La Joya Silver (Cu-Au) Project
We just completed 3,633 metres of diamond drilling at La Joya, and sample results are pending. We are fully funded and expect to resume drilling as assay results are interpreted and targets become more clearly defined," said Greg Lytle, President of Silver Dollar. "Underpinning the potential at La Joya is the large historical (2013) open-pit mineral resource estimate that was based on USD $24/oz silver, $1,200/oz gold, and $ 3/lb copper."
Silver Dollar owns a 100% interest in the La Joya silver-copper-gold property (the "Property"). Optioned from First Majestic Silver in August 2020, Silver Dollar completed the acquisition ahead of schedule in 2023 (See news release of May 25, 2023). First Majestic initially acquired the Property in 2015 as part of its acquisition of SilverCrest Mines; however, no work was carried out on the Property between 2015 and 2020.
Figure 1: Location of the La Joya Project along with past-producing and operating mines in the area.
The Property lies approximately 75 kilometres (km) southeast of the state capital city of Durango in the southeastern portion of the Mexican Silver Belt with past-producing and operating mines, including Silver Storm's La Parrilla Mine, Industrias Penoles' Sabinas Mine, Grupo Mexico's San Martin Mine, Sierra Madre's Del Toro Mine, and Pan American Silver's La Colorada Mine. Access routes and regional infrastructure near the Property are well developed (Figure 1).
Figure 2: Plan view of the La Joya Mineralized Complex.
An advanced exploration-stage project, the 2 x 3-kilometre La Joya mineralized complex (Figure 2) comprises 15 mineral concessions totalling 4,646 hectares and hosts the Main Mineralized Trend (MMT), Santo Niño, and Coloradito deposits (Figure 3).
The La Joya deposits are carbonate-hosted copper skarns with associated silver and gold mineralization, similar in style to the Fortitude-Copper Canyon deposit in Nevada, USA, and to the nearby Sabinas/San Martin mines in Zacatecas, Mexico.
Three distinct styles of mineralization have been interpreted at La Joya: 1) Manto, 2) Structurally controlled stockwork and veining, and 3) contact skarn (‘Contact zone’).
Manto-style silver-copper-gold mineralization is concentrated within stratiform manto-style skarn controlled along sub-horizontal bedding. Field and drill-core observations show mineralization is more concentrated (volume and grade) where these sub-horizontal beds intersect the structurally controlled stockwork and veining described below.
Structurally controlled stockwork and veining mineralization of silver-copper-gold, lead-zinc and tungsten is concentrated within related skarn. This is the latest stage of mineralization, where the structural domain acted as a fluid conduit.
Contact-zone tungsten mineralization occurs within late-stage retrograde skarn development along the intrusive contact. This intrusive contact is thought to underlie most of the MMT, Santo Niño, and Coloradito areas, effectively draping the Sacrificio intrusive.
Figure 3: Plan view of the MMT, Santo Niño and Coloradito deposits.
Modern exploration activities began on the Property in 1977, with extensive drilling by previous operators: Luisman from 1977 to 1997, Boliden from 1998 to 2001, and Solid Resources in 2006. SilverCrest acquired the Property in June 2010 and began geological mapping and sampling, followed by two phases of drilling between 2010 and 2012.
SilverCrest then completed an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE), incorporating data from 56,849.33 metres of drilling across 173 drill holes. The MRE had an effective date of December 16, 2012 (table above) and was based on a dataset comprising 149 SilverCrest holes (47,188.50 metres) and 24 validated or resampled Luismin holes (9,660.83 metres), including two unverified RC holes used for interpolation. SilverCrest also completed a Phase III infill drilling program of 2,698 metres across 17 holes in 2014, which is not included in the MRE below.
Figure 4: Model of historical MRE for the MMT and Santo Niño deposits.
In December 2013, SilverCrest released a NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment Technical Report for the La Joya Property that focused on the Base Case economic estimates for a Starter Pit as the first stage of development at La Joya. The preceding mineral resource estimate conformed to the CIM Definition Standards in effect at the time; however, a Qualified Person of Silver Dollar’s has not yet completed sufficient work to reclassify this historical resource, and the Company is not treating it as a current mineral resource. Independent data verification and an assessment of the mineral resource estimation methods are required to verify the historical mineral resource estimate.
Figure 5: Plan view showing the historical mines and workings outside the area of the historical MRE.
Silver Dollar has focused exploration on the underexplored Coloradito-Noria area of the Property, which included the discovery of the Brazo Zone approximately 1 km west of the Main Mineralized Trend (MMT). Two phases of core drilling have been completed, with the Phase I program consisting of 2,424 metres of drilling across 11 holes (See news releases of March 24, 2022, and May 4, 2022, for assay results) and the Phase II program consisting of 3,428 metres across 17 holes (See news releases of June 13, 2022, August 17, 2022, and October 25, 2022 for assay results).
In November 2025, Silver Dollar announced underground sample assay results and preliminary geologic modelling (Figure 6) of existing high-grade drill results to support a shift in exploration and mining strategy from open-pit to underground development. The Company is continuing to reinterpret historical data, targeting higher-grade underground mineralization within the 2 x 3 km La Joya mineralized complex (Figure 2). Through these efforts, the Company is gaining a better understanding of the mineralization and its controls, which are guiding our exploration drilling campaigns.
Figure 6: Preliminary model of AgEq mineralization trended to the apparent E-W structural network.
Current areas of focus are outside the historic mineral resource areas, proximal to the sides of the intrusive bodies, and share similarities with the mineralization style at the nearby San Martin mine, located approximately 25 km southeast of La Joya (Figure 1).
The discovery of San Martin-type mineralization at La Joya, specifically at the Coloradito Intrusive ("El Brazo"), supports the concept of deeper mineralization around the main La Joya intrusions (Figure 7).
Figure 7: Cross-Sections of Silver Dollar's El Brazo Discovery and San Martin Mine.
Both La Joya and San Martin are situated within the Cuesta del Cura Limestone and the overlying Indidura Formation, along the broadly defined San Luis-Tepehuanes fault system, commonly referred to as the Mexican Silver Belt. These intrusions are of the same age, similar in size and composition, and in both cases, mineralization is concentrated along the contact near the outer limit of skarn alteration surrounding the intrusion. Historically, the San Martin mine reportedly contained more than 300 million ounces of silver, with mineralization extending vertically for more than 850 meters. Drilling indicates mineralization remains open for an additional 400 meters below known intercepts, suggesting depths well beyond 1,200 meters (approximately 4,000 feet). This makes San Martin an ideal exploration model for targeting deeper mineralization at La Joya.
Figure 8: La Joya plan view showing historical mineral resource areas and 2026 exploration targets.
On October 7, 2026, Silver Dollar announced the completion of a 3,633-meter drilling program that tested five prospective targets, outside the historic mineral resource areas (Figure 8). Drill core sample results are pending, and the Company expects to resume drilling once all assay results are interpreted and targets are more clearly defined.
Drill targets included:
Road Zone: Holes NOR-26-031 to NOR-26-036 targeted this zone to test for extensions of previously reported gold mineralization, including 19.2 grams per tonne (g/t) Au over 3 metres (m) at a depth of 126 m in hole NOR-21-004.
North Side: Located approximately 250 metres below the Road Zone, this zone was also targeted with holes NOR-26-031 to NOR-26-036 to look for deeper "San Martin" carbonate replacement deposit-type Ag-Cu-Au mineralization. The North Side was originally identified in historic hole LB96-04, which intersected 694 g/t AgEq over 8.6 m at a depth of 401 m. This intercept was deeper than any previous drilling in the immediate area.
Central Dyke: As previously reported, this target was delineated over a strike length of 770 metres, with 134 of 170 samples (156 channel and 14 rock grab samples) returning assays greater than 100 g/t AgEq, including sample #161. Taken in altered carbonate sediments from the bottom of a 15-metre-deep shaft called Hueco Grande, sample #161 returned 3,823 g/t AgEq. A linear magnetic anomaly runs parallel to the Central Dyke and Hueco Grande, the deepest historic excavation on the trend, and drill hole NOR-26-037 targeted an area 120 metres below the shaft.
El Brazo: This target was originally defined by an intercept of 535 g/t AgEq (420 g/t Ag, 0.41 g/t Au, 0.05% Cu, 1.97% Pb, and 3.9% Zn) over 5.0 m in hole NOR-22-013. Holes NOR-26-038 and NOR-26-039 were designed to test an area approximately 300 metres south of the main mineralization, along strike and coincident with a linear magnetic anomaly.
Silica West: This quartz-carbonate vein system has been mapped over a strike length of 750 metres, with widths of up to 40 metres, and contains anomalous gold values, with samples assaying up to 2.46 g/t Au. Textures within the structure indicate that we are in a higher level of an epithermal system. Four short holes (NOR-26-040 to NOR-26-043) tested this structure.
Silver equivalent is calculated using the following metal prices (USD): Au $1,750/oz, Ag $22/oz, Pb $1.25/lb, Zn $1.50/lb, Cu $4.30/lb. Recoveries of Au 66%, Ag 93%, Cu 70%, Pb 87%, Zn 84%, historically reported from Pan American Silver's La Colorada mine and Southern Silver's Cerro Minitas mine (Cu only), have been used in the AgEq calculation and are assumed to be comparable to anticipated recoveries at La Joya. The reported AgEq results are adjusted based on the historic recoveries provided above.
Photo 1: Anchoring the Versa drill rig on the first hole of the 2026 drilling campaign at La Joya.
Silver Dollar owns a 100% interest in the La Joya property, subject to a 2% net smelter returns royalty on all minerals produced from the Property.
Dale Moore, P.Geo., the "Qualified Person" as defined by National Instrument (NI) 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release. Dale Moore, P.Geo., is not independent of the Company in accordance with NI 43-101.