Mr. J. Duane Poliquin reports

ALMADEN REPORTS ON LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS IN MEXICO REGARDING MINISTRY OF ECONOMY EFFORTS TO DENY TWENTY YEAR-OLD IXTACA MINERAL TITLE APPLICATIONS

Almaden Minerals Ltd. has provided an update on two recent court decisions, both relating to the submission issued by Mexico's Ministry of the Economy (Economia) to the second district court in Puebla state in February, 2023.

As reported on Feb. 22, April 13 and Sept. 14, 2023, Economia made the submission to the district court seeking to deny the two mineral title applications that were first made by Almaden in 2002 and 2008. The submission claims that the applications contain technical faults, despite Economia's previous statements to the contrary and its acceptance of the mineral title applications and grant of the mineral titles in 2003 and 2009. By alleging technical faults in the mineral title applications, Economia appears to be arbitrarily seeking to deny the grant of the mineral titles and avoid the indigenous consultation ordered by the February, 2022, decision of Mexico's Supreme Court (SCJN). Such consultation would be welcomed by both the company and surrounding community members.

The two court decisions reported today are summarized as follows:

• The Federal Appeals court (TCC) dismisses all of the appeals filed by the parties, including those of the company and supporting community members, and rules the submission is compliant with the 2022 decision of the SCJN since the SCJN decision did not formally prevent Economia from reviewing the technical aspects of the mineral title applications.
• The TCC ruling also does not address the validity of the submission and therefore safeguards the company's right to challenge the substance and legality of the submission through the Mexican Federal Administrative Court (TFJA).
• As follow-up to the press release of Sept. 14, 2023, the TFJA has now granted a definitive injunction in relation to the submission, which prevents Economia from releasing the mineral rights covered by Almaden's mineral title applications to third parties while the trial continues, anticipated to last 18 months.

By way of background, the two mineral titles previously owned by Almaden that covered the Ixtaca project were the subject of a lawsuit against the Mexican government (President, Congress, Ministry of Economy, Directorate of Mines and Mining Registry Office) asserting that the Mexican mining law is unconstitutional. In April, 2019, the district court issued a decision that Mexico's mining law is unconstitutional because it fails to include provisions requiring consultation of indigenous communities before granting mineral titles. This decision was appealed by Mexican authorities and the company, as an affected third party, with the appeals being heard by the SCJN.

In early 2022, the SCJN ruled that the Mexican mineral title law is constitutional, but that Economia should have provided for a consultation procedure with relevant indigenous communities prior to issuing the mineral titles. The SCJN ordered Economia to declare Almaden's mineral titles ineffective and to then conduct indigenous consultation prior to reissuing them.

The SCJN decision provided guidance to Mexican authorities regarding the procedures required to be followed by those authorities in the follow-up to its decision and performance of indigenous consultation. The decision also clarified that, unless there is a significant impact on the rights of an indigenous community caused by the granting of the mineral title, such as relocation or something similar, title issuance is not dependent upon the consent of any indigenous community. The district court was responsible for ensuring that the SCJN decision was properly implemented.

As noted herein, on Feb. 22, 2023, Economia made the submission to the district court seeking to deny the two mineral title applications, and, on April 13, 2023, Almaden reported that the district court ruled that the submission formally complied with the SCJN decision. However, the district court ruling appeared to rely heavily on Economia's submission regarding the company's 2002 and 2008 title applications, and, in its decision, the district court did not provide arguments to address the company's challenge of the submission. Almaden and local community members filed separate appeals of this decision to the TCC. In parallel, Almaden initiated a case in the TFJA to contest the substance and legality of the submission (see press release of Sept. 14, 2023).

In the court decisions announced today, the TCC has denied all parties' appeals of the district court decision and ruled that the submission formally complies with the SCJN decision since, in the exercise of its jurisdictional freedom. Economia could determine the inadmissibility of the mineral title applications as the SCJN decision did not limit Economia's jurisdiction when reviewing technical aspects of the mineral title applications.

Also, the TCC confirmed that the subject matter of the appeal was limited to verifying Economia's compliance with the SCJN decision rather than analyzing the substance or legality of the submission itself. Almaden has been advised that, as a consequence, the TCC safeguarded the company's rights to pursue a separate legal process to examine the substance and legality of the submission. This TCC ruling is final.

In addition, the TFJA has now granted a definitive injunction to Almaden's Mexican subsidiary, Minera Gorrion (MG), which prevents Economia from releasing the mineral rights covered by the company's mineral title applications while the administrative trial regarding the substance and legality of the submission continues. Economia has five days from the time of its notification of this decision to appeal this ruling. Almaden has been advised that so long as the TFJA trial continues, its mineral title applications from 2002 and 2008 remain in place, thus preserving the company's preferential rights to the mineral title. The TFJA process is expected to take approximately 18 months.

Duane Poliquin, chair of Almaden, stated: "While we await a decision regarding the substance and legality of the submission, the injunction will prevent the government of Mexico from declaring freedom of land in the area covered by Almaden's mineral title applications. However, we are acutely aware of the damage already caused to our stakeholders over the past several years by this ongoing arbitrary treatment and we are considering additional legal remedy to address the loss of rights in Mexico."

About Almaden Minerals Ltd.

Almaden Minerals discovered the Ixtaca deposit in Puebla state, Mexico, in 2010. Almaden's interest in the Ixtaca project is subject to a 2.0-per-cent net smelter return royalty held by Almadex Minerals. The Ixtaca deposit hosts a proven and probable reserve containing 1.38 million ounces of gold and 85.1 million ounces of silver (73.1 million tonnes grading 0.59 gram per tonne gold and 36.3 grams per tonne silver). A report titled "Ixtaca Gold-Silver Project, Puebla State, Mexico, NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Feasibility Study," which was prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, is available under the company's profile on SEDAR+ and on the company's website.

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