Almaden Minerals &
The Ixtaca Silver-Gold Deposit

The Ixtaca Silver-Gold deposit is a multi-million ounce deposit in Puebla State, Mexico discovered by Almaden’s exploration team. After almost a decade of extensive drilling, a Feasibility Study announced in 2018 demonstrated proven and probable reserves of 85,159,00 ounces of silver and 1,387,000 ounces of gold and concluded that the Ixtaca mine plan has robust economics.*

In December, 2023, Almaden delivered to the United Mexican States (“Mexico”) a Request for Consultations in accordance with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (“CPTPP”) relating to an investment dispute with Mexico (the “Claim”). Almaden is pursuing this Claim together with Almadex Minerals Ltd. (“Almadex”), on behalf of themselves and their Mexican subsidiaries (the “Claimants”). Prior to the illegal acts of Mexico which resulted in the complete loss of the investment, Almaden held 100% of the Ixtaca precious metals project in Mexico (the “Project”), while Almadex held a 2.0% NSR royalty on the Project.

The December 2023 filing initiated the six-month consultation period required under the CPTPP. Mexico agreed to hold one consultation meeting, which took place on May 30, 2024, but it did not result in an amicable resolution of the Company’s investment dispute. The Company filed notice of its intention to submit the Claim to arbitration on March 14, 2024, triggering a 90-day notice period prior to filing, and announced the filing of its Request for Arbitration with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) on June 17, 2024.

On March 20, 2025, the Company filed its memorial submission (“Memorial”) relating to the Claim, which is being prosecuted pursuant to the established and enforceable legal framework of ICSID and is financed by up to US$9.5 million in non-recourse litigation funding provided by a leading legal finance counterparty (see June 27, 2024 press release).

The Memorial outlines how Mexico breached its obligations under the CPTPP through actions which blocked the development of the Ixtaca project and ultimately retroactively and arbitrarily terminated the Company’s mineral concessions. Specifically, the Memorial demonstrates how Mexico (i) unlawfully expropriated the Claimants’ protected investments without any compensation; (ii) failed to accord the Claimants’ protected investments fair and equitable treatment; and (iii) unlawfully discriminated against the Claimants and their protected investments.

Based on a valuation by an independent quantum expert, the Claimants are seeking damages of US$1.06 billion, in the aggregate. This number will be further updated as the Claim proceeds, to reflect future movements in precious metal prices, exchange rates, interest rates, and other factors.

The Claimants’ legal counsel for this arbitration are Boies, Schiller, Flexner, LLP, and RíosFerrer + Gutiérrez, S.C.

Further information regarding this investment dispute is available under the “Ixtaca” tab and in the Company’s recent news releases.

* Proven mineral reserves were comprised of 31.6 million tonnes grading 0.70 g/t gold and 43.5 g/t silver. Probable mineral reserves were comprised of 41.4 million tonnes grading 0.51 g/t gold and 30.7 g/t silver. The cut-off grade used for ore/waste determination was NSR>=US$14/t. Associated metallurgical recoveries (gold and silver, respectively) were estimated as 90% and 90% for limestone, 50% and 90% for volcanic, 50% and 90% for black shale. Base case economics used US$1275/oz gold and US$17/oz silver prices.

“Almaden is committed to improving the quality of life for the communities with which we work.” 

— Morgan Poliquin, President of Almaden