Solaris Announces Cooperation Agreement with Interprovincial Federation of Shuar Centers and the Alliance for Entrepreneurship and Innovation of Ecuador

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Solaris Resources Inc. (TSX: SLS; OTCQB: SLSSF) (“Solaris” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce a trilateral cooperation agreement with the Interprovincial Federation of Shuar Centers (“FICSH”) and the Alliance for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (“AEI”) of Ecuador, with the signing ceremony to take place over PDAC. The agreement aims to promote the economic and social development of Shuar communities represented by FICSH, including the communities of Warints and Yawi which host the Warintza Project on their lands, with programs in health, education, skills training, entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainable mineral resource development.

FICSH is the highest authority and largest Shuar indigenous organization legally established by statute of the Ministry of Social Welfare of Ecuador in 1964 and includes 50 associations comprising 500 Shuar communities and approximately 143,000 Shuar indigenous people.

AEI is an independent non-profit dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship and innovation as the basis for the productive development of Ecuador. The organization represents a network of public, private and academic actors of which Solaris has been a member since 2021.

Key Programs:

• Health: training and support for the provision of medical services in remote communities in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Health
• Education: training and support for the development and delivery of intercultural education in remote communities with the Ministry of Education
• Production: training and technical assistance related to productive agricultural and business development, project management and accounting
• Artisanal mining: environmental, safety and technical training and support for the formalization of artisanal mining in FICSH territories

Mr. Froilan Juank, President of Yawi Center and member of the Board of Directors of the Strategic Alliance, commented, “The Shuar communities of Warints and Yawi support this agreement which follows from our request for FICSH to represent us and our interests and extend benefits to other member communities. We reject the false statements made by foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the Shuar Arutam People’s Associations (PSHA) which ignore our voice and speak against our interests. We are the legitimate registered owners of the Ancestral Lands on which the Warintza Project resides and we have the right and have chosen, through our General Assembly, to participate in the project through our Strategic Alliance and Impact and Benefits Agreement.”