
Re-interpretation of results confirms a newly identified, higher-grade 2-metre interval grading 1.8% W, 740 g/t Ag and 0.63% Cu within the previously disclosed zone in drill hole MERC-011. Copper, silver and tungsten are all listed on the United States’ 2025 Critical Minerals List.
SALAZAR RESOURCES LIMITED (TSXV: SRL) (OTCQB: SRLZF) (FSE: CCG) is pleased to provide an updated technical review of the tungsten-silver mineralization identified within drill hole MERC-011 at the Mercy concession, part of the Salazar’s 100%-owned Pijilí Project in central Ecuador. The Ensillada porphyry system contained within the Mercy concession was first announced in Salazar’s news release dated April 20, 2021, which reported the intersection of a high-grade silver-tungsten zone within a broader copper-gold-molybdenum porphyry intercept. Following its March 2026 acquisition of full ownership of the Pijilí Project (see news release dated March 18, 2026), Salazar has undertaken an internal review of historical drilling and assay data, which identifies a sub-interval of tungsten-silver enrichment in drill hole MERC-011 that had not previously been reported as a separate composite.
Highlights
Management Commentary
“Copper, silver and tungsten are all on the United States’ 2025 Critical Minerals List, and MERC-011 returned all three over the same two metres. At 1.80% W – 2.27% WO3 – that is several times the median grade the United States Geological Survey reports for tungsten skarn deposits worldwide. What makes it significant for Salazar is where it came from: assays we already owned. We have spent years looking at this ground for copper and gold, and we are now going back over a 100%-owned portfolio with a critical-minerals lens. Pijilí has told us what to look for.” – Fredy Salazar, President and CEO.
Background – Discovery at Mercy Concession and MERC-011
In 2020 and 2021, a drilling program was carried out at the Pijilí Project’s Mercy concession, comprising twelve drill holes totalling 7,031 metres. Within this program, drill hole MERC-011 was one of the final holes of the campaign, and it was this hole that intersected the mineralization described here.

Fig 1. Tungsten anomaly from soil and rocks over the Pijilí Project

Fig 2. Drill collar location Map (News Release April 20, 2021)

Fig 3. MERC-011 Drill Core cross-section
Within the broader porphyry intercept, a higher-grade near-surface subinterval from 4.70 to 23.25 meters returned significantly elevated silver and tungsten values not observed in any other drill hole at Mercy. Petrographic and core logging work indicates this mineralization occurs within a breccia associated with a fault or shear zone, and is interpreted as a separate, overprinting mineralizing event superimposed on the main porphyry system.
Table 1. MERC-011 – Higher-Grade Silver-Tungsten Zone (4.70 – 23.25 m)
| Interval | From (m) | To (m) | Width* (m) | Cu (%) | Au (g/t) | Mo (%) | Ag (g/t) | W (%) |
| MERC-011 | 0.70 | 152.51 | 151.81 | 0.25 | 0.08 | 0.01 | 3.2 | – |
| Main interval | 4.70 | 23.25 | 18.55 | 0.99 | 0.25 | 0.03 | 189.8 | 0.23 |
| Including (not previously reported)** |
18.3 | 20.3 | 2.00 | 0.63 | 0.07 | 0.02 | 740.0 | 1.80 |
* Reported widths are downhole widths; true widths are not yet known.
** The assays were completed as part of the original Adventus drilling program and are not newly assayed by Salazar. The news release of April 20, 2021 reported an 18.55 metre interval grading 0.23% W and noted individual tungsten assays ranging from 0.29% to one value greater than 1.00%. The 2.00 metre sub-interval (18.30 – 20.30 m) reported here was not separately identified in the release and is presented here following Salazar’s re-interpretation of the historical drill-hole data.
Tungsten Mineralization Context
Tungsten is a strategic and critical commodity valued for its exceptional hardness, high melting point, strength, and resistance to wear and heat. It is widely used in specialized electronics, aerospace and defense applications, cemented carbide cutting and drilling tools, mining and construction equipment, and high-performance alloys. Tungsten, silver and copper are each included on the United States’ 2025 Critical Minerals List. Tungsten grades are conventionally reported as WO3 rather than as elemental W: 1.80% W is equivalent to 2.27% WO3. For scale, the United States Geological Survey’s grade and tonnage model for tungsten skarn deposits, covering 41 deposits worldwide, reports a median grade of 0.44% WO3 (Green, C.J., Lederer, G.W., Parks, H.L., and Zientek, M.L., 2020, Grade and tonnage model for tungsten skarn deposits-2020 update: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5085). That figure is a deposit-scale median and is not directly comparable to a single 2.00 metre drill intersection; no mineral resource has been estimated at the Pijilí Project. The United States Geological Survey also reports that China accounts for approximately 80% of global tungsten mine production, and China has applied export licensing requirements to tungsten since August 2023.
Next Steps
Pijilí Project
The Pijilí Project is a 1,397-hectare, 100%-owned copper-gold±molybdenum porphyry project located in central Ecuador.
QA/QC Program
The analytical results reported herein are based on historical sampling and assay work completed as part of Adventus Mining Corporation’s exploration program and are not the result of new assays conducted by Salazar. During the historical drilling program, technical staff collected and processed drill-core samples, which were securely sealed and shipped to Bureau Veritas Ecuador in Quito for sample preparation, including crushing and milling to produce pulps. The pulps were then split for shipment to Bureau Veritas’s facilities in Lima, Peru and Vancouver, Canada for analysis. The historical program implemented a quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) program that includes chain-of-custody and the insertion of standards, blanks, and duplicates. A QA/QC program was also maintained by Bureau Veritas and included the insertion of blanks, standards and duplicates reanalysis of selected samples. Bureau Veritas’s quality system complied with the applicable ISO standards at the time of the historical program. Gold was analyzed by classical fire assay techniques with an Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) finish, while silver and base metals were analyzed using 46-elements, four-acid digestion with ICP-MS. Overlimit protocols were applied for gold, silver, copper, molybdenum and zinc. Salazar has reviewed and re-interpreted historical drill-hole and assay data and has not independently re-assayed the historical samples. The Company’s Qualified Person (QP) has verified the assay data disclosed herein against the original laboratory certificates and the drill-hole database; the QP was notpresent during the historical drilling and sampling programme, which is the limitation on that verification.
Qualified Person
Mr. Kieran Downes, Ph.D., P.Geo., the Qualified Person for the Pijilí Project as defined by National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical content of this news release. Mr. Downes is independent of the Company within the meaning of section 1.5 of NI 43-101.
About Salazar Resources Limited
Salazar Resources Limited is a Canadian junior exploration company focused on the discovery and development of mineral deposits in Ecuador. The Company’s strategy combines in-house geological expertise with a disciplined, systematic approach to project generation and advancement. Alongside a 25% carried interest in the Curipamba-El Domo copper-gold project, currently under construction, Salazar holds a 100%-owned exploration portfolio comprising the Monja, Santiago, Pijilí, El Tigre and Tarqui-Quimi projects across multiple prospective copper-gold belts in Ecuador.
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