Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 26, 2026) - Mercado Minerals Ltd. (CSE: MERC) (OTCQB: MRMNF) ("Mercado" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Concordia Silver Company S.A. de C.V. ("Concordia"), has entered into a community access and exploration agreement (the "Agreement") with the local Ejido Rincon de Ibonia (the "Ejido") in Zamora and the surrounding area in Sinaloa, Mexico.

Following productive meetings with Ejido Rincon de Ibonia, both the Ejido and Concordia reached mutually beneficial outcomes. With the Agreement now finalized, Mercado is positioned to advance and complete the drilling permit process at Zamora. This agreement covers a portion of the Zamora property. This agreement allows Mercado to commence the drill permit on the Campanillas area. The Company is continuing to advance its community relations with the other Ejido groups in the region to conclude its access agreements to the remainder of the Zamora project.

Under the terms of the Agreement:

• Mercado will pay an annual fee of 100,000 MXN pesos, effective immediately, with a one-year renewal option.
• Mercado will make a payment of 3000 MXN pesos per drill pad constructed to help mitigate impacts on Ejido land.

This Agreement reflects Mercado's ongoing commitment to building strong relationships with local stakeholders and ensuring responsible, community-supported exploration practices at Zamora.

CEO Comment

Daniel Rodriguez, CEO & Director, commented:
"One of our key commitments as we advance our projects in the region is building strong, lasting community relations. We have an excellent team on the ground in Mexico working through logistics, mapping and sampling at Zamora, both to help bring our concessions back into good standing and to begin testing the concessions we already hold in good standing. Having the support of the Ejidos from the outset speaks to the strength of that relationship, and it positions us well as we advance toward drill permitting. I look forward to the next phases at Zamora and to ultimately testing this exciting silver-gold system with the drill bit."

Zamora Update
Mercado's technical team is on the ground at Zamora, prospecting, building camp infrastructure and advancing logistics, mapping and sampling. This work is focused on two fronts: preparing a portion of the Company's concessions for reinstatement to good standing, and sampling and mapping several of the concessions already active and in good standing ahead of a future drill program.

Zamora is located on the Western edge of the Sierra Madre Occidental, approximately 110 km north of Mazatlán and 23 km southwest of the historic mining town of Cosalá, Sinaloa — roughly 40 km west of Prime Mining's Los Reyes project and 35 km southwest of Americas Gold and Silver's Cosalá Operations. The property hosts 14 high-grade silver-gold vein occurrences and historic small-scale mines that host mineralized veins with a cumulative strike length of more than 8 km, which have never been drill tested. Historic surface sampling has returned grades of 14,561 g/t silver and 15.53 g/t gold at the Campanillas workings, and 1.00 metre grading 286 g/t silver and 2.54 g/t gold at El Triunfo.

The technical information and data related to the Zamora property appear to be of good quality; however, the Qualified Person has not conducted sufficient work to independently verify the rock sample assay results from Zamora. As a result, the Company is treating previous results as historical in nature, and they should not be relied upon. The Qualified Person intends to independently verify historic results during a planned site visit later this year.

Qualified Person
The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects) and was reviewed and approved by Kelson Willms, P.Geo., of Archer, Cathro & Associates (1981) Limited. Mr. Willms is a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.

About Mercado Minerals Ltd.
Mercado Minerals Ltd. (CSE: MERC) (OTCQB: MRMNF) is a silver-focused exploration company targeting the next world-class discovery in Mexico's emerging Western Silver Belt, part of the prolific Sierra Madre Occidental mining district. With a proven team boasting extensive experience in Mexican exploration, Mercado is actively advancing multiple projects across more than 3,000 hectares. The Company is committed to creating shareholder value through disciplined exploration, strategic growth, and discovery-driven results.

Forward-Looking Statement (Safe Harbor Statement):

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words "anticipate," "plan," "continue," "expect," "estimate," "objective," "may," "will," "project," "should," "predict," "potential" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking statements concerning the Company's exploration plans and the intended use of proceeds from the Offering. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements because the Company cannot provide assurance that they will prove correct. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and, except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/311531