Tinka Resources Limited announced that the company has commenced a resource extension and exploration drill program at its 100% owned Ayawilca project in Central Peru. The drill program will consist of up to 10,000 metres of drilling, initially with one rig and increasing to two rigs by the end of August, with drilling expected to continue for the rest of 2022. Ayawilca 2022 Drill Program: A key objective of the up to 10,000 metre drill program is to expand Zinc Zone Measured and Indicated resources at South and West with infill and stepout drilling, in part, through the conversion of higher grade Inferred resources.

A second objective is to expand the high grade resources at Central and West through the drill testing of possible lateral extensions. Additional drilling will go towards metallurgical and geotechnical test work which, coupled with the resource expansion drilling, will form the backbone of a future prefeasibility study. The company expects the overall drill program to consist of 25 to 30 drill holes over a period of approximately 6 months.

Metallurgical test work of the Ayawilca Tin Zone is ongoing. The Tin Zone mineralization is dominated by cassiterite, the most important ore mineral of tin, which is contained within iron sulphides. The current metallurgical test work is focusing on separation of the iron sulphides (through grinding and flotation) and minimising tin loss prior to tin concentration through gravity separation.

Results of this test work are expected by August 2022. Highlights of the Ayawilca project include: Highgrade Zinc Zone resources: Indicated Mineral resource estimated at 19.0 million tonnes grading 7.2% zinc, and Inferred resources estimated at 47.9 million tonnes grading 5.4% zinc. Mineralization remains open in several directions, including to the south and northeast; Robust Zinc Zone 2021 PEA: Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) showed that Ayawilca has the potential to become a Top10 global zinc mine with additional silver credits, strong economics and a modest initial capex; Tin Zone upside: While not incorporated into the 2021 PEA the Tin Zone has the potential to add significant value to the project, with current Inferred resources estimated at 8.4 million tonnes grading 1.0% tin with potential for expansion, open in all directions including at depth; Exploration upside: The company has identified multiple exploration targets on its 160 km2 Ayawilca land package, and has filed a permit extension at Ayawilca to drill high priority targets near to existing resources including the Ayawilca Far South target.