Rio Silver Expands Peru Silver Portfolio: Santa Rita Project Acquisition Signals District-Scale Growth Strategy

Rio Silver Inc. (TSX-V: RYO | OTC: RYOOF) has successfully acquired the Santa Rita property, a high-grade silver-lead-zinc exploration asset in Central Peru, positioning the company to strengthen its footprint in one of the world’s most prolific mineral jurisdictions. The acquisition marks a strategic expansion of Rio Silver’s near-term development ambitions across the region’s richest polymetallic belt.

Strategic Positioning in Peru’s Silver-Rich Corridor

The 570-hectare Santa Rita property sits approximately 200 km southeast of Lima, offering dual road access and immediate proximity to producing operations. Located just 55 km northwest of Rio Silver’s flagship Maria Norte Au-Ag-Pb-Zn Project and 14 km southwest of Kuya Silver’s operating Bethania Mine (TSX-V: KUYA), the property benefits from an established infrastructure ecosystem. This concentrated corridor of long-life underground mines, carbonate-replacement deposits, and active milling capacity has established itself as one of Peru’s most productive polymetallic regions.

Acquisition Terms and Regulatory Path

Rio Plata S.A.C., Rio Silver’s Peruvian subsidiary, secured Santa Rita through a competitive closed-bid auction for USD $130,000, providing unencumbered title with zero underlying royalties or option obligations. The property transitioned to state control in 2024 after previous operators relinquished rights due to escalating payment requirements rather than geological concerns. The acquisition now proceeds through Peru’s standard title confirmation process, anticipated to complete within two to three months.

Geological Foundation and Historical Validation

Santa Rita has been characterized as a classic Carbonate Replacement Deposit (CRD) system, distinguished by multiple features that attracted historical exploration interest. Between 2016 and 2020, Inca Minerals conducted extensive work identifying 20+ steeply dipping east-west veins intersecting with shallow-dipping manto structures hosted within carbonate sequences. Two priority zones—Humaspunco East and Humaspunco South—returned encouraging silver-lead-zinc showings, validated by extensive historical workings evident across the property.

Rio Silver’s internal team is advancing this work through representative sampling currently undergoing metallurgical testing to confirm processing parameters and recovery profiles. Results are expected to provide clarity on near-term development viability.

Complementary Assets, Unified Development Vision

The Santa Rita acquisition strengthens Rio Silver’s district-scale strategy by establishing two complementary high-grade properties within a single mineralized corridor. Maria Norte and Santa Rita share geological continuity while offering operational synergies—both benefit from proximity to regional processing facilities accessible by trucking, reducing capital intensity and accelerating development timelines.

Rio Silver’s CEO Chris Verrico emphasized the strategic rationale: “This clean acquisition with 100% ownership positions us to advance a disciplined, district-focused silver development strategy. The reported high-grade CRD veins being confirmed in the field align with our objective to establish Rio Silver as a pure-play silver developer in Peru during a period of record silver prices and tightening global supply.”

Near-Term Development Pathway and Competitive Advantages

Immediate preparations include field camp installation, portal access upgrades, and explosives permitting to support Peru’s established exploration and exploitation model. These foundational steps allow development work to advance in parallel with further resource definition and target refinement.

The combination of high-grade CRD and vein systems across both Maria Norte and Santa Rita, coupled with established infrastructure access and a seasoned technical team, positions Rio Silver to move expeditiously through exploration toward production as the company executes its pure-play silver strategy in one of the Western Hemisphere’s premier silver jurisdictions.

Investment Highlights:

• High-grade Ag-Pb-Zn mineralization in an established district
• Low-entry-cost acquisition with no dilutive royalties
• Road-accessible properties near producing mines and milling infrastructure
• Dual-asset portfolio within a single mineralized belt
• Positioned for near-term exploration advancement during favorable silver market conditions

For additional information, contact Christopher Verrico, President and CEO, at (604) 762-4448 or chris.verrico@riosilverinc.com. Visit www.riosilverinc.com for project details and corporate updates.