Marathon Announces 2009 Q3 Financial Results

TORONTO , Nov. 11 /CNW/ - Marathon PGM Corporation ("Marathon" or the "Company") announced today its financial results for the nine month period ended September 30, 2009 .

At September 30, 2009 , Marathon had cash and short-term investments of $11.2 million , compared to $16.3 million at December 31, 2008 , with operations and project spending in the period amounting to $2.0 million and $3.6 million respectively. Exploration and development plans for 2009, particularly for the Marathon PGM-Cu project, have been contained while still moving toward the acquisition of mining permits and the updated feasibility study due before year end. Marathon's cash resources are adequate to fund its general and administrative expenses, exploration, and permitting activities.

As a result of acquiring the Geordie Lake property in 2008 and the Bamoos property in May 2009 , Marathon now owns a land package encompassing close to 8,000 hectares with total measured and indicated resources of 4.7 million ounces of PGM's and gold, 8.9 million ounces of silver and 895 million pounds of copper, making up the vast majority of the known mineral resources on the Coldwell PGM-copper complex in northern Ontario. The bulk of these resources are not subject to any royalties.

Operational Highlights

    
    Marathon area properties
    -   Completing successful mini pilot-plant metallurgical testwork, which
        demonstrated improved recoveries of PGM and gold from the levels used
        in the 2008 feasibility study, and commencing a revision of the
        December 2008 feasibility study, with completion due before the end
        of the year.
    -   Completing a revised mineral reserve estimate which extended expected
        mine life from 10 to 12 years while increasing proven and probable
        reserves of PGM and gold by 24% and reducing the expected strip ratio
        from 3.54:1 to 2.61:1.
    -   Finalizing an agreement with Benton Resources to acquire a 100%
        interest in the Bamoos property.
    -   Completing a review of historical drilling and surface data and
        refinements of the geological model associated with the Geordie Lake
        Deposit, which outlined a near-surface zone of higher-grade
        mineralization extending over 1,200 meters.

    Bird River Joint Venture, southeastern Manitoba
    -   Completing a winter drilling program which extended higher-grade
        nickel-copper and copper- zinc-silver mineralization identified in
        2008.

    Financial Highlights

    Marathon's loss for the period ended September 30, 2009 is set out below.

                              Three months ended           Nine months ended
                                    September 30                September 30
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              2009          2008          2009          2008
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 $             $             $             $
    Exploration expenses    77,414     2,217,522       444,424     4,582,549
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Operating expenses:
      General and
       administrative
       expenses            340,420       382,426     1,358,924     1,529,651
      Depreciation          28,434        17,732        83,533        64,922
      Stock based
       compensation              -        27,270       194,947       316,973
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           368,854       427,428     1,637,404     1,911,546
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Operating loss         446,268     2,644,950     2,081,828     6,494,095
    Interest income        (14,254)     (150,071)      (75,199)     (432,461)
    Foreign exchange
     (gain) loss               (43)          629           493         1,162
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Loss before income
     taxes                 431,971     2,495,508     2,007,122     6,062,796
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    

Marathon's accounting policy is to capitalize property acquisition and exploration costs on its properties once a mineral resource estimate has been completed. The decrease in exploration expenses in 2009 reflects both the overall decrease in exploration activity and the capitalization of $0.5 million of exploration costs related to the Bird River Joint Venture, compared to $2.0 million expensed in 2008.

This press release should be read in conjunction with Marathon's unaudited interim consolidated financial statements for the period ended September 30, 2009 and the related Management's Discussion and Analysis, both of which are available on www.sedar.com. Marathon's Web site may be found at http://www.marathonpgm.com.

About Marathon

Marathon PGM Corporation is presently optimizing an earlier definitive feasibility study on the Marathon PGM-Cu deposit, which is expected to be completed in Q4. Marathon is also exploring resource development potential in the immediate vicinity of the Marathon deposit to expand mine life of the planned large tonnage, open pit mining operation. The Marathon deposit is one of the largest PGM-Cu reserves in Canada and is expected to grow with development of additional nearby resources. Marathon's optimized P+P reserve contains 2.44 million ounces of Pd, 693,000 ounces of Pt, 250,000 ounces of Au, 496 million lbs of Cu and 4.23 million ounces of Ag. Marathon also has development and exploration stage properties in southeastern Manitoba and western Newfoundland, respectively. Marathon's management plans to build on its experience through the advancement of its properties and by examining other strategic opportunities.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Except for statements of historical fact relating to the Company, certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or include words such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "believes","considers","intends","targets", or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "may", "will", "should", "would" and "could". We provide forward-looking statements for the purpose of conveying information about our current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved.

These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to those identified and reported in Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2008 .

Other than as specifically required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, whether as a result of new information, future events or results otherwise.

    
    The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept
    responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

    On Behalf of Marathon PGM
    "Phillip C. Walford"
    Phillip C. Walford
    President, Chief Executive Officer
    [email protected]
    416-987-0711
    

%SEDAR: 00020574E

For further information: David Leng, P.Geo.: [email protected], Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone]