Moneta Provides 2022 Year-End Review & 2023 Plans

Press Release

Toronto, Ontario–( January 6, 2023) – Moneta Gold Inc. (TSX: ME) (OTCQX: MEAUF) (FSE: MOPA) (“Moneta” or the “Company”) is pleased to provide a summary of the Company’s 2022 key achievements in advancing the 100%-owned Tower Gold project (the “Project”), located in the Timmins Gold camp, Ontario.

Mr. Gary O’Connor, President & CEO commented, “2022 was an extremely rewarding year for Moneta Gold. We completed a major resource update and robust Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) on our top tier Tower Gold project in September 2022 (see September 07, 2022 press release) and continued to de-risk and advance it towards the Pre-Feasibility (“PFS”) stage. The Tower Gold project has the potential to become one of the larger gold producers in Canada for a projected mine life of at least 24 years, and the potential for the discovery of additional deposits. We will build upon this momentum, as we continue with our 190,000 metres (“m”) resource upgrade and infill drilling program. Following the drill program, an updated mineral resource estimate (“MRE”) will be completed, which will be used as the basis of PFS, expected be completed in 2024.”

2022 Accomplishments & 2023 Plans
(All figures in Canadian dollars except as otherwise stated)

Increased mineral resources in 2022 from 4.0 million ounces gold (“Moz Au”) indicated & 4.4 Moz Au inferred to 4.5 Moz Au indicated & 8.3 Moz Au inferred, positioning the Tower Gold project amongst the largest undeveloped gold projects in Canada
Completed a robust PEA in 2022 which highlighted an average annual gold production of 261,000 oz Au for the first 11 years at a cash cost of US$811/oz and all-in-sustaining-costs (AISC) of US$1,004/oz, a life of mine annual after-tax cash flow of $1.9 billion, with an after-tax net present value at a 5% discount rate (“NPV_5%“) of $1.07 billion, an internal rate of return (“IRR”) of 31.7%, with a 2.6 year pay back
Expanded Moneta’s executive team to progress the PFS, mine planning and operations, Health & Safety, and Environmental, Social & Governance (“ESG”) programs
Completed an oversubscribed bought deal financing of $15.4 million (“M”) which provides support for our infill drilling and technical studies for the PFS. Several new large institutional investors participated in this financing as did some of our current supportive and long-term investors
Research coverage from three (3) new firms were initiated during the year
Completed 80,000 m of resource upgrade and infill drilling as part of our PFS drilling in 2022
2022 drill program confirmed continuity and extensions of mineralization in several deposits
Currently conducting a drill program of 190,000 m of resource upgrade and infill drilling to support the PFS
Inaugural ESG report to be released in 2023
Continue the Environmental Impact Assessment (“EIA”) Program
Conduct hydrology, geotechnical, and metallurgical work in 2023

Moneta’s base case scenario for the Tower Gold project PEA outlined a staged approach for a combined open pit and underground mining operation for a 7.0 million tonnes per annum (“tpa”) conventional leach/carbon-in-leach (“CIL”) operation. The PEA also outlined several upside opportunities, including:

Expansion of resources through exploration drilling of additional targets within the remaining 8 kilometres (“km”) of untested strike length along the Destor-Porcupine Fault Zone (“DPFZ”) corridor
Expansion of resources from new exploration targets outside of the Tower Gold project area
Expansion of underground resources through additional exploration drilling, notably at Westaway and Garrcon
Increase in production rates from underground to increase mill feed grades
Review the potential for larger scale bulk tonnage underground mining
Sampling of historical core previously unsampled and inclusion of historical drill holes not currently in the database
Infill drilling of open pits to convert waste to resources, notably at 903, Westaway, South West, and Windjammer
Additional test-work for the deposits to refine the process flow sheet to optimize gold recovery and reduce costs
Optimization of plant and overall site layout

In 2023, the scope and focus of the PFS will also consist of geotechnical, metallurgical recovery test work, and hydrological studies. Mine planning studies, process design studies, project lay-out trade-off studies, electricity supply, and ongoing environmental baseline, archaeological, and community engagement studies will progress.

“We are very proud of the many achievements we accomplished over 2022 and we look forward to a productive 2023 and progressing the Tower Gold project,” Mr. O’Connor concluded.

About Moneta Gold
Moneta is a Canadian-based gold exploration company focused on advancing its 100% wholly owned Tower Gold project, located in the Timmins region of Northeastern Ontario, Canada’s most prolific gold producing camp. The September 2022, Preliminary Economic Assessment study outlined a combined open pit and underground mining and a 7.0 million tonne per annum conventional leach/CIL operation over a 24-year mine life, with 4.6 Moz of recovered gold, generating an after-tax NPV5% of $1,066M, IRR of 31.7%, and a 2.6-year payback at a gold price US$1,600/oz. Tower Gold hosts an estimated gold mineral resource of 4.5 Moz indicated and 8.3 Moz inferred. Moneta is committed to creating shareholder value through the strategic allocation of capital and a focus on the current resource upgrade drilling program, while conducting all business activities in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.

Jason Dankowski, P.Geo. V.P. Technical Services & Geology for Moneta, who is a QP as defined by NI 43-101 has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this press release.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Gary V. O’Connor, CEO
416-357-3319

Linda Armstrong, Investor Relations
647-456-9223

The Company’s public documents may be accessed at www.sedar.com. For further information on the Company, please visit our website at www.monetagold.com or email us at [email protected]

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