Aztec Summarizes 2022 Drill Results from Cervantes Project, Sonora, Mexico; Multiple, Shallow and Broad, Oxidized Gold-Copper Intercepts Expand Mineralized Zones Around and Below the California Target, Still Open in All Directions

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 10, 2023 / Aztec Minerals Corp. (TSXV:AZT)(OTCQB:AZZTF) summarizes the drilling results on the Cervantes porphyry gold targets from its recently completed 2022, Phase 2, RC and oriented core drilling programs comprising a 26-hole, 5,248.6 metre (m) track-mounted reverse circulation (RC) drill program and a 11-hole, 2,588 m man-portable, oriented core program on the 100% owned Cervantes porphyry Au project located in the district of Soyopa, Sonora, Mexico. Combined 2022 drilling totaled 37 drill holes and 7,836.6 m on four targets (California, California Norte, Purisima East and Jasper). Total drilling by Aztec Minerals on the project since 2016 is now 54 drill holes and 10,511.6 m.

Every 2022 drill hole, except one, of the 29 drill holes successfully completed out of 31 attempted in 2022 at the California and the adjoining California Norte targets has intersected near surface, oxidized gold mineralization with minor copper values. The 2022 drilling exploration program has expanded the footprint and the depth of the California target mineralization and alteration associated with the California porphyry intrusive complex with continued intercepts of broad gold mineralization.

The identified California target area drilled has been enlarged to approximately 900 meters long E - W by 730 meters wide N-S, and exploration drilling successfully expanded the primary California zone to an area now measuring approximately 900 meters long E-W by 250 to 500 meters wide N-S, with demonstrated, continuous mineralization of up to 170 meters depth. The porphyry gold-copper mineralization is still open in all directions with anomalous mineralization and alteration up to 265 meters depth vertically. The California and California Norte targets appear to be merging from drilling and surface exposures.

The drill holes were mainly placed in step-out rows subparallel to the 2017-2018 drilling, oriented with azimuths 230 - 260, inclined at minus 65 degrees from horizontal. The rows were spaced approximately 50 m to 100 m apart and along the rows the collar spacings were 70 m to 150 m. There were four near vertical drill holes and three drill holes with azimuth perpendicular to the pattern that were made to test that there is no drill pattern bias in results.

Drilling has also intercepted broad alteration and strongly oxidized, argillically altered, and brecciated siltstone-quartzite sediments in the Jasper Copper target step out 600 meters west of the California Zone. The Jasper Copper target is in its early stages of exploration. It has limited outcrops of its brecciated, argillically altered, strong oxide mineralized siliciclastic sediments. Strong copper oxide mineralization is found on outcrops and in the drilling. Sulfides have not yet been found in drilling to 209 m depth, suggesting the there is a possibility to encounter a secondary sulfide enrichment blanket.

At the Purisima Este target drilling found anomalous Au and multi-element mineralization related to the edges of its diatreme-breccia pipe related to a Qfp intrusive and follow-up work is planned.

View: California Zone Longitudinal Section and California Zone Drill Progress Map

2022 Drill Highlights:

• 94m @ 1.04 gpT Au incl 15.2m @ 3.96 gpT Au, 55m @ 0.36% copper in CAL22-001
• 165m @ 1.00 gpT Au incl 24.4m @ 4.25 gpT Au, 160m @ 0.065% copper in CAL22-004
• 100m @ 0.75 gpT Au incl 9.14m @ 3.087 gpT Au, 138m @ 0.10% copper in CAL22-006
• 152m @ 0.87 gpT Au, incl 33.5m @ 2.05 gpT Au, 123m @ 0.095% copper in CAL22-012
• 120m @ 0.677 gpT Au, incl 27 m @ 1.456 gpT Au in CAL22-027
• 135 m @ 0.56 gpT Au, incl 12.0 m @ 2.297 gpT Au in CAL22-031
• 137m @ 1.49 gpT Au incl 51.7m @ 3.42 gpT Au, 119m @ 0.091% copper in CAL22-005

Drilling has also expanded the footprint of the known extents of the mineralized and phyllically altered California porphyry intrusive complex, demonstrating alteration zoning from east to west of argillic to phyllic alteration, multiple stockwork veining and hydrothermal brecciation types and stages, and confirmed the prior IP survey conductivity anomaly was related to disseminated sulfides. The core drilling program has shown that Au mineralization is limited by the enveloping argillc alteration and seems to prefer to be close to the argillic/phyllic alteration boundaries.

The gold mineralization is strongly associated with copper, arsenic, silver, bismuth and tungsten, while molybdenum anomalies are as haloes distal and interior to the gold, antimony is distal, mercury is usually undetectable, lead and zinc are mainly distal, and barite has a wide distribution.

The controls on mineralization/zoning are still to be identified; however, the Qfp and Hydrothermal breccia units (Hbx) are the seemingly the preferred hosts. The Qfp, hydrothermal breccias and gold mineralization may be dipping to the north into the California Norte target. The gold mineralization appears to be widely distributed in disseminations, fractures and veinlets at high levels within in a Quartz-feldspar porphyry intrusive complex and related hydrothermal breccias.

The primary focus of the 2022 drilling program at Cervantes was to expand the previously drilled California target, California North and Jasper targets, to enhance geologic understanding of the targets, and to collect a sample for metallurgical testing. The oriented core drilling program in 2022 tested step-outs of 35 to 450 meters using varying azimuths and inclinations. The combined 2022 drilling totaled 37 drill holes and 7,836.6 m on four targets (California, California Norte, Purisima East and Jasper) The 2022 drilling program was conducted in part during the rainy season, and for the entire program there were no injuries or accidents.

The following is a summary tabulation of all 2022 RC and Core drill hole results:

Table 1: Cervantes 2021-2022 Drilling Select Multi-Element Results with Gold