Mr. John-Mark Staude of Riverside reports

RIVERSIDE RESOURCES AND FORTUNA SILVER SIGN EXPLORATION EARN-IN OPTION AGREEMENT FOR THE CECILIA PROJECT SONORA, MEXICO

Riverside Resources Inc. signed an option agreement on March 8, 2024, with Fortuna Silver Mines Inc.'s subsidiary, Compania Minera Cuzcatlan (CMC), on Riverside's Cecilia gold-silver project in Sonora, Mexico, where, through a series of payments and work commitments, Fortuna may earn a majority interest. Riverside will remain the program operator using its local team based in Hermosillo, Sonora, and adding strength to its international geoscience staff. The Cecilia project is a titled and 100-per-cent-Riverside-owned district-scale gold and silver, low-sulphidation epithermal system, located 40 kilometres southwest of the Mexico-United States border city of Agua Prieta and is directly accessible by a well-maintained paved and then dirt road. The project is over 60 square kilometres and has over 10 different exploration targets, with at least two nested dome complexes like the domes in Peru at the Yanacocha mining district and in Bolivia at the Korri Kollo mine, which have produced well over 25 million and five million ounces gold respectively. This new agreement enables the project to immediately move ahead with a robust exploration program and reflects the belief, by both parties, of the potential for rapid discovery of new precious metal deposits.

Highlights of the agreement are summarized below:

• Fortuna Silver option of Riverside's Cecilia project with commitment of work, including an initial planned minimum 1,000-metre drilling campaign;
• Work expenditures of $500,000 per year for the first four years and $1.75-million in final year;
• An initial payment of $50,000 to Riverside upon signing and then $25,000 each year for a total of $150,000;
• Total work spends of $3.75-million (U.S.) for an initial 51-per-cent interest and second option total spending of $6-million (U.S.) to earn 80-per-cent interest.

Option agreement terms

• First option: Five years to earn 51 per cent by spending $3.75-million (U.S.) in work and paying $150,000 (U.S.) in cash payments to Riverside with required work of at least $500,000 in the first year for the option and Riverside has the drill permits in hand. Fortuna has paid Riverside the initial $25,000 on signing and pays $25,000 more on filing the agreement in Mexico. Then pays Riverside $25,000 each year plus Riverside acts as operator for the program with a 10-per-cent management fee on top of the work spending commitments each year.
• Second option: Upon completion of first option, Fortuna may elect to progress with a second option to earn to 80 per cent by spending an additional $2.25-million in work over three additional years.
• Third option: After completing second option, Fortuna may elect within 120 days to pay Riverside $5-million cash and grant Riverside a 2-per-cent NSR (net smelter return) where 1-per-cent NSR may be purchased before commercial production for $3-million, thereby Fortuna earning 100-per-cent interest in the project.

Riverside's president and chief executive officer, John-Mark Staude, stated: "We are delighted to partner with Fortuna Silver as we have had a productive and respectful relationship having worked in parallel in Mexico for over 15 years. Riverside has invested in working up the project to an actionable stage and consolidated the tenures making this a highly prospective property that warrants the type of deep and thorough exploration attention that this agreement provides."

Riverside will be reimbursed for all annual concession maintenance fees, property taxes, access fees and any other payments required to maintain the project. As operator, Riverside will manage the exploration programs and be entitled to collect administration fees of 10 per cent on the work programs. The Riverside Ceclia project is a high-quality project and the company is excited to see it now moving ahead with mid-Tier Mexico producer as its partner and the project fully fundable this way.

Riverside has the right to sell interest in the joint venture or royalty through a first right of offer (ROFO). Similarly, Fortuna can do the same providing Riverside with first right of offer.

Cecilia project

Riverside Resources has undertaken comprehensive exploration efforts at the property, including drilling activities that have yielded significant gold intercepts. Notably, drill results have intersected near surface promising intercepts such as 37 metres at 1.5 grams per tonne of gold (over 50 gram metre) within the rhyodacite dome, showcasing the property's substantial potential at shallow depths. The project has high potential to follow these intercepts and go for larger intersections and big potential targets at depth.

What distinguishes this project is the potential of a preserved fertile dome system. The Magallanes target, situated at the central part of the project, exhibits interaction within extensive northeast-northwest structures, presenting a compelling opportunity for the discovery of high-grade ore shoots and/or bulk-mineable epithermal gold-silver deposits. Moreover, the geological framework of the project, notably its host rock and stratigraphy as evidenced in the surrounding targets (in the Casa de Piedra target), suggest the presence of mantos containing disseminated and/or replacement Au-Ag (gold-silver) enriched polymetallic mineralization at depth. This geological scheme of the Cecilia project resembles the Tertiary-age rhyolite systems, like the La Pitarrilla Ag-Pb-Zn (silver-lead-zinc) project that has a total in-pit and underground (oxide, transition and sulphide) of about 844 million AgEq and Fresnillo's San Julian Ag-Au mine (approximately 350 million AgEq), both situated in Durango, Mexico, and also located in the Sierra Madre volcanic province.

Qualified person

This news release was reviewed and approved by Freeman Smith, PGeo, a non-independent qualified person to Riverside Resources, who is responsible for ensuring that the geologic information provided within this news release is accurate and who acts as a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects).

About Riverside Resources Inc.

Riverside is a well-financed exploration company driven by value generation and discovery. The company has over $6-million in cash, no debt and less than 75 million shares outstanding with a strong portfolio of gold-silver and copper assets and royalties in North America.

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