14 High-Grade Silver-Gold Veins Have Never Been Drilled. That Could Soon Change

Mercado Minerals Ltd. (MERC:CSE; MRMNF:OTCQB; M2R:FSE), through its wholly owned subsidiary Concordia Silver Company S.A. de C.V., entered into a community access and exploration agreement with Ejido Rincon de Ibonia covering a portion of the Zamora property and surrounding area in Sinaloa, Mexico.

The agreement allows Mercado to commence the drill permitting process for the Campanillas area. The company said it is continuing community relations work with other Ejido groups in the region as it seeks to conclude access agreements covering the remainder of the Zamora project.

Under the agreement, Mercado will pay an annual fee of 100,000 Mexican pesos, effective immediately, with a one-year renewal option. The company will also pay 3,000 Mexican pesos for each drill pad constructed to help mitigate impacts on Ejido land.

“One of our key commitments as we advance our projects in the region is building strong, lasting community relations,” CEO and Director Daniel Rodriguez said in the company news release. “We have an excellent team on the ground in Mexico working through logistics, mapping, and sampling at Zamora, both to help bring our concessions back into good standing and to begin testing the concessions we already hold in good standing.”

Mercado’s technical team is currently prospecting, building camp infrastructure, and advancing logistics, mapping, and sampling at Zamora. The work is focused on preparing a portion of the company’s concessions for reinstatement to good standing while sampling and mapping several concessions that are already active and in good standing ahead of a future drill program.

Located approximately 110 kilometers north of Mazatlan and 23 kilometers southwest of Cosala, Sinaloa, Zamora hosts 14 high-grade silver-gold vein occurrences and historic small-scale mines containing mineralized veins with a cumulative strike length exceeding eight kilometers. The occurrences have never been drill tested.

Historic surface sampling returned 14,561 grams per tonne silver and 15.53 g/t gold at the Campanillas workings, while sampling at El Triunfo returned 1.00 meter grading 286 g/t silver and 2.54 g/t gold.

The company cautioned that its qualified person has not completed sufficient work to independently verify the historical rock sample assay results from Zamora. Mercado is therefore treating the previous results as historical in nature and said they should not be relied upon. The qualified person intends to independently verify the historic results during a planned site visit later this year.

Silver and Gold Prices Recorded Strong Year-Over-Year Gains

According to an August 24 analysis by Fawad Razaqzada, gold had climbed as high as US$4,680 per ounce after recording a third consecutive weekly advance. He attributed the metal’s recent performance to a softer U.S. dollar and reduced expectations for additional Federal Reserve rate increases.

Razaqzada also noted that gold had been rising alongside bond yields, a relationship he connected to concerns about U.S. debt sustainability, debt-servicing costs, and fiscal credibility rather than expectations for a more aggressive Federal Reserve. “For gold, that is a particularly supportive backdrop,” he wrote, referring to the combination of higher Treasury yields and a weaker U.S. dollar.

Trading Economics data on August 31 showed silver at US$67.167 per ounce, up 16.45% over the previous month and 64.93% over the previous year. The source described silver as having both industrial and investment applications, with uses in electronics, solar panels, and medical technologies, as well as a store of value and portfolio diversification tool. Mexico, Peru, and China were identified as the largest global producers. According to Trading Economics, “silver prices are influenced by both industrial demand and investor sentiment.”

The August 31 Trading Economics data also showed gold at US$4,451.06 per ounce, representing a 9.74% monthly increase and a 27.99% year-over-year increase. The source said gold demand was driven by financial markets, jewelry consumption, and industrial use, while jewelry represented the largest source of global demand, followed by investment demand and a smaller contribution from industrial applications.

Trading Economics described gold as “one of the most widely followed precious metals” and said it was “often regarded as a safe-haven asset during periods of economic uncertainty, inflation, and geopolitical risk.” The source also reported that gold had remained on track for a gain of more than 10% during August, while silver had remained on track for a gain of more than 15% for the month.

Exploration Work Advances Across Zamora and Copalito

At Zamora, Mercado’s July 2026 investor presentation outlined work to bring approximately 3,000 hectares of concessions back into good standing. The presentation identified four concessions covering 378 hectares, along with rights to potentially bring another 2,999 hectares of concessions back into good standing. The company is advancing systematic surface and underground sampling to help define initial drill targets across 14 silver-gold vein occurrences.

Mercado’s planned exploration schedule showed Zamora land consolidation and title security extending from the latter part of 2026 into the first quarter of 2027. Surface sampling was scheduled across the third and fourth quarters of 2026, followed by drill target generation beginning in the fourth quarter of 2026 and extending into the first quarter of 2027.

At Copalito, Mercado completed its inaugural 3,000-meter diamond drill program in August. The 25-hole program tested seven vein structures, including 5 Señores, El Agua, El Pilar, El Medio, and El Chente, as well as newly identified or previously undrilled structures. The program was designed to test extensions of known veins, conduct infill drilling, evaluate targets at depth, and test newly identified targets.

The July presentation said approximately 60% of the known vein strike had been tested to approximately 100 meters depth, while new vein extensions and targets continued to emerge. Mercado also collected drone magnetic data and acquired and interpreted LiDAR data. These datasets, together with soil sampling, mapping, and prospecting, have helped identify new anomalies, vein extensions, and exploration targets.

Mercado’s 2026 exploration work at Copalito also included a comprehensive soil sampling program, mapping, prospecting, and sampling that delineated new veins and vein segments. The company said these datasets were being used to advance drill targeting and identify additional exploration opportunities.

With Phase I drilling now complete, Mercado’s next potential catalyst at Copalito is Phase II exploration. In its August 19 update, the company said it intends to complete a Phase Two program focused on expanding higher-grade areas at El Agua and El Pilar, drill testing vein extensions, initially testing the 1,150-meter Renata Vein, and following up on unexplained soil anomalies. [OWNERSHIP_CHART-11572]

Ownership & Share Structure¹

Mercado Minerals Ltd. has a market cap of approximately CA$9.49 million, with approximately 76 million shares outstanding. The company’s 52-week range is CA$0.075-CA$0.49.

Management and Insiders own 6.5% of shares, while Strategic Investors own 27.9%. The remaining 65.6% of shares are held by Retail.