• 50m Step-out drill holes encounter strong mineralization to expand the wireframe model yet leave the mineralization open to the South and East
• High-grade Copper intersections include 4.20m @ 3.59% CuEq and 10.50m @ 3.61% and Copper Bonanza intervals of 1.00m @ 14.21% CuEq and 1.40m @ 9.86% CuEq.

Ascendant Resources Inc. (TSX: ASND) is pleased to announce results from the first three drill holes from its on-going drill program on the South Zone at its Lagoa Salgada Project on the Iberian Pyrite Belt in Portugal. The Company remains focused on expanding the known mineralization of the copper-rich stockwork mineralization associated with the South Zone. The Company has already published a robust PEA based upon an existing 10MT M&I Resource Estimate in the North Zone (See the Company’s press release of January 14, 2020).

Highlights Include:

• LS_ST_22b: 25.2m true width grading 2.23% CuEq (0.64% Cu, 1.99% Zn, 1.42% Pb, and 26.47g Ag/t) including 10.50m true width grading 3.61% CuEq (0.84% Cu, 3.39% Zn, 2.77% Pb and 42.30g Ag/t)
• LS_ST_23: 8.4m true width grading 2.24% CuEq (1.18% Cu, 0.46% Zn, 0.77% Pb, and 27.83g Ag/t)
• LS_ST_21b: 7.7m true width grading 2.13% CuEq (0.33% Cu, 3.09% Zn, 1.31% Pb, and 14.00g Ag/t) and 4.20m true width grading 3.59% CuEq (0.42% Cu, 3.38% Zn, 1.91% Pb, and 23.11g Ag/t)

The intersection of numerous high-grade intervals in the first three drill holes of this 7-hole program in stockwork mineralization has been highly encouraging. Firstly, the discovery of high-grade copper within intervals is a positive indication. In hole LS_ST_21, the drilling encountered mineralization earlier than planned and intersected a gossan which is indicative of nearby massive sulphide mineralization. LS_ST_23 drill hole is a 50m SE step-out from the 2018 southern most historical drill hole LS_ST_11 which at the time was the best hole in the South Zone to date. LS_ST_23 confirms the South extension of the known Stockwork South Zone and intercepted multiple mineralized zones including a high-grade copper interval of 6.00m @ 3.74% CuEq, from 163.00m. Also, LS_ST_23 intersected what can be considered a copper Bonanza interval of 1.00m @ 14.21% CuEq (9.11% Cu).

Drill hole LS_ST_22 is a 50m ESE step-out also from LS_ST_11 which means that further to the East, the South Zone continues to expand with high-grade intervals. The intense gossanization intercepted immediately after the Tertiary cover, and not yet at the Fissural mineralization, indicates that Massive Sulphide mineralization should be nearby, as the Fissural ore does not produce such intense gossan “caps” or leaching layers as seen from 161.90-164.80m.

Follow-up drilling is planned for Q1 2021 to better define this high-grade copper zonation on the Lagoa Salgada South Zone Resource and in particular the LS_ST_23 drill hole defined by 5 main corridors of high-grade, strong stockwork mineralization.

Chris Buncic, President & CEO of Ascendant stated, “The results from the first three holes of our drill program in the South Zone confirms our thesis that it is copper rich, with intensity improving as we move south and east. We are excited to continue our exploration activities in the South Zone where the results continue to expand the extent of the mineralization. This bodes very well for Ascendant finding more stockwork mineralization and demonstrating that this project has the potential to be yet another future large producer on the belt, comparable with Neves Corvo and Aguas Tenidas. We hope that future rounds of drilling to grow the Mineral Resource, will achieve our expectation.”

The exploration program in the South Zone is intended to expand and upgrade the stockwork resources. This program builds upon the resources already outlined in earlier Technical Reports in 2019. The results highlighted in the table below will help Ascendant to expand the wireframes even further. Commodity prices have improved considerably since previous analysis was performed. An expansion of the South Zone Mineral Resource should be accretive to the overall size of the Lagoa Salgada resource estimate, warranting further analysis of the scale and scope of potential future mining operations.

Drill hole location and results are shown in Table 1 and 2 respectively below.

Table 1: Drill hole information for South Zone, Lagoa Salgada Project

Table 2: Significant Drill Hole Results for South Zone, Lagoa Salgada Project

*CuEq% = ((Zn Grade*24.25) +(Pb Grade*20.94) +(Cu Grade * 66.14) +(Au Grade*53. 05)+(Ag Grade*0. 64)+ (Sn Grade * 202,77))/ 66. 14

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Analytical work was carried out by ALS Laboratories. Drill core samples were prepared in the ALS Lab, in Seville, Spain. Pulp samples were then sent to their analytical Laboratory in Ireland for analysis. The core samples are analyzed for gold (ppm) by fire assay (Au‐AA25), and for the other elements by multi element analysis of base metal ores and mill products by optical emission spectrometry using the Varian Vista inductively coupled plasma spectrometer (ME-ICPORE). Samples from the South Zone, LS_ST_DH ID, are also assayed for Tin (Sn) by ICP-AES after Sodium Peroxide Fusion (Sn-ICP81x).

ALS Laboratories has routine quality control procedures which ensure that every batch of samples includes three sample repeats, two commercial standards and blanks. ALS Laboratories is independent from Ascendant. Ascendant used standard QA/QC procedures when inserting reference standards and blanks for the drilling program.

Technical Disclosure/Qualified Person

All technical information contained herein has been reviewed and approved by Robert A. Campbell, M.Sc, P.Geo, an officer and director of the Company. Mr. Campbell is a “qualified person” within the meaning of NI 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Ascendant Resources Inc.

Ascendant Resources Inc. is a Toronto-based mining company focused on the exploration and development of the highly prospective Lagoa Salgada VMS project located on the prolific Iberian Pyrite Belt in Portugal. Through focused exploration and aggressive development plans, the Company aims to unlock the inherent potential of the project, maximizing value creation for shareholders.

Lagoa Salgada contains over 12.8 million tonnes of M&I Resources and over 10.3 million tonnes in Inferred Resources and demonstrates typical mineralization characteristics of Iberian Pyrite Belt VMS deposits containing zinc, copper, lead, tin, silver and gold. Extensive exploration upside potential lies both near deposit and at prospective step-out targets across the large 10,700ha property concession. The project also demonstrates compelling economics with scalability for future resource growth in the results of the Preliminary Economic Assessment completed in 2020. Located just 80km from Lisbon, Lagoa Salgada is easily accessible by road and surrounded by exceptional Infrastructure. Ascendant holds a 21.25% interest in the Lagoa Salgada project through its 25% position in Redcorp – Empreendimentos Mineiros, Lda, and has an earn-in opportunity to increase its interest in the project to 80%. Mineral & Financial Investments Limited owns the additional 75% of Redcorp. The remaining 15% of the project is held by Empresa de Desenvolvimento Mineiro, S.A. (EDM), a Portuguese Government owned company supporting the strategic development of the country’s mining sector. The Company’s interest in the Lagoa Salgada project offers a low-cost entry to a potentially significant exploration and development opportunity, already demonstrating its mineable scale.