Mr. Jason Dunning of Adventus reports

ADVENTUS AND SALAZAR ANNOUNCE 2020 ECUADORIAN EXPLORATION PLANS AND DRILL RIG MOBILIZATION

Adventus Mining Corp. and Salazar Resources Ltd. have provided an overview of exploration programs planned for 2020 on the Curipamba, Pijili and Santiago projects in Ecuador. Exploration will focus on making new discoveries through drilling and leveraging off the recently completed MobileMT airborne magneto-telluric airborne survey (see April 5, 2019, and Sept. 21, 2019, news releases). This work will be complemented by continuing regional geological and geochemical fieldwork on all three projects. A total exploration budget of approximately $7-million (U.S.) has been allocated to complete this work.

Highlights of the 2020 Curipamba exploration program:

• A minimum 10,000-metre exploration drill program designed to evaluate the 15 new targets identified through the MobileMT airborne survey and target generation initiative (TGI), aiming for a new regional discovery;
• A minimum 3,000 m drill program that will provide additional data for engineering purposes on the El Domo volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit, located within the Curipamba project, which will include a geotechnical drilling program covering key infrastructure sites as discussed in the preliminary economic assessment study filed on SEDAR in 2019;
• Continued regional sampling to develop and groom targets for future exploration work.

Jason Dunning, vice-president of exploration of Adventus, commented: "We are very excited about our 2020 exploration plans for the Curipamba project, as they complement ongoing development work focused on moving the El Domo deposit forward towards development. The 15 new exploration targets, recently generated from data acquired by the state-of-the-art MobileMT geophysical survey, not only verify some historical targets, but also highlight the strong discovery potential in new areas on the underexplored property. A new discovery within Curipamba could be significantly additive to the already robust economics of the El Domo deposit."

Curipamba project

The Curipamba project comprises seven concessions representing about 21,500 hectares and includes the El Domo deposit. No systematic exploration work has been conducted on the greater Curipamba project area since the discovery of the El Domo deposit in 2008 by Salazar, which was a key driver for undertaking the MobileMT geophysical survey. Since completion of the MobileMT geophysical survey, the partners have made significant progress generating targets through the processing and integration of all geoscience data collected from surficial geochemistry, geological mapping, prospecting, drilling and ground geophysical surveys. The various data sets have been compiled in order to produce a matrix that will drive exploration logistics and planning through 2020 on priority-ranked targets. Targets have been classified as either VMS-related, such as the El Domo deposit, or porphyry related.

In total, 15 compelling targets have been defined during the TGI process, which are being refined by technical field staff for further priority ranking and drilling logistics. Of notable importance is that most of these targets are in new areas within the 21,500 hectares that have not undergone systematic exploration or drilling. For additional reference, a basic map outlining the 15 new regional targets at the Curipamba project has been posted on the Adventus website.

Both target generation and delineation will continue over the next year, as will surficial geochemical surveys and geological mapping in order to advance the understanding of the geological controls on mineralization and to further delineate highly prospective areas. The results are expected to aid in further developing a pipeline of drill-ready locations in the favourable strata that hosts the El Domo deposit. A minimum drilling budget of 10,000 m and financial budget of approximately $5-million (U.S.) has been approved for the evaluation of these new priority target areas and the continuing advancement of Curipamba-El Domo related studies.

Perforaciones Andesdrill SA of Quito, Ecuador, a wholly owned subsidiary of Salazar, has been contracted to conduct the 2020 drill program at the Curipamba project and supply the two drill rigs that are being mobilized to the project site. The partners are also preparing for additional drilling-related studies that are expected to provide information for future engineering and environmental baseline studies over the next year. Study topics include, but are not limited to, geotechnical assessment of the waste management areas, geomechanical characterization of the open pit, hydrogeological modelling of the project area and condemnation drilling of key infrastructure sites. These studies are expected to confirm the PEA findings and support both the commencement of the El Domo feasibility study in 2020 and the submission of a draft environmental impact assessment to Ecuadorian authorities by the first half of 2021.

The PEA is titled Technical Report on the Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Curipamba Project -- El Domo Deposit, Central Ecuador, with an effective date of June 14, 2019, and can be found on SEDAR profiles of the partners.

Highlights of the 2020 Pijili and Santiago exploration programs:

• A 5,000 to 10,000 m exploration drill program covering both the Pijili and Santiago projects;
• Evaluation, planning and construction of project infrastructure at Santiago to support exploration activities;
• Continued regional sampling and evaluation of targets for future exploration work.

Since the second quarter of 2019 completion of the MobileMT geophysical survey at the Pijili project, a regional surficial geochemistry sampling program coupled with detailed property mapping for geology and hydrothermal alteration has been systematically grooming drilling targets. The recently completed upgrade of exploration infrastructure at the Pijili project means that field crews are now fully supported to undertake drilling. The main targets at the Pijili project are copper-gold-molybdenum porphyry and orogenic gold deposits.

At the Santiago project, evaluation and construction planning work has begun on the potential upgrade of local roads and support infrastructure ahead of a planned drilling program. The proposed drill program will utilize results from the 2019 MobileMT geophysical survey and all compiled historical exploration results.

Conference schedule

Over the next few months, the partners will have senior management representatives at the following conferences:

• AME Roundup 2020, Vancouver, Jan. 20 to 23;
• 2020 TD Securities Mining Conference, Toronto, Jan. 22 to 23;
• BMO Global Metals & Mining Conference, Hollywood, Fla., Feb. 23 to 26;
• PDAC Convention, Toronto, March 1 to 4;
• LBS 2020 Mining Conference, Montreal, April 1 to 2.

Qualified person

The technical and scientific information of this news release have been reviewed and approved as accurate by Mr. Dunning, MSc, PGeo, vice-president of exploration for Adventus, a non-independent qualified person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About Adventus Mining Corp.

Adventus is a well-financed exploration and project development company, focused in Ecuador. Its strategic shareholders include Altius Minerals Corp., Greenstone Resources LP, Resource Capital Funds, Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. and the Nobis Group of Ecuador.

About Salazar Resources Ltd.

Salazar is a mineral resource company engaged in the exploration and development of mineral deposits in Ecuador. The company has a proven Ecuadorian discovery team led by ex-head of Newmont Ecuador, Fredy Salazar; a team of 40 people including 15 geologists, three drill rigs and an unrivalled Ecuadorian grassroots network.

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