Aztec Drills 1.08 gpt Au and 30.23 gpt Ag (1.63 gpt AuEq) over 155.4 meters, Expands Oxide Gold-Silver Zone at Tombstone Project, Arizona
PO Box 55 T: 604-685-9770
Suite 1030 – 505 Burrard Street www.aztecminerals.com
Vancouver, BC V7X 1M5
Aztec Drills 1.08 gpt Au and 30.23 gpt Ag (1.63 gpt AuEq) over 155.4 meters, Expands Oxide Gold-Silver Zone at
Tombstone Project, Arizona
• Step-Out Drilling Continues to Expand the Contention Zone of Oxide Au/Ag
Mineralization along Strike and at Depth
• Drill holes TR26-20 to TR26-30 have encountered multiple mineralized zones
including an intersection of 155.4 m averaging 1.08 gpt Au and 30.23 gpt Ag (1.63
gpt AuEq) within 198.1 m averaging 0.86 gpt Au and 24.52 gpt Ag (1.30 gpt AuEq)
in the Contention target area and other intersections on first pass test holes in
the southwest and south of the Tombstone Property
Vancouver, British Columbia – July 15, 2026 - Aztec Minerals Corp. (AZT: TSX -V, OTCQB: AZZTF) (“Aztec” or the
“Company”) announces the results from 1 1 drill holes (TR26 -20 to TR26 -30) from its reverse circulation (“RC”)
portion of the 2025 -2026 drilling program at the Tombstone Property in Southeastern Arizona. Step -out and first
pass drilling has extended mineralization to the west, southwest and south of previously reported holes, and drilling
in the central Contention area confirmed broad continuity of the mineralized zone and extended the oxide
mineralization significantly to depth.
Aztec Minerals CEO Simon Dyakowski commented: “Our expanded drill program continues to demonstrate
significant growth of the near -surface oxide gold -silver mineralized zone at Tombstone. We are now aggressively
testing the North End area target. Drilling in the Contention zone continues to demonstrate consistently strong
oxide gold and silver grades at shallow depths. The most recent drilling of the 21,000 meter 2025-2026 program has
been successful in significantly expanding the Contention oxide mineralization vertically to depth as well as
identifying new targets at Hard Up and Independence, immediately to the west, and at East Grand Central within
the property.”
Highlights from the RC drilling reported for the Tombstone Property include:
• Hole TR26-30 intersected 198.1 m averaging 0.86 gpt Au and 24.52 gpt Ag (1.30 gpt AuEq) from surface to
198.1 m, approximately 98% of the drilled length, including 155.4 m averaging 1.08 gpt Au and 30.23 gpt
Ag (1.63 gpt AuEq) from 6.1 m, which includes 44.2 m averaging 1.50 gpt Au and 60.51 gpt Ag (2.60 gpt
AuEq) from 56.4 m and 6.1 m averaging 9.54 gpt Au and 35.03 gpt Ag (10.18 gpt AuEq) from 121.9 m.
o TR26-30 was collared in the central portion of the Contention pit adjacent to TR21 -20 and fanned
below it at -70 to a depth of 201.2m, and 45m east of TR21-17, reaching over 85m deeper vertically
than TR21-20. The mineralized zone, hosted in hornfels, hydrothermal breccias and quartzites cut
by quartz feldspar porphyry dikes, demonstrates continuity of oxidized mineralization between
those holes and extends it vertically to depth in this portion of the Contention mineralization by
85 m, more than doubling the previously demonstrated depth.
• Hole TR26-21 in the Independence Mine Target Area intersected 18.3 m averaging 0.05 gpt Au and 19.03
gpt Ag (0.39 gpt AuEq) from 18.3 m, including 4.6 m of 58.60 gpt Ag from 19.8 m.
o Also at the Independence Mine, TR26-20 intersected 21.3 m averaging 0.08 gpt Au and 9.04 gpt
Ag (0.24 gpt AuEq) from 51.8 m, including 4.6 m of 23.37 gpt Ag. Together these holes step out up
to approximately 300 m west of previously reported drilling.
• Hole TR26-28 was collared in the southern portion of the Contention pit, just east of the Grand Central pit,
50m east-southeast from TR25-32. It was drilled at 196 Az, -70 to test observed surface mineralization. The
drill hole intersected three zones in the quartzites and hornfels, the strongest being 19.8 m averaging 0.20
gpt Au and 20.28 gpt Ag (0.57 gpt AuEq) from 199.6 m, including 10.7 m averaging 0.34 gpt Au and 33.50
gpt Ag (0.95 gpt AuEq) from 208.7 m.
o Higher and adjacent in the drill hole , TR26-28 intersected 35.1 m averaging 0.04 gpt Au and 5.33
gpt Ag (0.13 gpt AuEq) from 155.4 m, and below at 239.3 m, 3.0 m averaging 0.05 gpt Au and 4.1
gpt Ag (0.13 gpt AuEq). This mineralization could lead to a larger discovery on the east side of the
Contention zone.
• Hole TR26-23 in the Hard Up area to the southwest intersected 22.9 m averaging 0.13 gpt Au and 13.04 gpt
Ag (0.37 gpt AuEq) from 16.8 m.
• Hole TR26-26 was collared in the southern portion of the Contention pit, just east of the Grand Central pit,
100m east -southeast from the South Spoke . It was drilled at 276 Az, -65 to test observed surface
mineralization. The drill hole intersected two zones in the quartzites and hornfels, the strongest being 10.6
m averaging 0.34 gpt Au and 19.36 gpt Ag (0.70 gpt AuEq) from 125.0 m. Higher in the drill hole, TR26-26
intersected 4.5 m averaging 0.16 gpt Au and 18.2 gpt Ag (0.49 gpt AuEq) from 13.7 m.
The Company also reports the first assay results from the core drilling program: core holes TC25-01, TC25-02, TC25-
03 and TC25-04:
• First core program results: core hole TC25 -03 returned two zones of CRD sulfide mineralization: 4.6 m
averaging 0.16 gpt AuEq, 0.44% Pb and 0.28% Zn from 379.5 m, and 4.6 m averaging 0.69 gpt AuEq, 0.21%
Pb and 0.02% Zn from 545.6 m at the historic T -8 CRD target horizon. TC25-04 returned 32.0 m averaging
0.26 gpt AuEq from 336.8 m within the retrograde skarn zone, including 3.0 m averaging 0.58% Pb and
35.50 gpt Ag (see Table 1A).
FIGURE 1. CROSS SECTION OF RC DRILL HOLE TR26 -30 SHOWING AU AND AG ASSAY RESULTS .
FIGURE 1. PLAN MAP SHOWING DRILL HOLE COLLARS FROM THE 2025 -2026 DRILL CAMPAIGN AT THE TOMBSTONE PROPERTY ,
SOUTHEASTERN ARIZONA .
View drill sections here:
Link to section view hole TR26-20
Link to section view hole TR26-21
Link to section view hole TR26-22
Link to section view hole TR26-23
Link to section view hole TR26-24
Link to section view hole TR26-26 & TR26-27
Link to section view hole TR26-28
Link to section view hole TR26-29
Link to section view hole TR26-30
Table 1A: Drill Results Currently Reported
Drill
Hole From (m) To (m) Interval
(m)* Au (gpt) Ag (gpt) AuEq
(gpt) Comments
TR26-20 51.8 73.1 21.3 0.08 9.04 0.24 Independence Mine
Including 51.8 56.4 4.6 0.24 23.37 0.67
and 94.5 100.6 6.1 0.03 7.98 0.18
TR26-21 18.3 36.6 18.3 0.05 19.03 0.39 Independence Mine
Including 19.8 24.4 4.6 0.06 58.60 1.13
TR26-22 0.0 4.6 4.6 0.09 4.23 0.17 Independence Mine
and 44.2 48.8 4.6 0.08 4.67 0.16
TR26-23 16.8 39.7 22.9 0.13 13.04 0.37 Hard Up
and 59.4 64.0 4.6 0.04 3.73 0.10
and 147.8 150.8 3.0 0.12 1.70 0.15
TR26-24 12.2 19.8 7.6 0.06 15.46 0.34 Hard Up
and 114.3 121.9 7.6 0.07 6.12 0.18
and 242.3 257.5 15.2 0.04 7.86 0.18
and 275.8 278.8 3.0 0.16 1.85 0.19
TR26-25 No results with values of interest
TR26-26 13.7 18.3 4.6 0.16 18.2 0.49 East side Grand Central Pit
and 125.0 135.6 10.6 0.34 19.36 0.70
TR26-27 No results with values of interest
TR26-28 155.4 190.5 35.1 0.04 5.33 0.13 East side Grand Central Pit
and 199.6 219.4 19.8 0.20 20.28 0.57
Including 208.8 219.4 10.7 0.34 33.50 0.95
and 239.3 242.3 3.0 0.05 4.10 0.13
TR26-29 131.1 160.1 29.0 0.10 8.84 0.26 Eastern side of the Little Joe area
Including 144.8 149.4 4.6 0.44 28.10 0.95
and 175.3 179.9 4.6 0.14 8.60 0.30
TR26-30 0.0 198.1 198.1 0.86 24.52 1.30
Working @ 112.8-114.3 m, no
sample; 1.5 m excluded from
interval
Including 6.1 161.5 155.4 1.08 30.23 1.63
Including 24.4 41.2 16.8 1.51 58.04 2.56
Including 56.4 100.6 44.2 1.50 60.51 2.60
Including 121.9 128.0 6.1 9.54 35.03 10.18
Drill
Hole From (m) To (m) Interval
(m)* Au (gpt) Ag (gpt) AuEq
(gpt) Comments
Core
TC25-01 256.0 268.2 12.2 0.01 4.70 0.10 South AMT target
TC25-02 341.7 344.7 3.0 0.03 10.60 0.23 South AMT target
TC25-03 183.5 193.6 10.1 0.16 12.72 0.39 North CRD target
and 202.7 207.3 4.6 0.08 5.57 0.18
and 213.4 225.6 12.2 0.04 14.20 0.30
and 379.5 384.1 4.6 0.06 5.5 0.16 CRD – 0.44 Pb, 0.28 Zn
and 545.6 550.2 4.6 0.64 2.65 0.69 T-8 CRD target horizon-0.21 Pb,
0.02 Zn
TC25-04 303.3 309.4 6.1 0.04 3.93 0.11 South AMT target
and 317.0 323.1 6.1 0.03 4.53 0.12
and 336.8 368.8 32.0 0.08 9.96 0.26 0.15 Pb, 0.12 Zn
Including 338.3 341.3 3.0 0.53 35.50 1.18 0.58 Pb, 0.24 Zn
and 393.2 399.3 6.1 0.09 8.25 0.24
and 495.3 498.3 3.0 0.13 8.55 0.29
Note 1: Gold and Silver equivalents are calculated using the recovery percentages from third party metallurgical
testing of RC drill pulps completed January 21, 2026 (81.5% for Au and 75.9% for Ag) and the average prices from
January 1, 2026 to May 1, 2026 (US$4,817/oz Au, US$81.36/oz Ag), a price ratio of 59.2:1. Adjusted for the difference
in metal recoveries, a 55:1 silver:gold ratio was used for the holes reported in this release. AuEq has been reported
at 70:1 for November 2025 to February 2026 , 90:1 in 2025 prior to November, 80:1 in 2023 and 2024, and a 70:1
silver:gold ratio in 2021.
2025-2026 Drill Program
The 84 RC drill holes completed to date in the current 2025-26 program are primarily part of a “fan grid pattern”
being drilled in the Contention zone. Most of the RC drill holes are oriented to test for extensions on the western ,
eastern borders, the southern extensions, and underneath the north-trending main Contention target zone which
hosts the historic underground and open pit Contention mine. Several RC drill holes tested targets in the Westside
and Hard Up areas on projected anticline, dike and fissure vein intersections under mineralized outcrops and historic
shafts. The drill program has continued to identify to depth and horizontally pervasively oxidized and hematite-rich,
silicified hydrothermal breccias composed of quartz feldspar porphyry dike and Bisbee Group clastic sedimentary
fragments, typical of the material mined historically at the Contention Mine.
Additional mineralization types continued to be outlined by the current drilling including: manganese replacements
in limestone beds and skarns, quartz veinlets, oxidized sulfide relicts as disseminations, silicification of altered
hornfels, quartz feldspar porphyries and hydrothermal breccias.
The primary objectives of the 2025-26 drilling program were to: Expand the known mineralization horizontally to
the west, north and south, and down dip beyond the holes drilled by Aztec in 2020 -24 at the Contention Pit with
step outs to enlarge the shallow, broad, bulk tonnage gold-silver mineralization discovered there; test by core drilling
the initial deep CRD targets and also, to explore with first pass drilling new targets identified in the Westside area.
The drilling results showed that the Contention area mineralization is still open at depth and the mineralized volume
is expanding.
Table 1B: Tombstone 2026 Reported Results
Drill Hole From (m) To
(m)
Interval
(m)*
Au
(gpt)
Ag
(gpt) Au Eq (gpt) (1) Comments
TR26-01 51.7 72.9 21.3 0.038 11.76 0.208 Working 71.4 – 73.0 m no sample
86.6 110.9 24.3 0.039 13.37 0.230 Last 4 samples in working, no recovery
Drill Hole From (m) To
(m)
Interval
(m)*
Au
(gpt)
Ag
(gpt) Au Eq (gpt) (1) Comments
TR26-02 0.0 19.8 19.8 0.136 12.62 0.316
54.7 60.8 6.1 0.088 13.67 0.284
91.2 100.3 9.1 0.094 5.65 0.175
130.7 147.4 16.7 0.076 2.76 0.115
TR26-03 147.4 161.1 13.7 0.069 3.73 0.122
167.2 177.8 10.6 0.103 7.21 0.206
193.0 205.2 12.2 0.149 8.7 0.273
TR26-04 53.2 63.8 10.6 0.057 8.17 0.173
147.4 161.1 13.7 0.040 4.16 0.1
168.7 188.5 19.8 0.220 13.75 0.416
TR26-05 16.7 36.5 19.8 0.223 8.78 0.358
60.8 73.0 12.2 0.117 3.85 0.172
80.6 130.7 50.2 0.112 4.90 0.182
136.8 158.1 21.3 0.117 11.44 0.280
165.7 174.8 9.1 0.086 4.65 0.152
182.4 217.4 35.0 0.119 5.95 0.204
231.0 255.3 24.3 0.091 3.6 0.142 TD in minz
TR26-06 31.9 47.1 15.2 0.124 4.06 0.182
62.3 69.9 7.6 0.223 11.66 0.390
88.2 120.1 31.9 0.159 3.86 0.214
130.7 158.1 27.4 0.057 29.22 0.474
202.2 261.5 59.3 0.104 4.96 0.175 TD in minz
TR26-07 50.2 162.6 112.4 0.479 12.64 0.659 Working 59.3 to 62.3 m
173.2 185.4 12.2 0.127 8.11 0.243
221.9 238.6 16.7 0.049 7.49 0.156 TD in minz
TR26-08 121.6 129.2 7.6 0.576 8.4 0.696
TR26-09 35.0 45.6 10.6 0.069 9.06 0.199
53.2 59.3 6.1 0.181 13.1 0.367
158.1 164.1 6.1 0.041 7.37 0.147
TR26-10 PC 112.5 118.6 6.1 0.162 9.15 0.293
TR26-11 100.3 200.6 100.3 0.173 11.46 0.337
TR26-12 100.3 149.0 48.6 0.172 18.04 0.430
TR26-13 18.2 27.4 9.1 0.056 8.27 0.174
63.8 68.8 4.6 0.132 3.33 0.180
85.1 91.2 6.1 0.039 5.00 0.110
194.5 200.6 6.1 0.062 4.275 0.123
TR26-14 0.0 10.6 10.6 0.195 13.00 0.381
39.5 147.4 107.9 0.618 24.80 0.972
176.3 225.0 48.6 0.091 8.11 0.206
234.1 243.2 9.1 0.121 10.67 0.267 TD in minz
TR26-15 92.7 139.8 47.1 0.214 13.26 0.456
156.6 200.6 42.6 0.096 3.42 0.157 TD in minz
TR26-16 57.9 147.8 89.8 0.223 10.96 0.423
164.6 179.8 15.24 0.069 5.68 0.157
195.0 198.1 3.1 0.077 5.7 0.181 TD in minz
TR26-17 62.5 67.1 4.6 0.613 2.13 0.651
82.3 204.2 121.9 0.294 11.3 0.499 TD in minz, workings @ 111.2-114.3 m,
118.9-121.9 m
Drill Hole From (m) To
(m)
Interval
(m)*
Au
(gpt)
Ag
(gpt) Au Eq (gpt) (1) Comments
Including 85.3 97.5 12.2 1.017 14.54 1.281
TR26-18 0.0 53.2 53.2 0.775 31.94 1.356
Including 25.8 44.1 18.2 1.909 79.07 3.346
79.0 100.3 21.3 0.132 4.41 0.212
111.0 164.2 53.2 0.084 6.246 0.198
TR26-19 13.7 80.6 66.9 1.050 23.21 1.472
Including 30.4 57.8 27.4 2.309 43.23 3.095
88.2 107.9 19.8 0.162 6.68 0.283
114.0 135.3 21.3 0.395 12.37 0.620
142.9 167.2 24.3 0.092 7.14 0.221
174.8 199.1 24.3 0.105 10.0 0.286 TD in minz
Table 2 – 2026 Drillhole Coordinates
Drill Hole UTM East UTM North Azimuth Inclination Total Depth
(m)
TR26-20 587987 3507387 84 -59 219.5
TR26-21 588038 3507523 106 -60 146.4
TR26-22 588034 3507523 43 -44 91.4
TR26-23 588160 3507618 118 -49 213.4
TR26-24 588111 3507690 108 -58 304.8
TR26-25 588291 3507364 101 -61 201.2
TR26-26 588803 3507311 276 -65 152.4
TR26-27 588804 3507311 282 -85 91.4
TR26-28 588797 3507403 196 -70 254.5
TR26-29 588856 3507549 272 -60 243.8
TR26-30 588817 3507812 104 -70 201.2
TC25-01 588540 3507253 90 -64 373.4
TC25-02 588716 3507534 125 -60 348.4
TC25-03 588661 3508034 75 -83 691.0
TC25-04 588856 3507422 123 -75 831.5
TC26-05 588637 3508076 88 -82 700.1
Core Drilling Update
The core drilling portion of the program in 2026 drilled five core holes on the Southwest AMT anomaly (TC26-02),
the T-8 CRD target (TC26-05) in the north following up on a downhole EM survey of TC25 -03, general exploration
(TC26-01, 04) and metallurgical (TC26-03) holes. Nine core holes (TC25-01, 02, 03, 04 and TC26 -01, 02, 03, 04 , 05)
have been attempted in 2025-2026. Core hole TC26-02 is the deepest in the program, drilled to 862m.