East Camp Douglas Lithocap Target Exploration Results

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - Fortitude Gold Corp. announced exploration drill results from its East Camp Douglas property's lithocap target including 17.92 meters grading 1.29 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 6.10 meters grading 1.42 g/t gold. This maiden drill program focused on understanding geologic structures associated with the silicified lithocap located on the southern end of the East Camp Douglas property located in Mineral County, Nevada.

The Company completed its initial eleven core holes into three small areas of the lithocap target. The lithocap is an expansive 1.5 kilometer by 1.0-kilometer geologic structure that has the potential to host a significant near-surface gold deposit. Lithocaps are stratabound alteration domains that are laterally and vertically extensive and typically have steeply dipping structural roots with significant lateral fluid flow during formation. The lithocap structure at the south end of the Company's East Camp Douglas property has been of particular interest, as high-grade gold surface samples have been taken around the eroded margins of this large lithocap which conforms with extensive lateral fluid flows during formation. In addition, high-grade gold rock chip samples from the lithocap's surface have graded as high as 31 g/t gold. The geologic model being developed through the Company's exploration program looks to test for gold mineralization potentially consolidated in areas beneath the large lithocap structure. Initial drill targets included "D2 Cliffs", "Gypsum Shaft" and "Discovery Breccia" targeted primarily for an understanding of the geologic structural setting of the lithocap as well as testing for gold mineralization. All reported lithocap gold intercepts are oxidized, and preliminary cyanide leach assaying suggests that mineralization could be amenable to cyanide leach processing methods.

East Camp Douglas "lithocap" drill highlights include: Hole # ECCD20-001 Discovery Breccia - 25.3m of 0.78 g/t gold, incl. 6.10m of 1.42 g/t gold; Hole # ECDD20-004 D2 Cliffs, 17.92m of 1.29 g/t gold, incl. 1.13m of 1.73 g/t gold, incl. 5.00m of 2.11 g/t gold; and Hole # ECDD20-005 D2 Cliffs, 6.10m of 1.06 g/t gold, incl. 3.05m of 1.55 g/t gold.

"We are pleased to add to our understanding of the structural setting of this large lithocap target, and we are very excited to have intercepted attractive widths of significant gold in this initial drill program," said, Barry Devlin, Vice President of Exploration. "Similar large lithocap-related structures associated with gold have hosted substantial deposits around the world, like Yanacocha in Peru. We have high-grade gold surface samples associated with our large lithocap, which were identified in our 2017 comprehensive grid sampling field study that generated numerous drill targets. We are encouraged with these initial drill results as they give credence to our geologic model whereby high angle structures feeding this system trap potential gold-bearing fluids beneath the impermeable lithocap structure. We are excited to have intercepted gold mineralization in our first drill program from which we plan to build on with future drill programs by following-up on the most significant mineralized structures in search of the potential throat of the system. This is a large mineralized system and drill target that will take time for us to explore. We expect to return to East Camp Douglas during the third quarter of 2021 for a phase two drill program to build on these positive initial drill results."