Zacatecas Silver Receives Drill Permit and Finalizes Maiden Drill Program at Oso Negro, Sonora

Zacatecas Silver is set to begin its first drilling at Oso Negro after securing permits.

What the company is saying

Zacatecas Silver Corp. announces it has received the final drill permit from SEMARNAT for the Oso Negro gold-silver project in Sonora, Mexico, and has secured surface access from the private landowner, enabling immediate commencement of drilling. The company emphasizes the efficiency of its 2,500 metre maiden diamond drill program, which will target the Prospecto and Tere vein systems from 20 multi-hole pads, aiming to minimize costs and surface disturbance. Management highlights high-grade surface sampling results, with rock chip assays up to 20.3 g/t gold and 3,480 g/t silver from 510 samples, and frames the program as a direct test of whether these grades persist at shallow depths (40–80 metres). CEO Eric Vanderleeuw, named as both Chief Executive Officer and Director, stresses the advantages of shallow, well-exposed targets and the company's readiness to drill, positioning this as the first-ever drilling on the property. The announcement also references a broader portfolio, including two mineral resources at Panuco and Esperanza, and a pending drill permit at Cumaro. The tone is confident and operationally focused, with claims of low-cost, low-capital-intensity project design, but without quantified economic data.

What the data suggests

The company has completed all regulatory and land access steps for drilling at Oso Negro, with a 2,500 metre maiden program targeting mapped vein systems that have returned surface assays up to 20.3 g/t gold and 3,480 g/t silver. The drill plan is designed for efficiency, using 20 pads to collar multiple shallow angled holes, each targeting veins 40–80 metres below high-grade surface samples. Phase One and Two sampling in 2026 covered over 3 km of mapped strike, with 510 total samples; Phase Two alone included 63 samples between 1 and 20.3 g/t gold and 58 samples between 100 and 3,480 g/t silver. The Prospecto vein is reported as mineralized along its full 600 metre strike. No drill results are available yet, as drilling has not started. The company’s broader portfolio includes a 3.41 million tonne resource at Panuco (187 g/t AgEq, 20.5 million oz AgEq) and a 45.4 million tonne Measured and Indicated resource at Esperanza (0.79 g/t AuEq, 1.15 million oz AuEq), with an additional 11.2 million tonne Inferred resource (0.57 g/t AuEq, 208,000 oz AuEq). The technical disclosure is detailed for geology and sampling, but no cost, budget, or economic assessment figures are provided.

Analysis

The announcement is proportionate in tone, focusing on the receipt of a drill permit and the imminent start of a maiden drill program at Oso Negro. The majority of claims are realised and supported by specific operational and technical data, such as permit receipt, surface access, sampling results, and resource estimates. Forward-looking statements are limited and clearly identified as such, mainly relating to future drilling at Cumaro and the preliminary nature of drill traces. There is no evidence of exaggerated claims about production, earnings, or project economics, and the company explicitly describes the project as low-capital-intensity. No large capital outlay is disclosed, and the next operational milestone (drilling) is set to begin immediately, with no long-dated or uncertain returns being promoted. The language is factual and avoids promotional overreach.

Risk flags

• ●There is no guarantee that high surface grades (up to 20.3 g/t gold and 3,480 g/t silver) will persist at depth; the maiden drill program is explicitly designed to test this, and failure to intersect economic grades would undermine the project's value.
• ●The announcement provides no cost or budget figures for the drill program, making it impossible to assess capital efficiency or financial risk; claims of minimized costs and low-capital-intensity are qualitative only.
• ●Oso Negro is an undrilled property with no mineral resource estimate; all value is currently based on surface sampling and geological mapping, which may not be representative of subsurface mineralization.
• ●The surface access agreement for drilling is for an initial term of one year (signed August 28, 2026), which could pose a risk if renewal terms change or if additional time is needed for follow-up work.

Bottom line

Zacatecas Silver has cleared all regulatory and land access hurdles to start its first drill program at the Oso Negro project in Sonora, targeting shallow, high-grade gold-silver veins mapped and sampled at surface. The technical case is supported by strong surface assays and a well-defined drill plan, but there are no drill results yet and no economic or cost data disclosed. The company's broader portfolio includes established resources at Panuco and Esperanza, but Oso Negro remains an early-stage, high-risk exploration target. The main value driver will be whether drilling confirms high grades at depth; until then, the project’s potential is unproven. Investors should watch for initial assay results from this program, as these will determine whether Oso Negro can move toward resource definition or remains a speculative target.

Announcement summary

(TSXV:ZAC, OTCQB:ZCTSF) Zacatecas Silver Corp. announced it has received the drill permit from SEMARNAT for its Oso Negro gold-silver project in Sonora, Mexico, completing the final regulatory requirement ahead of drilling. Surface access has been secured from the private landowner, with Oso Negro situated entirely on private land. The company has finalized a 2,500 metre maiden diamond drill program at the Prospecto and Tere vein systems, to be collared from 20 drill pads, with pads designed to allow multiple holes from each location to minimize pad construction and rig move costs. The drill program comprises shallow angled holes designed to intersect the vein between 40 to 80 vertical metres below rock chip outcrop samples that returned high gold and silver grades. Phase One and Phase Two rock chip sampling returned assays up to 20.3 g/t gold and 3,480 g/t silver from 510 samples across more than 3 kilometres of mapped vein strike. The company entered into a surface access agreement with the landowner on August 28, 2026 for an initial term of one year, renewable, covering the planned drill program. Oso Negro is an undrilled low sulphidation epithermal gold-silver vein system located in the northern Sonora epithermal belt, with geological mapping and surface sampling in 2026 extending the system to more than 3 kilometres of mapped vein strike across the Prospecto and Tere structures. Veins are up to 3 metres wide and multiphase, with common breccias and pervasive iron oxides after sulphides. Phase One rock chip sampling, reported June 9, 2026, returned assays up to 14.8 g/t gold and 2,340 g/t silver from 156 samples. Phase Two results, reported September 10, 2026, returned assays up to 20.3 g/t gold and 3,480 g/t silver from a further 354 samples, bringing the program total to 510 samples. Of the Phase Two samples, 63 returned between 1 and 20.3 g/t gold and 58 returned between 100 and 3,480 g/t silver. The Prospecto vein and its southeast splays are gold and silver mineralized along their full 600 metre mapped strike. CEO Eric Vanderleeuw stated that Oso Negro is ready to drill, with the permit and access agreed, and highlighted the advantage of collaring holes beneath veins mapped and sampled at grades up to 20.3 g/t gold and 3,480 g/t silver, only needing to go 40 to 80 metres beneath those samples to test them. He noted that shallow targets and multi-hole pads mean 2,500 metres allows for a large number of holes across the vein systems. This is the first drilling ever completed on the property. The company also has a growing portfolio with Lourdes, and two mineral resources at Panuco and Esperanza. The recent sampling results at Cumaro exceeded expectations and provided a second compelling drill target, with the permit application for Cumaro submitted. The Zacatecas Silver Project is located in Zacatecas State, within the Fresnillo silver belt, which has produced over 6.2 billion ounces of silver. The company holds 7,826 hectares of ground prospective for low-sulphidation and intermediate-sulphidation silver-base metal mineralization. A Mineral Resource Estimate at the Panuco deposit comprises 3.41 million tonnes at 187 g/t AgEq for 20.5 million ounces AgEq. Esperanza has a Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate of 45.4 million tonnes at 0.79 g/t AuEq (0.76 g/t gold and 8.5 g/t silver) for 1.15 million ounces AuEq (1.11 million ounces gold and 12.37 million ounces silver) and an Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 11.2 million tonnes at 0.57 g/t AuEq (0.53 g/t gold and 11.2 g/t silver) for 208 thousand ounces AuEq (190 thousand ounces gold and 4.02 million ounces silver). The company also holds four exploration properties in Sonora and Oaxaca, including Oso Negro, Cumaro, La Lola, and Ejutla. Zacatecas Silver has entered into an option to acquire a 100% interest in Lourdes, a 509-hectare low sulphidation epithermal gold-silver vein system. The technical information in the news release was reviewed and approved by Chris Wilson, Chief Geologist of Zacatecas Silver.

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