Aztec Drills 83.8 Meters of 1.31 g/t AuEq, Extends Tombstone Strike Length to More Than 1,250 Meters

Aztec Minerals Corp.

Five drill holes, including four first-pass step-outs, all intersected oxide gold-silver mineralization and extended the Contention mineralized system 255 meters to the north-northeast in the North Extension target. The system remains open to the north and to the sides, with high-grade mineralization reported at both ends of the area drilled.

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / September 2, 2026 / Aztec Minerals Corp. (AZT:TSXV) (OTCQB:AZZTF) said drilling has extended the Contention mineralized system to more than 1,250 meters of continuously drilled strike length at its Tombstone Property in southeastern Arizona.

The company reported results from five reverse circulation (RC) drill holes, TR26-40 to TR26-44, drilled into the North Extension target on patented mining claims consolidated by Aztec over the past year. Four of the holes were first-pass step-outs along the Contention mineralized system in the North Extension target, and all five holes intersected oxide gold-silver mineralization.

Taken together with holes TR26-33 and TR26-39, reported on August 5, 2026, the new drilling extends the Contention mineralization by 255 meters from TR26-39 in the south to TR26-43 in the north on ground that had largely not been drilled by Aztec previously. The company said the area includes high-grade intervals at both ends and no barren hole in between. The Contention system remains open to the north, with more than 1,250 meters of demonstrated strike length.

TR26-41, near the center of the North Extension target, returned 83.8 meters averaging 0.90 g/t Au and 22.61 g/t Ag, or 1.31 g/t AuEq, from 24.4 meters, including 7.6 meters averaging 6.97 g/t Au and 75.42 g/t Ag, or 8.34 g/t AuEq, from 42.7 meters. TR26-43, the most northerly hole reported to date, extended the zone about 90 meters farther north and returned 51.8 meters averaging 0.70 g/t Au and 25.59 g/t Ag, or 1.16 g/t AuEq, from 85.3 meters, including 19.8 meters averaging 1.93 g/t Au and 58.01 g/t Ag, or 2.99 g/t AuEq, from 109.7 meters.

At the southern end, TR26-44 returned 22.9 meters averaging 0.79 g/t Au and 8.25 g/t Ag, or 0.94 g/t AuEq, from 10.7 meters, and a deeper 51.8 meters averaging 0.55 g/t Au and 5.61 g/t Ag, or 0.65 g/t AuEq, from 77.7 meters. TR26-40, collared between TR26-39 and TR26-41, showed continuity of mineralization along the zone, while TR26-42 tested the eastern side of the zone and intersected 39.6 meters averaging 0.16 g/t Au and 9.66 g/t Ag, or 0.34 g/t AuEq.

Aztec said 93 RC holes have been completed in the 2025-2026 program as of the date of the release, including 40 in 2025 and 53 in 2026. Assay results are still pending for the nine most recent holes, TR26-45 to TR26-53, all of which have been completed. Two of those holes, TR26-52 and TR26-53, were collared north of TR26-43 along the trend of the zone. The company expects those results in the coming weeks, and drilling is expected to continue through at least September 2026.

Results from the holes reported in this release, together with results from holes TR26-45 through TR26-50, are currently expected to be included in the company’s previously announced maiden mineral resource estimate for the Tombstone Project.

Aztec Minerals CEO Simon Dyakowski said:

"Eighteen months ago this ground was not ours and had not been drilled. Today it is 255 meters of new mineralization inside a system we can now trace continuously for over 1,250 meters, and all of it goes into the maiden resource estimate we expect to publish in Q4. Five holes reported, four of them first-pass step-outs, and all five mineralized, with high grade at both ends and nothing barren in between. TR26-41 and TR26-43 sit 126 meters apart and each carries a high-grade core, which tells us the grade of the Contention system is not confined to one part of the system. The system is open to the north and to the sides, we have nine completed holes with assays pending including two collared beyond TR26-43, and we expect to keep extending it through the balance of the program."

Selected drill results

TR26-41 intersected 83.8 meters averaging 0.90 g/t Au and 22.61 g/t Ag, or 1.31 g/t AuEq, from 24.4 meters. Within that interval, the company reported:

• 7.6 meters averaging 6.97 g/t Au and 75.42 g/t Ag, or 8.34 g/t AuEq, from 42.7 meters
• 9.1 meters averaging 0.73 g/t Au and 51.72 g/t Ag, or 1.67 g/t AuEq, from 54.9 meters
• 3.0 meters averaging 2.87 g/t Au and 53.20 g/t Ag, or 3.84 g/t AuEq, from 71.6 meters
• 3.0 meters averaging 0.16 g/t Au and 78.15 g/t Ag, or 1.58 g/t AuEq, from 82.3 meters

The interval includes two historic workings from 35.7 to 37.2 meters and 80.8 to 82.3 meters, which were reported as no sample. A separate zone at surface returned 4.6 meters averaging 0.26 g/t Au and 12.13 g/t Ag, or 0.48 g/t AuEq, including 3.0 meters averaging 0.36 g/t Au and 15.85 g/t Ag, or 0.65 g/t AuEq, from surface.

TR26-44, at the southern end of the drillholes and 29 meters south of TR26-39, is mineralized in five zones over a 146.3-meter envelope from 10.7 meters to 157.0 meters, totaling 112.8 meters of composited mineralization. The zones include 22.9 meters averaging 0.79 g/t Au and 8.25 g/t Ag, or 0.94 g/t AuEq, from 10.7 meters, including 3.0 meters averaging 3.91 g/t Au and 12.65 g/t Ag, or 4.14 g/t AuEq, from 18.3 meters, and 51.8 meters averaging 0.55 g/t Au and 5.61 g/t Ag, or 0.65 g/t AuEq, from 77.7 meters, including 6.1 meters averaging 3.60 g/t Au and 5.98 g/t Ag, or 3.71 g/t AuEq, from 86.9 meters. A historic working from 24.4 to 27.4 meters was reported as no sample.

TR26-43, the most northerly hole reported to date, was collared 126 meters northeast of TR26-41 and 65 meters northeast of TR26-42, extending the mineralized zone approximately 90 meters north of TR26-41. It intersected 51.8 meters averaging 0.70 g/t Au and 25.59 g/t Ag, or 1.16 g/t AuEq, from 85.3 meters, including 19.8 meters averaging 1.93 g/t Au and 58.01 g/t Ag, or 2.99 g/t AuEq, from 109.7 meters. The interval includes a historic working from 123.4 to 126.5 meters reported as no sample, and the hole recovered no sample from 71.6 to 77.7 meters. A zone from surface returned 18.3 meters averaging 0.15 g/t Au and 3.82 g/t Ag, or 0.22 g/t AuEq, and two deeper zones were intersected between 158.5 meters and 202.7 meters. Aztec said the zone remains open to the north.

TR26-40, collared between TR26-39 and TR26-41, intersected 59.4 meters averaging 0.18 g/t Au and 12.38 g/t Ag, or 0.40 g/t AuEq, from 33.5 meters, including 4.6 meters averaging 0.72 g/t Au and 18.73 g/t Ag, or 1.06 g/t AuEq, from 54.9 meters and 3.0 meters averaging 0.37 g/t Au and 34.35 g/t Ag, or 1.00 g/t AuEq, from 67.1 meters. A zone from surface returned 7.6 meters averaging 0.11 g/t Au and 4.54 g/t Ag, or 0.19 g/t AuEq, and a second shallow zone was intersected from 15.2 meters. The hole demonstrated continuity of mineralization between TR26-39 and TR26-41.

TR26-42, collared 73 meters east and 26 meters north of TR26-41, intersected 39.6 meters averaging 0.16 g/t Au and 9.66 g/t Ag, or 0.34 g/t AuEq, from 33.5 meters, including 3.0 meters averaging 1.29 g/t Au and 43.65 g/t Ag, or 2.08 g/t AuEq, from 35.1 meters, along with two narrower zones. Aztec said the hole helps extend the eastern margin of the Contention mineralization.

Every hole reported in this release intersected oxide gold-silver mineralization. Mineralization along the Contention system is closely associated with historic underground workings, which were intersected in TR26-41, TR26-43 and TR26-44 and reported as no sample rather than zero grade where they fall inside a mineralized interval.

2025-2026 drill program

Aztec said the 93 RC drill holes completed to date in the current 2025-2026 program are primarily part of a fan grid pattern in the Contention zone. Most of the holes were oriented to test extensions on the western and eastern borders, as well as the southern and northern extensions and the area beneath the north-trending main Contention target zone, which hosts the historic underground and open-pit Contention mine.

Several RC 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 program has continued to identify pervasive oxidized and hematite-rich, silicified hydrothermal breccias composed of quartz feldspar porphyry dike and Bisbee Group clastic sedimentary fragments, which Aztec said are typical of the material mined historically at the Contention Mine.

Additional mineralization types outlined by the current drilling include manganese replacements in limestone beds and skarns, quartz veinlets, oxidized sulfide relicts as disseminations, silicification of altered hornfels, quartz feldspar porphyries and hydrothermal breccias.

Aztec said the main objectives of the 2025-2026 drilling program were to expand known mineralization horizontally to the west, north and south, and down dip beyond the holes drilled in 2020-2024 at the Contention Pit; to test initial deep CRD targets by core drilling; and to explore new targets in the Westside area with first-pass drilling. The company said the drilling has shown that Contention-area mineralization remains open in all directions, including at depth, and that the mineralized volume is expanding.

Table 2: 2026 drillhole coordinates

• TR26-40: UTM East 588923, UTM North 3508227, azimuth 103, inclination -50, total depth 121.9 m
• TR26-41: UTM East 588923, UTM North 3508255, azimuth 102, inclination -47, total depth 152.4 m
• TR26-42: UTM East 588996, UTM North 3508281, azimuth 102, inclination -64, total depth 152.4 m
• TR26-43: UTM East 589012, UTM North 3508344, azimuth 106, inclination -50, total depth 207.3 m
• TR26-44: UTM East 588899, UTM North 3508115, azimuth 100, inclination -60, total depth 176.8 m

Technical notes and project overview

Aztec said continued drilling of the Contention pit area was supported by its 3D geologic and underground workings model, which was built to help target possible expansion of the Contention system. The company said the overall Contention system has yet to be defined and marks the confluence of other mineralized zones, including the Westside Anticline.

Drill samples are collected every 1.52 meters from RC chips and every 1.5 meters from sawing the core drill holes. The samples are analyzed by two certified laboratories: Bureau Veritas for gold, using a 30-gram sample size and method FA430 followed by multi-element MA300, or Skyline Labs for gold, using a 30-gram sample size and method FA-1 followed by multi-element TE-3. Both laboratories are independent of the company and the Qualified Person. Over-limit samples, when present, are analyzed by MA370/MEA-2 or FA530/FA-3.

Composited intervals are reported at a 0.10 g/t AuEq cutoff, with a maximum of three consecutive below-cutoff samples of internal dilution and a minimum of two samples, using the same methodology as the August 5, 2026 release so the intervals are directly comparable. Where a historic underground working or void falls inside a reported interval, the unsampled length is reported as "no sample (historic working or void)". It is included in the reported interval length, excluded from the grade average, and not assigned a zero grade.

The company said it uses quality assurance and quality control procedures throughout its sampling and assaying process, including certified blanks, standards and duplicates in all drill holes. Samples are regularly shipped to Bureau Veritas Minerals in Hermosillo, Mexico, or Skyline Labs in Tucson, Arizona, for geochemical analysis. Aztec said the QAQC results for the drilling programs have been good. All reported intersection lengths are apparent widths, not true widths, and true widths at the property can range from 30% to 100% of apparent widths.

Aztec Minerals holds an 85.0% interest in the Tombstone Property Joint Venture, which includes most of the original patented mining claims in the main district and some recently acquired properties. The current drilling is focused on shallow, bulk-tonnage, potentially heap-leachable, mesothermal gold-silver oxide mineralization adjacent to and below the previously mined Contention pit. That focus matters because the company is building toward a maiden resource estimate while still testing where the system continues on the margins, at depth and north of the current drill pattern.

The Tombstone project is about 100 kilometers southeast of Tucson, Arizona, and covers much of the historic Tombstone silver district. Tombstone is known for its high-grade, oxidized, silver-gold mesothermal stringer lode veins, hydrothermal breccias and manto CRD orebodies that were mined in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Historic silver production in the Tombstone district from 1878 to 1939 was estimated at 32 million ounces of silver and 250,000 ounces of gold.

The district geology includes shallow-level oxidized Au-Ag and base-metal deposits related to CRD and skarns hosted in folded and thrusted sediments, intrusive dikes and lode veins, as well as underexplored sulfide versions below the water table. Host rocks are primarily the clastic sediments of the lowest portion of the Cretaceous Bisbee Formation. Between 50 and 300 meters in depth, the Bisbee is underlain by approximately two kilometers of Paleozoic carbonate formations that host the Hermosa-Taylor zinc-lead-silver deposit of South32, about 60 kilometers southwest of Tombstone.

Aztec said it believes the historic silver mines at Tombstone may be related to a much larger mesothermal system with CRD mineralization below the old mines. Since 2017, the company has completed geological mapping, geochemical sampling and geophysical surveying to identify the most prospective areas for Au-Ag mineralization around and below the Contention open pit, and CRD zinc-lead-copper-silver-gold mineralization below the district.

Tombstone Project highlights

• The property includes patented and unpatented claims totaling 833.25 hectares, or 2,058.1 acres, and covers much of the historic Tombstone silver mining district.
• The district produced an estimated 32 million ounces of silver and 250,000 ounces of gold from 1878 to 1939, along with small open-pit heap-leach production in the late 1980s.
• Drilling by Aztec in 2020-2026 has shown that the Contention Pit target contains significant shallow oxidized Au-Ag bulk-tonnage mineralization that remains open in all directions.
• The property also includes multiple prospective targets in Cretaceous and Paleozoic rocks related to major northwest- and north-northeast-trending structures hosting porphyritic intrusions that crosscut a possible caldera ring structure.

Aztec said it has not verified the historic results and is not relying on them. The company said it possesses historic drill logs, maps and reports, but does not have information on the quality assurance or quality control measures used in connection with those historical exploration results.

The technical and scientific information in the release was reviewed and approved by Allen David Heyl, B.Sc., CPG - AIPG No. 11277, VP Exploration of Aztec, who is a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. Mr. Heyl supervises the Tombstone exploration programs and verified the data, including a review of the sampling, analytical and test methods underlying the disclosed data, information and opinions.

Aztec Minerals said it is a mineral exploration company focused on two emerging discoveries in North America. Its Cervantes project is an emerging porphyry gold-copper discovery in Sonora, Mexico, and its Tombstone project is an emerging gold-silver discovery with high-grade CRD silver-lead-zinc potential in southern Arizona. The company’s shares trade on the TSX-V under the symbol AZT and on the OTCQB under the symbol AZZTF.