Kootenay Silver Inc. announced that Aztec Minerals Corp. has reported that the Aztec /Kootenay Joint Venture 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 located in Sonora State, Mexico. Four main targets will be tested.

The primary objectives of the 2021 – 2022 exploration program are: Better define the open pit, heap leach gold potential of the porphyry oxide cap at California where previous drilling as reported encountered up to 0.77 gpt gold over 160 meters of drill length; 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. 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 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. Ten holes thus far have been drilled into the principal California gold-copper porphyry target, where the Aztec – Kootenay JV previously discovered extensive porphyry gold-copper mineralization (drill intercepts up to 0.77 gpt gold over 160 m).

The 10 step-out holes for 2,041 m are at 50 m spacings to expand and better define the area of oxide gold 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 which is hoped to be a large gold-copper porphyry. This mineralization is associated with massive silicification and extensive hydrothermal brecciation of the hosting quartz feldspar porphyry and the surrounding sedimentary rocks.

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.