Matador Mining Limited announced that it has defined several structurally controlled diamond drill targets with coincidental gold grain and gold and multi-element geochemical anomalies at Malachite; its new, large and previously untested exploration project on the Cape Ray Shear Zone ("CRSZ") in Newfoundland, Canada. This follows comprehensive geological fieldwork completed in the first half of the 2022 summer season. Two of the priority targets identified in the 2021 regional till sampling program at Malachite have been followed up with infill and extensional till sampling during the first half of the 2022 summer field season (Figure4).

This work has delivered approximately 55 gold grain samples and 350 conventional till multi-element geochemistry samples to-date (field sampling work is ongoing on other high priority targets at Malachite - seeFigure 7). Results received to date from this year's sampling program have delivered the gold grain sample ever recorded from the Malachite area, with a peak count of 1,201 gold grains (MT002553), of which 97% of the grains were characterised as "pristine" meaning it has not been transported far from a source of mineralisation. This result is a calculated equivalent of 1,928 ppb Au (1.9 g/t Au).

This sample was taken 15 metres to the south of the previous peak result of 716 gold grains3, reinforcing the interpreted proximity to gold source, and providing further impetus for planned diamond drill testing of this target. The work done in this area has extended the previous reconnaissance grid a further 850 metres to the north over a strike length of 2.5 kilometres, returning anomalous gold values (with coincident silver, arsenic, tellurium and tin pathfinder geochemistry anomalies) open to both the northeast and south west over an area of more than three square kilometres (Figure 5). On the southern side of the CRSZ at Malachite, sampling has returned a peak gold grain count of 136 gold grains (MT002692), 75 of which were pristine.

This result is a calculated equivalent of 174 ppb Au. This sample was taken 175 metres to the east of the previous standout result of 366 gold grains 5, proving up this area as a priority diamond drilling target. The prospectivity of this area is also supported by significant gold (plus silver, arsenic, bismuth, antimony and tin pathfinder element) anomalism from the infill and extension till geochemistry which returned results of 690 ppb Au (MT002633), 390 ppb Au (MT002727), and 388 ppb Au (MT002719) further highlighting the gold mineralisation potential of rock units south of the CRSZ, which were historically considered to be unmineralised.

This program has extended the 2021 reconnaissance sampling grid a further 1.15 kilometres to the south, with an 800-metre strike section returning anomalous values >10 gold grains (Figure 6).