Mr. Chris Paul reports

HERCULES SILVER DRILLS 161 METERS OF 0.45% CU, 148 PPM MO, 4.4 G/T AG, INCLUDING 79 METERS OF 0.53% CU, 7.3 G/T AG IN 450 METER STEP-OUT

Hercules Silver Corp. has released assay results for the latest holes drilled into the new Leviathan porphyry copper discovery at its Hercules project located in western Idaho. Assay results were received in batches for three stepout holes, with complete results now having been received for HER-23-08 and HER-23-11, along with partial results for HER-23-21, which are reported in the table entitled "Significant intercepts."

HER-23-08, HER-23-11 and HER-23-21 were collared 220 metres east, 450 metres southeast and 500 metres southeast of discovery hole HER-23-05, respectively. Each hole was designed to test separate parts of a near-surface 2022 IP (induced polarization) anomaly. Assays for the remainder of HER-23-21, as well as HER-23-26, which also intersected porphyry copper mineralization, remain pending.

The Leviathan porphyry remains open for expansion in multiple directions and, thus far, has only been tested within the 2022 IP survey area. This first phase of blind drilling has intersected copper mineralization within an approximate 500 m by 450 m area represented by drill holes HER-23-05, -08, -11, -21 and -26.

HER-23-21 tested approximately 800 metres of vertical extent below the silver system. All holes ended in mineralization. A new property-wide deep-penetrating IP survey demonstrates that the 2022 anomaly represents just a small part of a much larger, four-kilometre-long, potentially zoned system which largely remains to be tested. Final geophysical inversions remain pending.

Highlights:

• Large stepouts demonstrate significant scale to the newly discovered blind system.
• Significant silver overprints copper porphyry in HER-23-11, returning 183 m of 0.3 per cent copper (Cu) and 25 grams per tonne (g/t) silver (Ag), including a subinterval of 63 m of 0.43 per cent Cu and 70 g/t Ag.
• Low arsenic associated with the epithermal silver overprinting HER-23-11, indicating favourability for potential future smelter treatment.
• Assays remain pending for the remainder of HER-23-21 and HER-23-26, which also intersected porphyry mineralization.
• Preliminary property-wide deep-penetrating IP reveals the potential for a much larger zoned system than was previously understood.
• Mineralization remains open for expansion in multiple directions.

Chris Paul, chief executive officer and director of the company, noted: "Stepout holes drilled up to 500 m from the initial discovery hole, HER-23-05, have demonstrated significant scale to the system. We've drilled in all directions across a 450 m by 500 m area and every hole ended in mineralization. The system remains open in multiple directions and at depth, with new geophysical data suggesting the potential for significant expansion. Our 2023 drilling encountered a significantly large phyllic halo for which core photos have been posted to the company's website. The photos illustrate intense veining, sulphide mineralization and hydrothermal alteration reflective of the scale of the system. In exceptionally large porphyry coppers, the phyllic alteration can extend significant distances from a high-grade potassic core, and the intensity of veining is supportive of that.

"Utilizing large stepouts has allowed us to employ property-scale targeting and attracted a substantial premium investment from Barrick Gold Corp., which positions the company to aggressively drill a new large-scale IP anomaly over several kilometres as we vector toward the potentially high-grade core of the system."

Core photographs can be viewed on the company's website.

Two thousand twenty-three deep penetrating 3-D IP survey by Dias Geophysical

An IP survey was carried out by Dias Geophysical in 2022 to target near-surface silver in the upper plate, to a depth of 300 metres. However, the survey revealed the presence of a large chargeability anomaly below the limit of historical silver drilling which ultimately led to the discovery of the Leviathan porphyry. With the success of the 2022 IP survey conducted by Dias, it was decided to utilize the same system again in 2023 to image the entire property to a depth of 900 metres.

The new large-scale 2023 survey reveals that the 2022 anomaly represents just a fraction of a much larger system which does not show any apparent fault bounds, indicating the potential for significant expansion. Chargeability values are seen to increase along trend to over 33 ms in magnitude, demonstrating the potential for increased levels of mineralization. Additional processing is now under way to incorporate the previous high-resolution near-surface data with the new deep-penetrating data, to generate a robust inversion model over the entire property. Hercules is working with Barrick's geophysical team to interpret the data in context with the 2023 drilling and generate the best possible drill targets for the next phase of drilling.

Additional staking

The company has also engaged Kurt J. Hoffman Mining Services of Post Falls, Idaho, and has staked an additional 570 lode mining claims to the north of the property, securing a key extension of the new 3-D IP anomaly.

Geological description

HER-23-08, HER-23-11 and HER-23-21 all intersected strong phyllic alteration with relatively high pyrite to chalcopyrite ratios, indicative of a marginal part of the system. All of the holes carry bornite mineralization near the top of the reported intercepts, which demonstrates a potentially higher-grade sulphide assemblage within shallower portions of the system. This information will be used to target areas where the shallower portions of the system may have a higher preservation potential.

HER-23-11 intersected high-grade silver veinlets carrying grades of up to 3,000 g/t over 0.75 m, which appear to crosscut earlier copper mineralization. Encouragingly, the lead-zinc-arsenic concentrations are negligible within this zone, and native silver has been identified in polished thin sections, indicating potentially favourable metallurgy. They may represent high-grade feeder veinlets to the silver-lead-zinc mineralization hosted in the upper plate, further supporting that HER-23-11 was drilled in a marginal part of the porphyry system and may have been transitional to distal silver-lead-zinc mineralization.

All holes ended in mineralization. HER-23-08 and HER-23-21 intersected intermineral porphyry phases in the middle of the holes but ended in higher-grade volcanic wall rock which remains open at depth. The target is early mineral porphyry phases which intruded the wall rock the earliest, and are likely concentrated toward the centre of the system with the highest vein densities and copper grades.

Spectral data were collected at five-foot intervals using a portable Terraspec spectrometer to analyze the composition of hydrothermal sericite. The data are being interpreted to map sericite composition in 3-D space. In porphyry copper systems, the spectral signature of sericite can be used as a vector toward the potentially higher-grade potassic core of the system.

High resolution core photos

Full resolution versions of the core photographs can be downloaded on-line.

Sample analysis and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC)

All drill core samples were prepped and analyzed at MSA Labs in Langley, B.C., an ISO 17025 and ISO 9001 certified laboratory. Samples were dried and crushed to two millimetres (mm), from which a 250-gram subsample split was then pulverized to 85 per cent passing a 75-micron sieve. Following preparation, assays were determined by the IMS-230 method. A 0.25 g aliquot of the prepared pulp was digested in a four-acid solution consisting of hydrochloric, nitric, perchloric and hydrofluoric acids. Four-acid is a near-total digest and only the most highly resistant minerals are not dissolved. The resulting solution was analyzed via ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) and ICP-ES (inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy) for 48 elements, and was corrected for interelement spectral interferences. Lower detection limits for this procedure are 0.01 part per million (ppm) for silver, 0.5 ppm for lead, two ppm for zinc and 0.2 ppm for copper.

Mercury is not reported due to volatilization in reaction with hydrofluoric acid and gold is not reported due to the small, 0.25 g aliquot size being insufficient to overcome the nugget effect.

Gold was analyzed by FAS-111, a 30-gram fire assay fusion with AAS (atomic absorption spectroscopy) finish. No significant results were reported.

Samples with initial results beyond the upper detection limit of the IMS-230 method were analyzed by procedures ICF-6Ag, ICF-6Cu, ICF-6Pb and ICF-6Zn. The thresholds are 100 ppm for silver, and greater than 1 per cent for copper, lead and zinc.

MSA Labs employs internal quality control standards, duplicates and blank samples at set frequencies.

Blind certified reference materials (CRMs) and blank samples were systematically inserted by the company into the sample stream, and analyzed as part of the company's quality assurance/quality control protocol.

Qualified person

The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved for disclosure by Christopher Longton, BS, CPG, Hercules's 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.

About Hercules Silver Corp.

Hercules Silver is a junior mining company focused on the exploration and development of the 100-per-cent-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 additional discovery of a new porphyry copper system at depth in 2023 adds significant upside potential to the property. The company is well positioned for growth through the drill bit, having completed extensive surface exploration consisting of soil and rock sampling, geological mapping, and induced polarization geophysics.

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

We seek Safe Harbor.