Mr. Daniel Rodriguez reports

MERCADO MINERALS COMMENCES INAUGURAL DIAMOND DRILL PROGRAM AT ZAMORA

Mercado Minerals Ltd. has commenced the company's inaugural 1,500-metre diamond drill program at its Zamora project in Sinaloa, Mexico. The company has contracted HR Drilling SAS de CV to perform the drill program.

Highlights

• 1,500-metre diamond drill program, approximately 12 drill holes;
• Targeting the Campanillas-La Franca vein and El Triunfo vein segments;
• High-grade silver and gold veins that have never been drill tested.

CEO comment

Daniel Rodriguez, chief executive officer and director, commented: "Commencing drilling at Zamora is an important milestone for Mercado. This is the first drill program ever conducted on the project. Our team has mapped and sampled high-grade silver-gold mineralization at surface along the Campanillas-La Franca and El Triunfo veins, and together with the historic high-grade underground workings, this makes Zamora an attractive area to drill. This program of approximately 12 holes will test those vein segments at depth for the first time. Our goal is to understand the structural controls on the strongest silver-gold mineralization, and what we learn will guide our follow-up drilling. HR Drilling did excellent work for us at Copalito, and we're pleased to have them back on site at Zamora."

Drill program

The goal of the inaugural 1,500-metre diamond drill program is to test several high-priority segments along the Campanillas-La Franca vein and El Triunfo vein, which have been targeted based on compelling surface structural information, surface geochemical data as well as historical underground geochemical data. Initial drilling will test vein segments that have returned high-grade results at surface such as 2.40 metres of 528 grams per tonne silver and 0.75 g/t gold, including 1.00 metres of 828 g/t silver, at the Campanillas vein (see news release dated Sept. 2, 2026), and 1.55 metres of 381 g/t silver and 0.85 g/t gold, including 0.60 metre of 815 g/t silver and 1.66 g/t gold, at the El Triunfo vein (see news release dated Oct. 26, 2026). Drilling at Campanillas will also test below underground workings where historic sampling reportedly returned 14,561 g/t silver and 15.53 g/t gold from a stockpile grab sample.

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, PGeo, of Archer, Cathro & Associates (1981) Ltd. Mr. Willms is a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.

About Mercado Minerals Ltd.

Mercado Minerals 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.

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