First Andes granted cond. NSW exploration licences

Executive Summary

• First Andes Silver Ltd. has received a conditional grant of exploration licences for three silver-focused projects (Carrington, Stony Creek, and Dartmoor) in New South Wales, Australia, from Southern Star Pty. Ltd.
• The company anticipates completing the acquisition of these projects within the next week, pending final acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange.
• Following the acquisition, First Andes plans to initiate a staged exploration program involving soil and stream-sediment geochemistry to prioritize targets for future surface work and drilling.

Key Details

• Licence Grant: NSW Resources granted conditional exploration licences for the Carrington, Stony Creek, and Dartmoor projects for a period of six years.
• Financial Obligations: Final grant is subject to security deposits of $10,000 AUD per exploration licence and annual rental fees totaling $9,960 AUD.
• Acquisition Status: The acquisition is from Southern Star Pty. Ltd. Details were previously outlined in a news release dated Dec. 9, 2025. Completion is expected within the next week, subject to TSX Venture Exchange acceptance.
• Exploration Plan: The company intends to conduct fieldwork including soil and stream-sediment geochemistry to prioritize targets for follow-up surface work and potential future drill testing.
• Carrington Project (ELA 6982):
  • 160-square-kilometre licence covering an iron-rich skarn system with Au-Ag-Pb-Sb mineralization in the Lachlan orogenic belt.
  • Historic rock chip sampling returned grades up to 85 g/t Au, 6,037 g/t Ag, 24.8% Pb, and 16.8% Sb.
  • Over 0.5 million tonnes of iron gossan identified; aeromagnetic data supports an extensive iron-rich skarn system with >10 km of prospective strike length.
• Stony Creek Project (ELA 6983):
  • 247 square km licence covering Devonian volcanic rocks and a corridor of historic silver-gold mines.
  • Historic rock-chip sampling returned up to 18.4 g/t Au and 212 g/t Ag.
  • Historic drilling (1986) reported an intercept of 5m at 3.0 g/t Au.
  • Gundillions Reef shows historic grab samples up to 44 g/t Au and 150 g/t Ag.
• Dartmoor Project (ELA 6981):
  • 47 square km licence at the western margin of the Hill End and Cooma zones.
  • Historic polymetallic mines with small-scale production averaging ~980 g/t Ag and 12% Cu.
  • Targeting massive Au-Ag-base-metal sulphide lenses using modern EM geophysics, geochemistry, and drilling.
• Peru Operations: The CEO noted continued momentum at the Santas Gloria property in Peru, where drilling has reported high-grade silver across multiple vein systems, supported by WorldView-3 SWIR data defining a multikilometre zoned alteration target.

Notable Quotes

• "We are pleased to see meaningful progress toward securing these three highly prospective exploration licences in New South Wales," stated Colin Smith, chief executive officer of First Andes Silver. "With a lean, execution-focused team, we can advance two diverse exploration programs efficiently and with tight cost control, driving early stage target generation in Australia while continuing to build momentum at Santas Gloria in Peru."