Vancouver, Canada – January 26, 2022 - Aztec Minerals Corp. (AZT: TSX-V, OTCQB: AZZTF), announces that the Aztec-Kootenay JV has completed the first 14 holes totaling 2,810.6 metres (m) of the current 5,000 m, 22-hole Phase 2 reverse circulation (RC) drill program at the Cervantes Property in Sonora, Mexico. Drilling commenced in December 2021, took a Christmas break, and resumed in January. Drill samples were shipped to the Bureau Veritas Minerals laboratory in Hermosillo for geochemical analysis and results are anticipated in the next several weeks.

Four main targets will be tested. The primary objectives of the 2021 – 2022 exploration program are to better define the open pit, heap leach gold potential of the porphyry oxide cap at California, evaluate the potential for deeper copper-gold porphyry sulfide mineralization underlying the oxide cap, test for north and west extensions of the California mineralization at California North and Jasper, and assess the breccia pipe potential of Purisima East.

The initial four holes were drilled for 769.6 m to test the southern portion of the Purisima East target, an area which hosts historic underground mines and prospects. This is area is coincident with IP chargeability and gold-copper-molybdenum anomalies within a breccia along the rim of a porphyry intrusion. All four holes intersected pervasively fractured, oxidized, argillic and silicified sediments and quartz feldspar porphyry dikes and hydrothermal breccias. Over 300 channel samples of 1.5 m lengths were collected along the drill road cuts and geologic mapping conducted as well.

Subsequent to testing the Purisima East target, the drill moved to the principal California target, where the Aztec – Kootenay JV previously discovered extensive porphyry gold-copper mineralization (drill intercepts up to 0.77 gpt gold over 160 m). This mineralization is associated with massive silicification and extensive hydrothermal brecciation of the hosting quartz feldspar porphyry and the surrounding sedimentary rocks. In 2022, the JV has drilled 10 step-out holes for 2,041 m at a 50 m spacings to expand and better define the area of mineralization at California. There remain several drill holes to be completed to be followed by two 500 m deep holes to test the depth extent of the strong underlying IP chargeability anomaly.

The remaining Phase 2 drill exploration program will test the California Norte prospect - one hole will test a small part of the coincident IP chargeability/gold-copper-molybdenum anomaly, and the Jasper prospect - one hole will test the outcropping strong oxide copper mineralization and extensive copper-molybdenum soil anomaly.

After drilling concludes, company geologists will turn their attention to channel sampling and geologic mapping of the newly cut drill roads at California, California Norte and Jasper, as well as to expand surface sampling and mapping on the property in general to continue the 2021 Phase 1 surface program.

Cervantes Property Overview

Cervantes is a highly prospective porphyry gold-copper property located in southeastern Sonora state, Mexico. The project lies 160 km east of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico within the prolific Laramide porphyry copper belt approximately 265 km southeast of the Cananea porphyry copper-molybdenum mine (Grupo Mexico).  Cervantes also lies along an east-west trending gold belt 60 km west of the Mulatos epithermal gold mine (Alamos Gold), 35 km northeast of the Osisko San Antonio gold mine, 45 km west of the La India mine (Agnico Eagle), and 40 km northwest of Santana gold deposit (Minera Alamos). View: Cervantes Project Location Map

Cervantes Property Highlights

• Large well-located property (3,649 hectares) with good infrastructure, road access, local town, all private land, water wells on property, grid power nearby

• Seven prospective mineralized zones related to high level porphyries and breccias along an 7.0km east-northeast corridor with multiple intersecting northwest structures

• Distinct geophysical anomalies, California target marked by high magnetic and low resistivity anomalies, high radiometric and chargeability anomalies responding to pervasive alteration

• Extensive gold mineralization at California zone, 118 soil samples average 0.44 gpt gold over 900 m by 600 m area, trench rock-channel samples up to 0.47 gpt gold over 222 m

• Already drilled the first discovery hole at the California zone, intersected gold oxide cap to a classic gold-copper porphyry deposit, drill results up to 0.77 gpt gold over 160 m

• Excellent gold recoveries from preliminary metallurgical tests on drill core from California zone; oxide gold recoveries in bottle roll tests range from 75% to 87%

• California geophysical anomaly wide open laterally and at depth, IP chargeability strengthens and broadens to >500m depth over an area 1100 m by 1200 m

• Three-Dimensional IP Survey conducted in 2019 extends strong chargeability anomalies to the southwest covering Estrella, Purisima East, and Purisima West, coinciding well with alteration and Au-Cu-Mo soil geochemical anomalies, all undrilled.

California Target

In 2017-18, Aztec completed a Phase 1, 17 diamond core hole drill program, totaling 2,675 m (see news release dated June 26, 2018). Phase 1 drilling tested the California target 900 m by 600 m gold-in-soils anomaly that averaged 0.44 gpt covering hydrothermal breccias within a quartz feldspar porphyry stock intruding Paleozoic silici-clastic sediments.

The Phase 1 drill program consistently intersected an oxidized gold cap to a porphyry-type gold-copper-silver system at California, including multiple 100+ meter widths of exceeding 0.40 gpt gold, spanning an 800-meter length and a 200-meter breadth, to a maximum vertical depth of 150 meters. The area tested by drilling represents only 30% of the surface gold soil anomaly.

Mineralization at the California zone is open in all directions. Highlights of the 2017-18 Phase 1 drill program are as follows:

• 160 m @ 0.77 gpt gold incl 80 m @ 1.04 gpt gold, 0.11% copper in 18CER010
• 139 m @ 0.71 gpt gold incl 20 m @ 2.10 gpt gold, 0.16% copper in 17CER005
• 118 m @ 0.63 gpt gold incl 43 m @ 1.18 gpt gold, 0.16% copper in 17CER003
• 122 m @ 0.60 gpt gold incl 62 m @ 0.88 gpt gold, 0.06% copper in 18CER007
• 170 m @ 0.42 gpt gold incl 32 m @ 0.87 gpt gold, 0.06% copper in 18CER006

Preliminary metallurgical tests on California drill cores were conducted in 2019 (see news release dated March 12, 2019). Drill core samples were grouped into 4 separate types of mineralization: Oxide 1, Oxide 2, Mixed Oxide/Sulfide and Sulfide. The preliminary results of bottle roll tests showed excellent potential for heap leach gold recovery, as follows:

• 85.1% recovery on 2.0 mm material and 94.3% on 75-micron material in sample Oxide 1
• 87.7% recovery on 2.0 mm material and 94.2% on 75-micron material in sample Oxide 2
• 77.9% recovery on 2.0 mm material and 89.0% on 75-micron material in sample Mixed Oxide/Sulphide
• 51.2% recovery on 2.0mm material and 78.7% on 75-micron material in sample Sulphide

Allen David Heyl, B.Sc., CPG., VP Exploration of Aztec, is the Qualified Person and is conducting oversight on the Cervantes exploration program. Aztec is conducting reverse circulation (often referred to as percussion drilling) at Cervantes and collecting 5 feet (1.52 m) samples in all drill holes. All holes contain certified blanks, standards, and duplicates as part of the quality control program. Mr. Heyl reviewed and approved the technical disclosures in this news release.

“Simon Dyakowski”

                                               
Simon Dyakowski, Chief Executive Officer
Aztec Minerals Corp.

About Aztec Minerals – Aztec is a mineral exploration company focused on the discovery of large polymetallic mineral deposits in the Americas. Our core asset is the prospective Cervantes porphyry gold-copper property in Sonora, Mexico. Aztec also has control of the historic, district-scale Tombstone properties host both bulk tonnage epithermal gold-silver as well as CRD silver-lead-zinc mineralization in Cochise County, Arizona. Aztec’s shares trade on the TSX-V stock exchange (symbol AZT) and on the OTCQB (symbol AZZTF).

Contact Information - For more information, please contact:
Simon Dyakowski, CEO or Bradford Cooke, Chairman
Tel: (604) 619-7469
Fax: (604) 685-9744
Email: simon@aztecminerals.com
Website: www.aztecminerals.com

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements under Canadian securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “expects” or “it is expected”, or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results “will” occur. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from results contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Accordingly, the actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. When relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.