Mercado Minerals Signs Multiple LOI's to Acquire District Scale Land Holdings in the Prolific San Dimas Mining District of Durango, Mexico

Executive Summary

• Mercado Minerals Ltd. signed two Letters of Intent (LOI) to acquire the San Rafael and La California silver-gold projects in Mexico's prolific San Dimas mining district, creating a 4,617-hectare district-scale land package.
• The acquisition offers over 6.5 km of cumulative strike potential along the Sierra Madre Occidental Silver-Gold Belt, hosting historical epithermal vein mineralization and underground workings.
• Mercado can earn 100% interest in both projects through a five-year option agreement requiring approximately $5.6 million CAD in cash payments (weighted to later years) with no royalties or NSR obligations.

Key Details

• Transaction Structure & Terms: Two LOIs for adjacent projects (San Rafael: 1,004 ha; La California: 3,613 ha). Earn-in option to 100% ownership over five years for ~$5.6M CAD total cash payments, with larger payments scheduled in later years. No royalties or Net Smelter Return (NSR) payments attached.
• Geological Setting: Projects are located in the San Dimas mining district, Durango, Mexico, along a NW-trending structural corridor exceeding 6.5 km on the Sierra Madre Occidental Silver-Gold Belt (same trend as First Majestic's Tayoltita mine). Host rock consists of andesitic flows and tuffs of the Lower Volcanic Group, typical of low-sulfidation epithermal Au-Ag systems.
• San Rafael Project: Features 4.5 km of identified fault structures and historical underground mine workings across four levels (~400 m of development). Historical channel sampling returned a highlight of 1.4 m @ 316 g/t Ag and 22.08 g/t Au (La Esperanza level). A 2014 SGM drill hole (SR-03-13) intersected 0.46 m @ 180 g/t Ag.
• La California Project: Contains >2 km of persistent vein outcrop with an average width of 4 m (up to 10 m). Historical channel sampling returned a highlight of 2.5 m @ 380 g/t Ag and 1.28 g/t Au. Historical underground operations ran from 1912-1922 with three levels and a mill processing 20-40 tons/day.
• District Production Context: Past production in the San Dimas district through December 2024 is estimated at >766 Moz Ag and >11.1 Moz Au.
• Technical Validation & Next Steps: Qualified Person (Kelson Willms, P.Geo.) notes historical sampling and drill data have not been independently validated and should be treated as historical. A site visit is planned for later in 2026 to verify results. The Company is currently conducting due diligence and plans to advance both projects upon closing.

Notable Quotes

• Daniel Rodriguez, CEO & Director: "This is exactly the type of opportunity Mercado is looking for. Our ability to access new projects because of our team in Mexico helped uncover this potential. We are now working towards building a truly district scale presence with kilometres of cumulative vein strike length and numerous highly compelling targets. Putting together land packages of this size in the San Dimas mining district - where hundreds of millions of ounces of silver have been discovered and mined - across two strategically positioned properties is the right kind of transaction to create value for our shareholders. We are excited to advance both La California and San Rafael, and I look forward to closing out our due diligence period and moving forward on all fronts."