Mr. Simon Dyakowski reports

AZTEC MINERALS INCREASES DRILLING PROGRAM BY 4,500 METERS AND COMMENCES DOWNHOLE GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY OF CORE HOLES AT TOMBSTONE PROJECT, ARIZONA

Aztec Minerals Corp.'s Tombstone property joint venture management committee has met recently and approved a further expansion of the continuing drill program by 4,500 metres of additional reverse circulation (RC) drilling. The expanded drilling program, which commenced in June, 2025, is now expected to total approximately 17,000 m of combined core and RC drilling (14,200 m RC and 2,800 m core). The additional approved drilling budget totals $1.7-million and is expected to be directed toward targets in the Westside, Hard-up, Ingersoll, East Contention, Southeast Contention, Central Contention and North Contention areas. The focus of this additional shallow RC drilling program is to target oxide gold-silver mineralization.

The company also announces the commencement of downhole electromagnetic (EM) surveys of three core holes at the property, including the recently completed TC25-3 hole in the northern portion of the property, TC25-4, which targeted the southeastern NSAMT (natural-source audio-frequency magnetotelluric) target, and TC26-2, which is currently being drilled in the southwestern NSAMT target. Aztec has contracted Zonge International to conduct the survey over the month of March, 2026. Geophysical data obtained by the downhole EM survey are expected to bolster targeting for potential massive sulphide mineralization that may be hosted below the shallow Bisbee group sediments that host the oxide gold-silver mineralized system at the Tombstone property.

Coming webinar on March 11, 2025, 2 p.m. EDT: Aztec Minerals presents in Existing Agency's virtual webinar series

Aztec Minerals also announces that the company is presenting a live virtual corporate update hosted by Existing Agency Inc. on March 11, 2026, at 2 p.m. EDT. The company invites current shareholders and all interested parties to register for the webinar and participate in the live question-and-answer session at the end of the presentation moderated by Existing Agency.

The replay will be e-mailed out to all webinar registrants after the event and will also be available on the Existing Agency website.

Option and RSU (restricted share unit) grant

The company also announces the granting of options under the company's omnibus equity incentive plan to certain of its directors, officers and consultants to purchase up to an aggregate 4.3 million common shares of the company at a price of 31 cents per share for a period of five years. These options are subject to certain vesting provisions.

Additionally, the company has awarded a total of one million RSUs under the plan to its directors, officers and selected consultants. The RSUs will vest over a period of two years from the grant date. Upon vesting, each RSU grants the holder the right to receive one common share of the company or, at the discretion of the company's board of directors, may be settled in cash.

Tombstone project overview

Aztec Minerals holds a 85.0-per-cent interest in the Tombstone property joint venture, which includes most of the original patented mining claims in the main district as well as some recently acquired properties.

The main target of the current drilling is to continue testing the shallow, bulk-tonnage, potentially heap-leachable, mesothermal gold-silver oxide mineralization adjacent and below the previously mined Contention pit by stepout drilling. Future drilling is expected to focus on follow-up on the current program's results. It is anticipated that possible targeting could include strike and dip extensions of the shallow oxide mineralization and move along those trends deeper into the sulphide zone as, historically, there was significant production to 300 m depth.

The Tombstone project is located 100 kilometres southeast of Tucson, Ariz., and covers much of the historic Tombstone silver district. Tombstone is renowned for its high-grade, oxidized, silver-gold mesothermal stringer lode veins, hydrothermal breccias and manto CRD orebodies that were mined in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The historic silver production in the Tombstone district from 1878 to 1939 was estimated at 32 million ounces and 250,000 ounces of gold.

The district geology consists of a mix of shallow-level, oxidized gold-silver and base metal deposits related to CRD (carbonate replacement deposit) and skarns hosted in folded and thrusted sediments, intrusive dikes, and lode veins and as well the underexplored, sulphide versions located below the water table.

Host rocks to the mineralization are primarily the clastic sediments of the lowest portion of the Cretaceous Bisbee formation. Between 50 and 300 metres in depth, the Bisbee formation is underlain by approximately two kilometres thick of the same Paleozoic carbonate formations that host the 110-million-tonne Hermosa-Taylor zinc-lead-silver deposit of South32 located 60 km southwest of Tombstone.

Aztec believes that the historic silver mines at Tombstone could be related to a much larger mesothermal system with CRD mineralization below the old mines. Since 2017, Aztec has completed geological mapping, geochemical sampling and geophysical surveying to identify the most prospective areas for gold-silver mineralization around and below the Contention open pit and CRD zinc-lead-copper-silver-gold mineralization below the entire district. Aztec management views the district as highly prospective for the discovery of mesothermal and CRD mineralization.

Summary Tombstone project highlights:

• Well-located property on patented (33) and unpatented (73) claims (663 hectares/1,639 acres), covers much of the historic Tombstone silver mining district, great infrastructure, local town, road access, full services, water and power;
• Historic silver district produced 32 million ounces of silver and 250,000 ounces of gold from 1878 to 1939 in high-grade, oxidized, silver-gold-lead-zinc-copper vein, breccia and CRD deposits and small open-pit, heap-leach production in late 1980s;
• Drilling by Aztec in 2020 to 2025 has demonstrated that the Contention pit target has significant, shallow, oxidized gold-silver bulk-tonnage mineralization, which is open in all directions;
• Multiple other prospective targets in Cretaceous and Paleozoic rocks related to major northwest- and north-northeast-trending structures hosting porphyritic intrusions crosscutting a possible caldera ring structure.

Note: Aztec has not verified these historic results and is not relying on them. Aztec has in its possession the historic drill logs, maps and reports but does not have any information on the quality assurance or quality control measures taken in connection with these historical exploration results.

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Allen David Heyl, BSc, CPG, AIPG No. 11277, vice-president, exploration, of Aztec, a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Heyl supervises the Tombstone exploration programs. Mr. Heyl has verified the data, which included a review of the sampling, analytical and test methods underlying the data, information and opinions disclosed herein.

About Aztec Minerals Corp.

Aztec is a mineral exploration company focused on two emerging discoveries in North America. The Cervantes project is an emerging porphyry gold-copper discovery in Sonora, Mexico. The Tombstone project is an emerging gold-silver discovery with high-grade CRD silver-lead-zinc potential in southern Arizona. Aztec's shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange (symbol: AZT) and the OTCQB exchange (symbol AZZTF).

We seek Safe Harbor.