Aztec Minerals Expands Tombstone Drilling Program Amid Promising Arizona Gold-Silver Exploration

Aztec Minerals Corp. has announced an expansion of its drilling program at the Tombstone Property in southeastern Arizona, increasing the planned meterage from 7,500 to a minimum of 8,500 meters and extending operations into the first quarter of 2026. The company has completed 34 reverse circulation drill holes totaling 5,960 meters, with 21 holes currently awaiting geochemical analysis at the Bureau Veritas laboratory. The expanded program will comprise 7,000 meters of RC drilling and a minimum of 1,500 meters of core drilling.

The importance of this expansion lies in the project's location within the historic Tombstone silver district, which produced an estimated 32 million ounces of silver and 250,000 ounces of gold between 1878 and 1939 according to historical records. Aztec's current drilling focuses on testing shallow, bulk tonnage, potentially heap-leachable gold-silver oxide mineralization adjacent to and below the previously mined Contention pit. The company believes the historic mines could be related to a much larger mesothermal system with carbonate replacement deposit mineralization below the old workings.

Analytical turnaround times are expected to improve as Bureau Veritas has added staff and completed equipment repairs, with additional results anticipated within 30 days. Core drilling has resumed and advanced to 465 meters total depth in drillhole TC25-03, targeting what the company identified through previous geophysical surveys. Aztec has previously identified several large, strong, conductive bodies underneath the historic district through natural-source audio-frequency magneto-telluric surveys as documented in the Zonge International report from May 2020.

The geological significance extends beyond the immediate target area. Between 50 and 300 meters depth, the Bisbee Formation is underlain by approximately two kilometers of Paleozoic carbonate formations similar to those hosting the 110 million tonne Hermosa-Taylor zinc-lead-silver deposit located 60 kilometers southwest of Tombstone, as referenced in the M3 Engineering pre-feasibility study from January 2014. This suggests potential for discovering significant carbonate replacement deposit mineralization throughout the district.

For investors and the mining industry, the expanded program represents increased commitment to exploring what Aztec management views as highly prospective ground. The company holds an 85% interest in the Tombstone Property Joint Venture, which covers much of the original patented mining claims in the main district. Future drilling will focus on follow-up results from the current program, with possible targeting including strike and dip extensions of shallow oxide mineralization and deeper exploration into sulfide zones where historical production reached 300 meters depth according to Michael Greeley's 1984 historical review of the district.

The Tombstone project's location 100 kilometers southeast of Tucson provides established infrastructure including road access, water, and power. Aztec has conducted geological mapping, geochemical sampling, and geophysical surveying since 2017 to identify prospective areas for both gold-silver mineralization around the Contention pit and potential carbonate replacement deposit mineralization below the entire district. The expanded drilling program represents a significant step in testing these geological theories that could lead to the discovery of substantial mineral resources in a historically productive mining region.