Nighthawk Extends Broad Mineralized Zones to New Depths at Colomac

INTERCEPTS 124.50 METRES OF 1.12 GPT AU, INCLUDING 13.50 METRES OF 3.60 GPT AU, AND INCLUDING 4.75 METRES OF 7.64 GPT AU

TORONTO, Oct. 31, 2019 - Nighthawk Gold Corp. ("Nighthawk" or the "Company") (TSX: NHK) is pleased to provide the results for five drillholes (2,862 metres) completed on Zones 1.5 and 2.0 of the Colomac Main Sill, part of the Colomac Gold Project ("Colomac") centrally located within its Indin Lake Gold Property, Northwest Territories, Canada. Drilling has provided additional evidence for the merger of high-grade Zone 1.5 with the northern part of Zone 2.0 and extended this broad panel of mineralization to new depths below previously reported intersections. Current drilling has established continuity over significant widths with a pathway for expansion along strike and to depth. The Company has now reported results for 49 drillholes (18,902 metres) of the 91 drillhole (35,018 metre) 2019 program at Colomac.

Three of the five holes were drilled to test the deposit's depth extension marginal to the Zone 1.5 - Zone 2.0 boundary fault, a subvertical northeast-southwest (070^o) fault that offsets the two zones creating a slight "dogleg" in the localized strike of the sill (Figure 1). All holes intersected extensive mineralization with C19-35 returning 124.50 metres of 1.12 gpt Au, including 13.50 metres of 3.60 gpt Au, and including 4.75 metres of 7.64 gpt Au; and hole C19-39 returning 118.50 metres of 1.57 gpt Au, including 32.50 metres of 2.62 gpt Au, and including 7.75 metres of 5.10 gpt Au (Table 1).

Dr. Michael Byron, President and Chief Executive Officer said, "These latest holes have been instrumental in demonstrating that wide panels of mineralization with strong continuity exist to depth, lateral to the boundary fault that separates Zones 1.5 and 2.0. This extensive domain of higher-grade mineralization appears to span the two zones and possibly postdates the fault as it shows no indication of fault disruption or diminution. Drilling of the Colomac Main Sill continues to document cohesive zones of mineralization uninterrupted to depth with relatively uniform distribution. We are confident that these characteristics highlight Colomac's impressive growth potential as a bonafide multi-million-ounce deposit."

Colomac Drilling Highlights:

Zone 1.5

• Hole C19-35 tested an area to depth immediately north of the boundary between high-grade Zone 1.5 and Zone 2.0 and intersected 124.50 metres of 1.12 gpt Au (70 metres true width), including 13.50 metres of 3.60 gpt Au, and including 4.75 metres of 7.64 gpt Au, extending mineralization on this section to 530 metres depth where it remains open.

Zone 2.0

• Hole C19-39 was drilled on the same section as previously reported holes C19-24 (see press release dated July 31, 2019) and the C17-06 series holes (see press release dated July 13, 2017). Hole C19-39 intersected 118.50 metres of 1.57 gpt Au (65 metres true width), including 32.50 metres of 2.62 gpt Au, and including 7.75 metres of 5.10 gpt Au. Mineralization on this section spans from near surface to depth in excess of 550 metres where it remains open.
  
  
• Hole C19-37 undercut previous hole C17-10B (see press release dated August 24, 2017) and intersected 35.75 metres of 1.26 gpt Au (22 metres true width), including 12.60 metres of 2.29 gpt Au, and including 8.00 metres of 2.70 gpt Au, extending mineralization on this drill section to a depth of 450 metres where it remains open.
  
  
• The panel of mineralization that spans Zone 1.5 and 2.0 extends upwards of 400 metres in strike, to a depth of 570 metres, and remains open in both dimensions.

Table 1. Colomac Drill Results (uncut)

Drill Summary

Zone 2.0

Two holes were drilled within the northern section of the zone immediately south of the Zone 1.5 - Zone 2.0 boundary fault to test mineralization to depth, below previously drilled holes that returned wide intercepts within the top of the sill (Figure 1). Hole C19-37, the southernmost of the two, was drilled on the same section as C17-10B which intersected 86.30 metres of 1.45 gpt Au, including 23.30 metres of 1.98 gpt Au, and including 8.40 metres of 3.03 gpt Au (see press release dated August 24, 2017). C19-37 encountered two broad gold intercepts with an upper intersection of 31.50 metres of 1.02 gpt Au, and a lower main intersection of 35.75 metres of 1.26 gpt Au, including 12.60 metres of 2.29 gpt Au, and including 8.00 metres of 2.70 gpt Au, successfully extending mineralization on this section an additional 180 metres to a depth where it is now in excess of 450 metres and open in all directions (Figure 2).

Hole C19-39 was collared 50 metres north of C19-37 to extend mineralization previously reported in holes C17-06, 06B, and 06C (see press release dated July 13, 2017), and hole C19-24 (see press release dated July 31, 2019). The C17-06 series holes were among the first drilled into the resource gap between Zones 1.5 and 2.0 to test for the possible convergence of the two zones into a larger higher-grade domain. C19-24 was drilled on the same section as the C17-06 holes and extended the domain an additional 40 metres to depth, intersecting 56.25 metres of 2.76 gpt Au, including 13.00 metres of 3.51 gpt Au gold, and including 4.25 metres of 14.89. Hole C19-39 was collared 50 metres west of C19-24 to drill deeper on this section and intersected two broad gold intercepts; an upper section of 51.75 metres of 1.37 gpt Au, including 10.00 metres of 2.35 gpt Au, and an 8.25 metres of 2.43 gpt Au, and a lower main section that returned 118.50 metres of 1.57 gpt Au, including 32.50 metres of 2.62 gpt Au, and including 7.75 metres of 5.10 gpt Au (Figure 3). C19-39 successfully extended mineralization on this section to a vertical depth in excess of 550 metres, where it remains open. Hole C19-39B was drilled 100 metres below C19-39 but results are pending.

Drilling to-date within the gap region between Zones 1.5 and 2.0 shows continuity between the zones and has established that the collective domain now extends upwards of 400 metres in strike to a depth of 570 metres and remains open.

Zone 1.5

C19-35 was collared 110 metres from C19-39 just north of the boundary fault (Figure 1). It was drilled to undercut the previously reported intersect in hole C19-17 of 58.50 metres of 1.93 gpt Au, including 13.55 metres of 4.58 gpt Au, and including 4.55 metres of 10.26 gpt Au (see press release dated September 5, 2019). Hole C19-17 was one of several holes that explored the zone's southern extension and infilled an area 70 metres south of hole C19-08, which recorded the project's best intercept to-date of 56.00 metres of 13.49 gpt Au, including 30.50 metres of 22.12 gpt Au, and including 16.50 metres of 34.18 gpt Au (see press release dated May 28, 2019). Hole C19-35 tracked 100 metres below C19-17 intersecting 124.50 metres of 1.12 gpt Au, including 13.50 metres of 3.60 gpt Au, and including 4.75 metres of 7.64 gpt Au, extending mineralization to a depth of 530 metres on this section where it remains open (Figure 4)

Holes C19-33 and C19-33B lie 450 metres north of C19-35 (Figure 1). These shorter holes tested a region above the plunge of Zone 1.5 in an area that had never been drilled to depth, to determine if the top of the plunging zone extends closer to surface. Although both holes reported intersections, they were not typical of the zone's higher-grade nature, indicating that the well-mineralized part of the zone is much deeper on this section.

Assay results are pending for the remaining 50 drillholes (18,543 metres) of the 2019 drill program including drilling on the Colomac Main Sill, the Goldcrest Sill, and Treasure Island.

Technical Information
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. Pulp and metallics assaying for gold was conducted on the entire pulverized sample.

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

About Nighthawk
Nighthawk is a Canadian-based gold exploration company with 100% ownership of a district-scale land position within the Indin Lake Greenstone Belt, located approximately 200 km north of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Nighthawk is focused on advancing the Colomac Gold Project with a current inferred resource of 2.6 million ounces of gold (50.3 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.62 grams per tonne gold), as well as advancing its other regional gold deposits and showings within this largely underexplored Archean gold camp.

The Company has an experienced and dedicated team and is well funded to complete its goals and objectives over the next 12-18 months.

Qualified Person
Dr. Michael J. Byron, Ph.D., P.Geo., President & Chief Executive Officer of 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. Please refer to NI 43-101 technical report "Technical Report and mineral resource estimate update on the Colomac Property of the Indin Lake Project", dated July 26, 2018, as filed under the company's profile on www.sedar.com.

Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange has neither reviewed nor accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

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 continued exploration programs (including size and budget) and the ability to advance targets and the timing and results thereof; the ability to expand the current resource at Colomac with additional drilling. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "does not anticipate", or "believes" 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, 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, 2018, 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.

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SOURCE Nighthawk Gold Corp.