Scarlet Intercepts Include 16.76 Meters Of 2.23 G/T Gold

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO  - Fortitude Gold Corp. reported exploration drill results at Scarlet including 16.76 meters grading 2.23 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 24.38 meters grading 1.60 (g/t) gold. This mineralization is associated with the northwestern structural extensions of its Isabella Pearl mine located in Mineral County, Nevada. Fortitude Gold is a gold producer, developer, and explorer with operations in Nevada. During the first quarter of 2021, a ten-hole reverse circulation program targeted the south Scarlet area located approximately 650 meters northwest of the Company's operating Isabella Pearl mine. Substantial widths and gold grades intercepted oxide mineralization with potential to be processed at the Isabella Pearl heap leach pad and gold process plant.

Jason Reid, CEO and President, said, "At least four deposits to the southeast of our Isabella Pearl Mine along this mineralized trend were mined historically as open pits. Our operating Isabella Pearl Mine is the fifth mine along trend. There is a good possibility Scarlet could be the sixth mine northwest of Isabella Pearl along trend. In addition, we have over ten kilometers of this northwest mineralized trend locked up with numerous additional targets to test beyond these exciting Scarlet drill results. We are prioritizing Scarlet with the upcoming drill campaign looking to delineate enough mineralization to advance the project towards a production decision. Scarlet's very close proximity to our operating mine, with a short haul distance to both the heap leach and waste rock facility at Isabella Pearl, could allow for a project production decision based primarily on the economics of removing the overburden to access this mineralization. Scarlet's proximity effectively lowers the hurdles and minimizes the project capital needs to reach a production decision due to leveraging nearby process infrastructure. We expect to begin construction later this year on a heap leach pad expansion to accommodate the additional ounces discovered to date at the Isabella Pearl mine. This heap leach expansion permit could also facilitate additional heap leach expansions for Scarlet mineralization as well. We are optimistic that future discoveries located on our extensive Isabella Pearl mineralized trend will warrant additional heap leach pad expansions for more production adding to our mine life and production profile. We plan to continue to delineate and prioritize both Scarlet and our Golden Mile property in parallel with the goal to delineate deposits at both properties on an expedited basis."