Mr. Eric Vanderleeuw reports

ZACATECAS SILVER SIGNS OPTION TO ACQUIRE THE LOURDES GOLD-SILVER PROJECT FROM GUANAJUATO SILVER

Zacatecas Silver Corp. has entered into an option agreement with Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd. and its subsidiary Mina Bolanitos S.A. de C.V., under which the company may acquire a 100-per-cent interest in the Lourdes gold-silver project in Guanajuato state, Mexico. Lourdes is a low sulphidation epithermal vein system in a historical mining district that has seen only seven shallow drill holes.

Highlights

• Low sulphidation epithermal gold-silver vein system in a historical mining district, with at least six mapped vein structures across three concessions totalling 509 hectares.
• The El Tigre vein, the principal target, has been mapped over approximately 770 metres of strike at surface with widths of 0.35 to 6.0 metres. A silicified footwall stockwork zone measures approximately 400 metres long and 15 to 30 metres wide.
• The only drilling on the project consists of seven shallow core holes totalling 1,424 metres completed in 2003 to 2004, which had poor core recovery in the vein zones. Previous operators interpreted the system as exposed at a high epithermal level, with the deeper portions of the veins untested.
• Total consideration of $825,000 (U.S.) over two years, comprising $225,000 (U.S.) in cash and $600,000 (U.S.) in common shares, with no minimum exploration expenditure commitments.
• The project is located approximately 40 km northeast of Guanajuato City, with access by highway and dirt road.

Project overview

Lourdes is located near the community of Buenavista del Cubo in the municipality of San Felipe, Guanajuato, approximately 18 kilometres southeast of the town of San Felipe, within the El Cubo mineralized district of the Sierra del Cubo. The project comprises three mining concessions totalling 509 hectares (Table 1).

Geology and historical work

Lourdes hosts a low sulphidation epithermal vein system in Tertiary rhyolites. The veins strike northwest-southeast and dip steeply to the southwest. The principal mapped structures are the El Tigre, El PP, La Ordenita, La Blanca, Tigre del Alto and El Lince veins. Vein textures include chalcedonic, banded, bladed and brecciated quartz, which previous operators interpreted as indicating a high level in the epithermal system.

Small-scale underground mining took place in the district between approximately 1906 and 1923. Several historical shafts remain on the project and are currently flooded or inaccessible.

In 2003 and 2004, Minera Hochschild drilled seven core holes totalling 1,424 metres, testing the El Tigre, Tigre del Alto, El PP, La Ordenita and Minas Viejas veins to approximately 100 to 150 metres below surface. Results were low grade, with the best intercept returning 0.7 g/t gold and 82 g/t silver over 0.4 metre core length in the El Tigre vein. Core recovery in the vein zones was reported to be below 50 per cent. A subsequent review of the core by Endeavour Silver Corp., which previously held the concessions, concluded that the El Tigre holes did not intersect the footwall stockwork zone.

Between 2012 and 2013, Endeavour completed geological mapping over 157.5 hectares, including detailed mapping of the El Tigre and El PP structures, collected 1,093 rock chip samples, and completed trenching along the El Tigre, El Lince, El PP and La Ordenita veins. Rock chip results ranged from below detection to 39.9 g/t gold and from below detection to 378 g/t silver. Samples from the El Tigre footwall stockwork returned 0.015 to 3.91 g/t gold. Endeavour recommended a first-phase drill program on the El Tigre vein targeting depths below the historical drilling.

Rock chip samples are selective by nature and may not be representative of the grade of the mineralization. The historical drill and sample results described above were generated by previous operators, have not been verified by the company, and should not be relied upon.

Planned work

The company plans to compile and review all historical data, including drill core and assay records where available, carry out confirmation sampling of the El Tigre vein and footwall stockwork, and refine drill targets to test the veins below the depth of the historical drilling.

CEO quote

"With Lourdes, our strategy is taking shape," said Eric Vanderleeuw, chief executive officer and director. "We're building a pipeline of near-term drill targets -- Oso Negro, Cumaro and now Lourdes -- where a single discovery could change the scale of this company. Lourdes has the ingredients we look for: historical mining, a mapped vein system with grade at surface and almost no meaningful drilling. Behind all of it we have two mineral resources, at Panuco and Esperanza. That's what separates us from other explorers our size: a resource base that holds value, and a pipeline built to generate steady news and real discovery potential. Seeing this strategy come together is exciting, and we're just getting started. We're moving quickly, executing on every front and staying focused on what creates value in this business: getting the drill bit on good targets."

Terms of the agreement

To exercise the option and acquire a 100-per-cent interest in Lourdes, the company must pay Mina Bolanitos a total of $225,000 (U.S.) in cash and issue to Guanajuato Silver (or its nominee) $600,000 (U.S.) in common shares of the company as shown in the attached table (Table 2).

The consideration shares issuable on TSX Venture Exchange approval will be issued at the market price, as defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. The consideration shares issuable on the first and second anniversaries (the deferred shares) will be issued at a price equal to the greater of (i) the market price on the date of announcement of the transaction, less the maximum discount permitted by the TSX Venture Exchange, and (ii) the 10-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP) immediately prior to issuance, with any resulting shortfall in value between the VWAP and the market price payable in cash. All consideration shares will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day from the date of issuance. The company may accelerate the option payments at its discretion.

During the option period, the company will be the operator of the project and will be responsible for all costs of maintaining the concessions in good standing.

On exercise of the option, the company will grant Mina Bolanitos a 2.0-per-cent net smelter return (NSR) royalty, of which 1.0 per cent may be purchased by the company for $1-million (U.S.) at any time prior to the commencement of production. The project is also subject to an existing 3.0-per-cent NSR royalty, of which 2.0 per cent may be purchased for $2-million (U.S.).

The agreement is subject to the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. No finders' fees are payable in connection with the transaction. The transaction is an arm's-length transaction.

Historical data

The historical information in this news release is derived from internal reports prepared by previous operators, including Endeavour (2013) and Minera Hochschild (2004). Endeavour rock chip samples were analyzed by ALS Chemex in Zacatecas by atomic absorption (Au-AA23) and inductively coupled plasma (ME-ICP41) methods. The company has not independently verified the sampling methods, analytical procedures, or quality assurance and quality control programs used by previous operators, and a qualified person has not done sufficient work to verify the historical information. The company is not treating this information as current.

Qualified person

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Chris Wilson, BSc (honours), PhD, FAusIMM (CP), FSEG, FGS, chief geologist of Zacatecas Silver. Dr. Wilson is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, and is not independent due being chief geologist and a director.

About Zacatecas Silver Corp.

Zacatecas Silver is a multiasset precious metals exploration company with a portfolio of six projects across Mexico, spanning Zacatecas, Sonora, Morelos and Oaxaca, and has entered into an option to acquire the Lourdes project in Guanajuato.

The Zacatecas silver project is located in Zacatecas state, within the highly prospective Fresnillo silver belt, which has produced over 6.2 billion ounces of silver. The company holds 7,826 hectares of ground prospective for low-sulphidation and intermediate-sulphidation silver-base metal mineralization. A mineral resource estimate at the Panuco deposit comprises 3.41 million tonnes at 187 g/t AgEq for 20.5 million ounces AgEq (see news release dated May 31, 2023). The property is 25 km southeast of MAG Silver's Juanicipio mine and Fresnillo PLC's Fresnillo mine, and shares boundaries with Defiance Silver and Endeavour Silver.

Esperanza is an advanced-stage, attractive low-cost, low-capital-intensity and low-technical-risk growth project located in Morelos state, Mexico. The company announced a mineral resource estimate at Esperanza consisting of a measured and indicated mineral resource estimate of 45.4 million tonnes at 0.79 g/t AuEq (0.76 g/t gold and 8.5 g/t silver) for 1.15 million ounces AuEq (1.11 million ounces gold and 12.37 million ounces silver) and an inferred mineral resource estimate of 11.2 million tonnes at 0.57 g/t AuEq (0.53 g/t gold and 11.2 g/t silver) for 208,000 ounces AuEq (190,000 ounces gold and 4.02 million ounces silver) (see news release dated June 22, 2026).

The company also holds four exploration properties in Sonora and Oaxaca. Oso Negro (Sonora) is an undrilled, high-grade low sulphidation epithermal system with multiple veins mapped over more than three kilometres of strike length. Cumaro (Sonora) is situated along trend from Coeur Mining's El Picacho development and hosts extensions of proven low sulphidation vein systems with high-grade channel sampling results. La Lola (Sonora) is a large, underexplored 1,183-hectare property anchored by the La Barra vein, a five km structure reaching up to 40 m in width. Ejutla (Oaxaca) comprises 10,603 hectares in the Taviche-Miahuatlan region near the former Fortuna Silver San Jose mine, hosting multiple vein systems and alteration zones anomalous in gold, silver, and Carlin-style pathfinder elements. The company has also entered into an option to acquire a 100-per-cent interest in Lourdes (Guanajuato), a 509-hectare low sulphidation epithermal gold-silver vein system with limited historical drilling.

We seek Safe Harbor.