Mr. Chris Paul reports

HERCULES SILVER COMMENCES 6,000 METER PHASE II DRILL PROGRAM

Hercules Silver Corp. has mobilized an Atlas Copco CS-14 core drilling rig and commenced drilling the first hole in an extensive 6,000-metre drill program at the company's wholly owned Hercules silver property in western Idaho. Timberline Drilling of Hayden, Idaho, has been contracted to carry out the program, which will consist of stepout holes designed to test for extensions of historical mineralization, verify previous historical drilling and test a series of new targets generated by greenfield exploration.

Since acquiring the project in 2021, the company has consolidated what was historically a fragmented land package, with several different companies holding different parts of the system throughout the 1970s to 1980s. An 18-month-long greenfield targeting program, consisting of mapping, soil sampling and rock sampling, has since revealed the presence of a large zoned system, with many portions remaining to be tested, including a potentially large-scale copper-silver-gold porphyry feeder target. The phase II drill program will not only explore multiple new surface targets but will also test the system with angled holes up to 550 metres long, significantly deeper than the average 92-metre length of historical drill holes. The drilling will be done using triple-tube barrels for enhanced recovery and a core orientation tool for attaining the strike and dip of mineralization. This will not only increase the probability of success but will also improve the efficiency of drilling operations over all.

Management commentary

Chris Paul, chief executive officer and a director of the company, noted: "We are excited to be under way on our first core drilling program at Hercules -- a long-awaited milestone and the culmination of almost two years of extensive surface exploration. Exploration technology has advanced significantly since the 1980s, when economic studies were last under way following the completion of over 300 historical drill holes. At that time, a crash in the price of silver had forced the previous operators to put small-scale open-pit development plans on hold. More than 30 years later, we've significantly increased the propertyholdings, carried out modern, systematic exploration on the consolidated land package and identified the presence of a much larger zoned system. Our 3-D geological model suggests that the historical drilling only tapped into the shallow and distal parts of the system. We are now entering potentially the most exciting period in the history of Hercules Silver and an important step towards delivering significant value for our shareholders."

Phase II drill plan summary

The details of the phase II drill plan were released on May 8, 2023, and are repeated in the attached table for reference.

Silver-lead-zinc targets

Hercules Adit/Frogpond Zones

Testing extensions of the Hercules Adit and Frogpond Zones along strike and at depth, including vertical structures and high-grade shoots which may have been missed by the vertical historical drilling. Two holes will test for the extension of a mineralized shoot that appears to have been down-dropped at the east end of the Frogpond Zone and partially intersected by historical drill hole 83-5. Hole 83-5 intersected 25.9 metres of 85 g/t Ag, 1.70% Pb and 2.09% Zn1 from 86.9 to 112.8 metres and remains open at depth and to the east.Verifying and potentially extending silver mineralization intersected at depth on the west end of the Frogpond Zone. Historical drill hole 83-16, one of the deepest holes drilled on the Property, was halted due to caving ground at 420 feet (~128 metres), with the final 7.6 metres grading 214 g/t Ag, 0.13% Pb and 0.17% Zn1. Re-entry at the time was unsuccessful, and the deep intercept was not further tested.

Haystack Zone

Testing mineralization discovered during a 2022 surface rock chip sampling program on the west side of the Haystack Zone, which is associated with a near-surface vertical chargeability anomaly.Testing a separate zone of mineralization at the east end of the Haystack Zone, associated with a similar near-surface vertical chargeability anomaly. A single vertical hole in the area, RDH-7, returned 16.8 metres grading 149 g/t Ag, 0.13% Pb and 0.1% Zn1. The planned hole depth is 550 metres, to also allow testing of the large-scale chargeability anomaly.

Hinge Zone

Two holes within the folded hinge area of the Hercules Rhyolite, with strong rock chip sample grades and a near-surface chargeability anomaly. The holes will be drilled in opposite directions, to determine the dip of the mineralization. The eastward hole will be extended to 400 metres, to also test the large-scale chargeability anomaly shown in Figure 2 above.

A potential third hole will be drilled into the fold hinge, from a quartz-alunite-dickite-pyrophyllite altered breccia zone (Photo 1) located to the west of all historical drilling. This is a unique advanced argillic alteration assemblage which typically forms a cap over epithermal and porphyry type mineralization and is not seen elsewhere on the Property. Drilling underneath this advanced argillic breccia may lead to a discovery of new mineralization.

Belmont Zone

Up to 4 holes fanned from a single pad at the Belmont Zone, to test various mineralized structures associated with high-grade rock chip samples and a 1970 historical drill hole (DDH-6) which intersected 83 g/t Ag and 0.25% Zn over 20 metresError! Bookmark not defined. from surface and 93 g/t Ag over 8 metres deeper in the hole.

Porphyry Copper-Silver-Gold Targets

A 400-metre hole planned in the eastern part of the Belmont Zone to test the southern end of the large-scale chargeability anomaly shown in Figure 2 above. Certain mineral systems, including porphyry coppers, are often surrounded by high-chargeability clay-sericite-pyrite halos. The hole is designed to test both the high-chargeability zone as well as potentially higher-temperature parts of the system underneath and/or adjacent to it.

Metheny Zone

A 550-metre hole planned at the Metheny Zone, to test a quartz-feldspar porphyry with dimensions of approximately 850 m x 550 m on surface, associated with strong copper-silver-gold grades and lenses of skarn-type mineralization (Photos 2-7). The Metheny Zone lies east of the limit of the 2022 3D IP survey, however the large-scale chargeability anomaly shown in Figure 2 is centered immediately west of - and likely projects into - the Metheny Zone.

Lightning Zone

Two 500-metre holes testing a strongly-altered hydrothermal breccia pipe, the Lightning Breccia, which may be a key indicator of a buried porphyry copper system. The Lightning breccia consists of hydrothermal quartz/silica clasts, brought up from depth within a surrounding matrix that's rich in oxidized sulfide mineralization (goethite) (Photos 8-12). The Lightning breccia is associated with a strong copper-gold-silver (+bismuth-tellurium-selenium) geochemical anomaly and has never been drilled. The quartz clasts may represent fragments of a silicified carapace (cap of an intrusion), which were transported upwards during an explosive brecciation event. The pipe may therefore root down into a mineralized porphyry at depth.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved for disclosure by Christopher Longton BS, CPG, Hercules' Vice President, Exploration. Mr. Longton is a "Qualified Person" for Hercules Silver within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). To the best of his knowledge, the technical information pertaining to the Hercules Silver Property, and discussion of it as disclosed in this news release, is neither inaccurate nor misleading.

Management Update

The company also announces the resignation of Mr. Antoine Soucy-Fradette as VP Exploration of the company effective immediately. Mr. Soucy-Fradette is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities. The company wishes Mr. Soucy-Fradette every success in his future endeavours and wishes to thank him for his contribution to Hercules over the past few years.

About Hercules Silver Corp.

Hercules Silver Corp. is a junior mining company focused on the exploration and development of the 100% owned Hercules Silver Project, northwest of Cambridge, Idaho.

The Hercules project is a disseminated silver-lead-zinc system with 28,000 metres of historical drilling across 3.5 kilometres of strike. The company is well positioned for growth through the drill bit in 2023, having completed extensive surface exploration in 2022 consisting of soil & rock sampling, geological mapping, IP geophysics, and a 9-hole drill program.

The company's management team brings significant exploration experience through the discovery and development of numerous precious metals projects worldwide.

We seek Safe Harbor.