Essex Completes First-Stage Earn-In on Three Australian Gold Properties, Summarizes 2020 Exploration Achievements

VANCOUVER, Jan. 28, 2021 - Essex Minerals Inc. (the "Company" or "Essex") (TSXV: ESX) is pleased to provide a summary of exploration achievements from work completed in 2020 on its three Australian gold projects: Cumberland, Mt Turner and Compass Creek.

Under the terms of its option and earn-in agreement with private Australian company KNX Resources Limited ("KNX"), Essex had the right to earn an initial first-stage earn in of 50 per cent of KNX's interest by spending AUD $1,000,000 on exploration by May, 2021. At the end of the first-stage earn-in, Essex may offer to acquire all the shares in KNX at independent valuation, or earn an additional 25 per cent interest in Mt Turner and 20 per cent interest in Cumberland and Compass Creek by financing a further AUD $3,000,000 on exploration.

Essex is pleased to report it has now completed the first-stage earn in expenditures and has earned 50 per cent of KNX's interest in all three projects. The Company is now assessing its options with respect to the next stage of the KNX earn-in joint venture.

The 2020 work program and earn-in expenditure consisted of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) surveys at Compass Creek and Mount Turner, and in-fill geochemical sampling, data compilations and a two-phase drill program comprising 10 diamond drill holes totalling 1,851m at Cumberland.

Essex President and CEO Paul Loudon said: "The 2020 regional-scale exploration completed on the Cumberland property was a great success, encountering favourable geology for both epithermal and porphyry-style deposits in every hole, including the discovery of high-grade gold and silver mineralization in the south.

"In addition, we have doubled the size of the Mt Turner property by staking adjacent ground which now gives the KNX joint venture the 14km known strike extent of the Drummer Fault. This represents a significant drill-ready gold target for follow up in 2021.

"We also paid the final property payment required to acquire the Compass Creek property in the Northern Territory, which also represents a drill-ready target for 2021 close to Kirkland Lake's Union Reefs mill."

The 2020 exploration achievements, including follow-up drill results from Cumberland are as follows:

Cumberland
The Cumberland property was staked by KNX following a regional search for targets with the potential to host low sulfidation epithermal carbonate-base metal deposits similar to the 5 million-ounce Kidston deposit discovered by Placer Dome in the 1980s in a similar geological setting, 70km to the southeast.

Cumberland contains numerous prospects which show characteristics of poly-metallic, low sulfidation, epithermal mineralization. From within these prospects, the initial diamond drilling commenced on the RBZ prospect, a major 2.5km northwest trending structural corridor dislocated by conjugate northeast structures which have created a number of dilation centres. The dilation centres have been intruded by a series of Permo-Carboniferous, poly-phase intrusives culminating in late stage altered rhyolites. The centres have then been overprinted with surface mineralization consisting of hydrothermal breccias associated with multi-phase quartz-adularia silver and gold mineralization as disrupted ginguro bands in the north, and higher temperature veining 2km to the south.

Surface sampling was also undertaken on the Hook prospect in the north of the property and Hill 60, southeast of RBZ on the caldera margin. All rocks intersected in the 2020 drilling have been initially pervasively potassic altered and subsequentially overprinted by later stage phyllic and argillic alteration associated with silica flooding and veining. Late-stage carbonate infilling of fractures and veinlets is also evident.

RBZ South - Two diamond drill holes in and around the RBZ South Discovery Hole 1 (18.8 g/t gold and 160.6 g/t silver over 6.4m from 139.5m down hole, announced in September) encountered ore grade gold intercepts within wide zones of hydrothermal alteration with late-stage carbonate (epithermal) overprint.

• Hole 20RBZ-DD007 intersected 12.2 g/t gold and 13.4g/t silver over 0.5m from 186.2m downhole. This intersection is located approximately 50m northwest and 50m lower in elevation than the intersection in Hole 1. The hole also intersected 0.7m grading 0.2g/t gold and 3.7g/t silver from 16.3m downhole and 0.5m grading 1.38 g/t gold and 3.7g/t silver from 172.3.3m downhole.
  
  
• Hole 20RBZ-DD008 intersected 3.2 g/t gold and 4g/t silver over 0.5m from 160.5m downhole. This intersection is located approximately 10m south and of Hole 1 and 15m lower in elevation than the intersection in Hole 1

RBZ North - Two diamond drill holes were also drilled at RBZ North to follow-up Hole 20RBZ-DD005, 2.3km NW of Hole 1, which intersected a broad structural zone with multiple narrow intervals of low-grade silver, base metals and arsenic-peripheral mineralization before encountering a major fault at 104m downhole.

• Hole 20RBZ-DD009 intersected 1.5m grading 0.07 gold and 26.1g/t silver from 1.1m, 0.5m grading 2.3g/t Au and 117g/t Ag from 29m and 1m grading 0.34g/t gold and 1g/t silver from 134m downhole.
  
  
• Hole 20RBZ-DD010 intersected 0.5m grading 0.5g/t gold and 104g/t Ag from 60m downhole. This hole had poor core recovery in extensive clay altered breccia zones.

The Hook - a program of surface mapping and sampling was undertaken in November. Assays from rock chip samples averaged 1.5 g/t gold and 275 g/t silver (28 samples ranging from 0.1 g/t to 9.92 g/t Au and 0.5 to 2,160 g/t Ag).

Hill 60 - a program of mapping follow-up historical BLEG sampling was undertaken in November. Assays from rock chip samples averaged 1.6 g/t gold and 6.3 g/t silver (10 samples ranging from 0 g/t to 16.1 g/t Au and <0.5 to 46.8 g/t Ag).

The next phase of exploration at Cumberland will include detailed structural analysis and geophysics to better define the plumbing system for the gold and silver emplacement before a larger follow-up drilling is undertaken.

Mt Turner
The Mt Turner property, 15km northeast of the Cumberland property, comprises a 51 sq km exploration permit granted to KNX Resources in 2019. An additional licence was granted in November 2020 bringing the total project area to 199 sq km. The property contains the Permo-Carboniferous Mt Turner intrusive complex, a porphyry copper-molybdenum system with zoned polymetallic mineralization and associated gold in peripheral breccias. The Drummer Fault cuts across the northern part of the property and contains epithermal gold and silver mineralization in veins and shear zones.

The new tenement covers the western extension of the Drummer Fault gold target which has previously been mined from shallow oxide open pits within a 2km section of the 14km of strike. The near surface oxide portion of the Drummer Fault prospects were previously explored by ASX-listed Union Mining NL in the mid-1990s. Union Mining drilled 44 air core holes which returned an average of 8.6m intersections grading 1.94 g/t gold. The intersections ranged from 2m to 20m in width and the assays ranged from 0.1 to 10.05 g/t Au. Based on this drilling, Union Mining undertook small scale mining of oxide material from three pits down to a maximum depth of 25m. No drilling was undertaken of the sulfide zone below the oxide layer and any sulfide material mined was stockpiled and remains on surface.

A LiDAR survey flown by Essex in late 2020 revealed the vast extent of the structures hosting historical mineralization within the project area. In addition to the main Mt Turner intrusive complex, additional prospects identified are the Drummer Boy, Drummer Toy Drummer East and Rocky Reward along the Drummer Fault, and the Dinki Di and New Cobar prospects in the southeast part of the tenement.

Drummer Toy - rock chips sampling in an around Union Mining's pits in November returned assays averaging 5.11 g/t gold and 24 g/t silver (12 samples ranging from 0.4 g/t to 29.4 g/t Au and 2.0 to 49.6 g/t Ag).

Rocky Reward - surface sampling in December of untreated sulfide dumps and exposed pit walls returned assays averaging 9.85 g/t gold and 23.9 g/t silver (eight samples ranging from 3.8 g/t Au to 19.8 g/t Au and 10.0 g/t to 40.9 g/t Ag). Five of the samples were from the sulfide dumps and averaged 10.1 g/t Au and 25.5 g/t Ag.

Dinki Di - a series of northeast trending structure identified from the LiDAR survey. Initial rock chip sampling of old workings returned assays averaging 7.6 g/t gold and 120 g/t silver (14 samples ranging from 2.4 g/t Au to 36.2 g/t Au and 2.4 g/t to 315 g/t Ag).

New Cobar - a northeast trending1.5km long structure identified from the LiDAR survey. Initial rock chip sampling of old workings returned assays averaging 1.6 g/t gold and 162 g/t silver (13 samples ranging from 0.1 g/t Au to 9.92 g/t Au and 0.5 g/t to 355 g/t Ag).

Mt Turner represents an exciting drill-ready exploration target for 2021.

Compass Creek
The Compass Creek property comprises two granted exploration permits covering 48 sq km in the Pine Creek goldfield, 28 km north of Kirkland Lake's 2.5Mtpa Union Reefs mill in the Northern Territory. The property has the potential to host large high-grade orogenic gold mineralization.

The property contains three drill ready targets within a major anticlinal structure displaying favourable stratigraphy, and cut by NNW faulting related to the Pine Creek Shear Zone - a major regional structure which has historically produced more than 5 million ounces of gold.

Within this structural setting there are strong multi-discipline geophysical anomalies, strong hydrothermal alteration associated with veins and two known breccia pipes, and very high pathfinder geochemical assays (As, Pb, Ag, Bi & Sb). Two of the three targets contain significant gold and tin anomalism (up to 1.28 g/t gold and 3.02% tin). These targets have had only minor surface prospecting, and none of the targets have had any drilling. Each of the target areas are between one to two kilometres long and 300m to 500m meters wide.

In November, a LiDAR survey was flown over the property to better define drill targets. In December, KNX and Essex exercised their option to acquire the southern exploration permit with and a final property payment of AUD$150,000 paid in January 2021.

Compass Creek is also developing as an exciting drill ready target for 2021.

Assays
All samples from the first phase drilling program were processed in Townsville by ALS Global, an independent accredited laboratory. Gold assays are completed by 50g screen fire assay with atomic absorption finish, with the over limit samples rechecked by fire assay with a gravimetric finish. Silver and multi-element analysis is undertaken by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) with over limits assayed by four acid digestion with ICP-AES.

Table of Drill Hole Collar Locations

About Essex
Essex Minerals is an exploration and development company focused on mineral exploration and development opportunities where it can adopt an option earn-in and joint venture model without the issuance of vendor shares. By identifying geological teams that have already expended the time and capital to assemble top quality, advanced projects, with a particular emphasis on gold projects in Tier 1 jurisdictions. Management's time is shared across several different projects, as the geological teams already in place manage the approved exploration and development programmes. This strategy has the potential to accelerate the growth in shareholder value for Essex by earning an interest in a range of projects of merit in a much shorter time frame than otherwise would be possible.

Competent Person
All of the scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and/or prepared by Mr Lee K. Spencer, BSc (Hons), MSc, MAusIMM, a "Qualified Person" within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Minerals Projects.

Paul Loudon
President & CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Essex Minerals Inc.