Mr. James McDonald reports

KOOTENAY REPORTS FOLLOW UP METALLURGICAL LEACH TESTING UNDERWAY ON BULK SAMPLES FROM LA CIGARRA SILVER RESOURCE

Additional leach testing of oxide and sulphide silver mineralization (the phase II program) has begun on bulk samples from Kootenay Silver Inc.'s La Cigarra silver deposit in Chihuahua state, Mexico, applying the proprietary Silvox Technologies Inc. process.

The purpose of the phase II program is to determine if silver mineralization at La Cigarra is amenable to low-cost heap leach processing using the Silvox process, which could have a positive impact on potential capital requirements and operating costs. Previous metallurgical work was focused on silver recovery through production of a concentrate via conventional floatation. This work was very positive achieving recoveries up to 88 per cent silver producing a high-grade lead-silver concentrate that graded 34 per cent lead and 23,000 grams per tonne (g/t) silver for every tonne of concentrate (see Northair Silver news release dated June 29, 2015).

The phase II program was initiated based on positive results from preliminary metallurgical testing of the oxide mineralization hosted within the La Cigarra deposit that showed a significant improvement in silver recoveries when using standard leaching with the Silvox process, versus industry standard leaching without the Silvox process (see Kootenay news release dated Jan. 2, 2017).

Phase II testing will involve bottle roll testing (BR testing) on different crush sizes of one-fourth and three-fourths inch for oxide material and initial evaluation on one-fourth inch for sulphide material, which was not previously tested. Metallurgical testing will involve applying industry standard leach testing in addition to utilizing the Silvox process to establish differences in recoveries and optimization.

The metallurgical test work is part of a larger comprehensive approach to the La Cigarra property aimed at maximizing the project's near- and long-term economic viability through resource expansion and optimization of the existing silver deposit.

Sampling and quality assurance/quality control

All technical information for the La Cigarra exploration program is obtained and reported under a formal quality assurance and quality control program. Samples are taken under the direction of qualified geologists and stored in sealed bags. Samples are delivered by the company via courier to ALS Minerals in Chihuahua. The samples are dried, crushed and pulverized with the pulps being sent air freight for analysis by ALS in Vancouver, B.C. Systematic assaying of standards is performed for precision and accuracy. Analysis for silver, zinc, lead and copper, and related trace elements was done by ICP four-acid digestion, with gold analysis by 30-gram fire assay with an AA finish.

Qualified persons

The Kootenay technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 (standards of disclosure for mineral projects) and reviewed on behalf Kootenay by James McDonald, PGeo, president, chief executive officer and director for Kootenay, a qualified person.

About Kootenay Silver Inc.

Kootenay Silver is an exploration company actively engaged in the discovery and development of mineral projects in the Sierra Madre region of Mexico and in British Columbia, Canada. Supported by one of the largest portfolios of silver assets in Mexico, Kootenay continues to provide its shareholders with significant leverage to silver prices. The company remains focused on the expansion of its current silver resources, new discoveries and the near-term economic development of two of its priority silver projects located in prolific mining districts in Sonora state and Chihuahua state, Mexico, respectively.

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