, “prioritize”, “reflects”, “scheduled”, “suggesting”, “updating”, “warrant”, “will be” or “will consider”, “work towards”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might”, or "will be taken", "occur", or "be achieved".

Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is made, and is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Nighthawk to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including risks associated with the exploration, development and mining such as economic factors as they effect exploration, future commodity prices, changes in foreign exchange and interest rates, actual results of current exploration activities, government regulation, political or economic developments, impact of inflation, impact of the war in Ukraine, risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, environmental risks, permitting timelines, capital expenditures, operating or technical difficulties in connection with development activities, employee relations, the speculative nature of gold exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities of grades of reserves, contests over title to properties, and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined as well as those risk factors discussed in Nighthawk’s annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2021, available on www.sedar.com. Although Nighthawk has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Nighthawk does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

¹For more information on the Mineral Resource Estimate (“2022 MRE”) please refer to the March 8, 2022 news release and in the Company’s NI 43-101 technical report entitled “NI 43-101 Technical Report and Update of the Mineral Resource Estimate for the Indin Lake Gold Property, Northwest Territories, Canada” and dated March 31, 2022 (“Technical Report”), which is available on SEDAR www.sedar.com and on the Company’s website at www.nighthawkgold.com. John McBride, Vice President of Exploration of Nighthawk, who is the “Qualified Person” as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed, and approved of the scientific and technical disclosure contained in this news release.

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The 24/27 Deposit drilling yielded higher-grade, near-surface mineralization outside the current Mineral Resource Estimate pit shells. Drill Hole TFS22-02 intersected 6.75 g/t Au over 12.75 m and was the highlight of this batch of results