RIMOUSKI, Québec, Oct. 09, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Puma Exploration Inc. (TSXV: PUMA, OTCQB: PUMXF) (the “Company” or “Puma”) announces that it has hired SKTM Financial Corporation Ltd. to provide corporate finance, accounting, and administrative support, and is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Martin Nicoletti, CPA as Chief Financial Officer ("CFO") effective immediately.

Mr. Nicoletti is a certified public accountant with 35 years of experience managing public companies, advising on capital market transactions, and providing financial stewardship. As President of Montreal-based SKTM Financial Corporation Ltd., he brings a proven track record of strategic financial consulting, accounting, auditing and financial compliance services to his clients. He is currently the CFO of several publicly listed mining and mineral exploration companies. Mr. Nicoletti graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration (Option Accounting) from the Université du Quebec in Trois-Rivières.

Mr. Nicoletti succeeds Mrs. Ginette Brisson who retired. The Board and management would like to take this opportunity to thank Ginette for her dedication and significant contributions to Puma since the listing of the Company in 2003 and wish her all the best in her retirement.

Marcel Robillard, Puma’s President and CEO, stated, “I am very pleased to welcome Martin to Puma. He brings a wealth of experience in all aspects of a junior resource company operations that will be instrumental as we continue to develop our Williams Brook Gold Project and our assets in northern New Brunswick. We'll miss Ginette, who has been with the Company since 2003. I wish her well in her retirement. Martin’s firm, SKTM, is taking over all accounting responsibilities and the transition is expected to go smoothly.”

The Board of Directors has accepted the recommendations of the Compensation Committee and has granted a total of 150,000 incentive stock options to Mr. Nicoletti under the Company's stock option plan. The options are exercisable for two years at a price of $0.11 per share and are subject to the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange.

About Puma Exploration

Puma Exploration is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company with precious metals projects in New Brunswick, near Canada's Famous Bathurst Mining Camp. Puma has a long history in Northern New Brunswick, having worked on regional projects for over 15 years. As a first mover, the Company quickly and strategically accumulated an impressive portfolio of prospective gold landholdings in the area. Puma’s successful exploration methodology, which combines old prospecting methods with detailed trenching and up-to-date technology such as Artificial Intelligence, has been instrumental in facilitating an understanding of the geology and associated mineralized systems. Armed with geophysical surveys, geochemical data and consultants’ expertise, Puma has developed a perfect low-cost exploration tool to discover gold at shallow depths and maximize drilling results.