Royal Road Minerals Announces Regional Sampling, Mapping and Initial Scout Drilling Results from Its Santo Domingo Porphyry Copper Gold Project

The Santo Domingo district is located 120 km east of San Juan City at an average altitude of approximately 1,200 meters above sea level. The district comprises at-least three exposed porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum occurrences (El Arriero, Divisoria and Alunita) and a vein-hosted gold and polymetallic vein system (Yvette) located within a mineral rights package covering a total area of approximately 185 square kilometers. Royal Road has entered into an option agreement with an individual titleholder to acquire 100% of the mineral rights package (see Press Release, February 15, 2023).

In preparation for exploration activities at Santo Domingo, Royal Road has completed environmental impact assessments, renewed and updated environmental impact permits, deposited relevant insurances, completed social, environmental, flora and fauna and archaeological studies and acquired all necessary permits, including hazardous waste and surface water extraction. The Company has held concertation meetings with departmental and provincial officials, has conducted public audiences and established environmental and social quality control committees within its local communities. Water for scout drilling was provided by the local municipality, trucked to site and recycled at the drill rig.

The Company has completed geological mapping, grid-based soil geochemical sampling, channel and select rock chip geochemical sampling and has concluded the first scout-drilling program to be conducted at Santo Domingo. Highlights are as follows:

• The Santo Domingo porphyry occurrence can be mapped over an area of approximately 10 square kilometers and is characterized by a discrete inner breccia-controlled porphyry copper-molybdenum mineralized system, surrounded by a copper-gold system, zoning outwards towards the east to a polymetallic vein system
  
  
• Initial scout drilling has served to identify depth potential at the El Arriero breccia-controlled, dyke-dominated, porphyry copper-molybdenum system and to highlight the stark difference between El Arriero and the broader, surrounding copper-gold porphyry style mineralization
  
  
• Mapping and sampling have confirmed that the broader copper-gold porphyry system is represented by variably exposed magnetite matrix breccias, quartz-magnetite veinlets and sheeted veinlets related to porphyry dykes (see Figure 1). Rock-chip geochemical results have returned up to 3.6% copper and 86.8 grams per tonne gold (see Table 1) and saw cut channel samples have returned best results of 20 meters at 1.2 grams per tonne gold
  
  
• Regional mapping and rock-chip channel sampling reveals the copper-gold porphyry system zones outwards towards the East to the Yvette polymetallic vein network which is a linked curvilinear brittle shear-controlled zone of some 3 kilometers strike length and 180 meters aggregate width. Rock chip sampling from sub-meter to 1.5-meter-wide veins at Yvette have returned significant results including 115.7 grams per tonne gold, 1,967 ppm silver, 1% copper and 17.4% zinc (see Table 1). Veins are hosted in 10-30-meter-wide individual shear zones
  
  
• The Company is currently completing further regional mapping and planning airborne geophysics over the Santo Domingo project

FIGURE 1 - The El Arriero Copper Molybdenum Target

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FIGURE 2

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Four diamond drill holes were drilled into the El Arriero target for a total of 1664 meters (see Figures 3 and 4, link here to drill results table). Drill holes targeted copper soil-geochemical anomalies and rock-chip channel results and intercepted potassic-altered diorite porphyry dyke bodies and granodiorite emplaced into a discrete poorly-sorted collapse breccia. B-type quartz, pyrite, chalcopyrite veinlets and micro-breccias in diorite dykes returned anomalous copper (up to 0.7 % Cu, average 0.03%) and molybdenum contents (up to 0.19%, average 36ppm) associated with biotite alteration. Granodiorite dyke bodies are interpreted to be a later mostly barren intrusive phase related to a sericite - illite alteration overprint. Drill holes did not intercept economic copper or molybdenum grades over significant widths, with the exception of AR-DDH-001 however, which drilled out of the breccia body and into the wall rock, all drill holes remained in the potassic altered and weakly mineralized dyke and breccia system implying potential for a more assembled porphyry target at depth where the diorite dykes may coalesce. Drill hole AR-DDH-004 ended in 4 meters at 0.01% molybdenum.

FIGURE 3

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FIGURE 4

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The Alunita to Yvette Copper-Gold Target

Scout drilling, mapping and rock-chip geochemistry (including historic samples) reveals a more broadly distributed copper and high-grade gold porphyry system which includes the Divisoria and Alunita occurrences and essentially surrounds El Arriero, extending over an area of approximately 10 square kilometers and eastwards to the Yvette polymetallic vein system (see Figure 1). Gold and copper values are associated with magnetite rich breccias, quartz-magnetite veinlets, and sheeted veinlets related to porphyry dykes. As part of this scout drilling program two drill holes, ARR-DDH-005 and 006, totalling 298 meters were drilled into the copper-gold system adjacent to El Arriero and beneath and in the vicinity of a continuous saw-cut channel sample which returned 20 meters at 1.2 grams per tonne gold. Best results from drilling were 5 meters at 0.9 grams per tonne gold (ARR-DDH-006 from 70-75 meters) with most other intersections of greater than 1 gram per tonne gold limited to one meter or sub-meter intervals (see Figure 5). The Company is planning airborne magnetics and radiometrics to best define future drill-targets within this extensive zone of alteration and mineralization.

FIGURE 5

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The Yvette Polymetallic Vein System

Yvette is a polymetallic fault-controlled vein network extending over 3 kilometers in known strike length and up to 180 meters in width. The area is characterised by multiple historic underground gold and silver mines developed on sub-meter to 1.5-meter-wide veins hosted in shear zones of 10 to 30 meters width. Channel rock chip sampling has returned best results of 0.7 meters at 15.0 grams per tonne gold, 48.5ppm silver 0.1% copper and 0.4% zinc and grab rock chip samples have returned up to 115.7 grams per tonne gold, 1,967 ppm silver, 1% copper and 17.4% zinc (Table 1). To-date continuous saw-cut channel sampling has not been conducted across the broader shear zone structures which host the mineralized veins.

"This new work has identified a porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum mineralized system at Santo Domingo of unknown extent and with complex overprinting and vertical preservation relationships," said Dr Tim Coughlin, Royal Road's President and CEO. "The next step is obviously airborne geophysics focused particularly on identifying new drill objectives in the copper-gold part of the system, exploring potential for a deeper more coherent porphyry copper-molybdenum body at El Arriero and mapping out the broader shear-zone control to high-grade polymetallic veins at Yvette."

TABLE 1

About Royal Road Minerals

Royal Road Minerals is a mineral exploration and development company with its head office and technical-operations center located in Jersey, Channel Islands. The Company is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker RYR and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the ticker RLU. The Company's mission is to apply expert skills and innovative technologies to the process of discovering and developing copper and gold deposits of a scale large enough to benefit future generations and modern enough to ensure minimum impact on the environment and no net loss of biodiversity. The Company currently explores in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Morocco, and Colombia. More information can be found on the Company's website www.royalroadminerals.com.

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.

The information in this news release was compiled, reviewed, and verified by Dr. Tim Coughlin, BSc (Geology), MSc (Exploration and Mining), PhD (Structural Geology), FAusIMM, President and CEO of Royal Road Minerals Ltd. and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Royal Road Minerals employees are instructed to follow standard operating and quality assurance procedures intended to ensure that all sampling techniques and sample results meet international reporting standards. More information can be found on Royal Road Minerals web site at www.royalroadminerals.com.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control:

Core and reconnaissance samples were prepared and analysed at the ISO9001:ISO14001 certified Alex Stewart Laboratory facilities in Mendoza, Argentina. All samples were assayed by fire assay for gold with AA finish (30 g charge) and for copper and other 31 elements by total four acid digestion and ICP-OES Radial / MS analysis (0.2 g aliquot). Samples returning greater than 5 g/t gold and/or greater than 200 g/t silver were assayed using gravimetric analyses. Samples returning greater than 1% Pb and / or greater than 1% Zn were assayed using total four acid digestion and ICP-OES ore grade. A QA/QC program (12,6 %) was implemented on batches of samples including CRM material, field duplicates and laboratory duplicates (rejects and pulps) to control assay accuracy and precision.

The following information was derived from previous operator's public announcements.

Rock chip samples were prepared at the Acme Analytical Laboratories ("AcmeLabs") preparation facility in Mendoza, Argentina and assayed by fire assay (50 gram charge) at the AcmeLabs laboratory in Chile and for ICP-MS 32 elements (15 grams charge) at the AcmeLabs laboratory in Vancouver, all ISO-9001:2000 certified laboratories. Samples returning greater than 10 g/t gold and/or greater than 100 g/t silver are assayed using gravimetric analyses. Samples returning greater than 1% Pb and / or greater than 1% Zn are assayed using aqua regia digestion ore grade / AAS.

Cautionary statement:

This news release contains certain statements that constitute forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements") describing the Company's future plans and the expectations of its management that a stated result or condition will occur. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or developments in the Company's business or in the mineral resources industry, to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include all disclosure regarding possible events, conditions or results of operations that is based on assumptions about, among other things, future economic conditions and courses of action, and assumptions related to government approvals, and anticipated costs and expenditures. The words "plans", "prospective", "expect", "intend", "intends to" and similar expressions identify forward looking statements, which may also include, without limitation, any statement relating to future events, conditions or circumstances. Forward-looking statements of the Company contained in this news release, which may prove to be incorrect, include, but are not limited to the Company's exploration plans.

The Company cautions you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. There is no guarantee that the anticipated benefits of the Company's business plans or operations will be achieved. The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements include, among others: economic market conditions, anticipated costs and expenditures, government approvals, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with Canadian provincial securities regulators or other applicable regulatory authorities. Forward-looking statements included herein are based on the current plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions of the Company management and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements should assumptions related to these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change.

For further information please contact:

Tim Coughlin
Phone: +44 (0)1534 887166
tim.coughlin@royalroadminerals.com