ASCENDANT RESOURCES APPOINTS JOAO BARROS PRESIDENT, ASCENDANT PORTUGAL

TORONTO, April 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ascendant Resources Inc. (TSX: ASND) ("Ascendant" or the "Company”) is very pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Joao Barros to the position of President, Ascendant Portugal, where he will continue to oversee the exploration and development efforts at the Lagoa Salgada VMS project (“Lagoa Salgada”), located on the prolific Iberian Pyrite Belt in Portugal. Mr. Barros is a Civil Engineer with an MSc in Geology with more than 17 years of experience tied to the mining industry in Portugal.

Mr. Barros is currently President of Redcorp – Empreendimentos Mineiros, Lda., the joint venture company in which Ascendant has its investment and is earning an 80% interest in Lagoa Salgada. Mr. Barros has been instrumental in the advancement of the Lagoa Salgada project over the past twelve years, and most recently under Ascendant’s direction. Mr. Barros has a strong technical background having significant senior mining management experience with the exploration and development of numerous polymetallic VMS, gold and tungsten operations in Portugal.

Chris Buncic, President & CEO of Ascendant stated, “We are thrilled to have Joao join us at Ascendant. Joao comes from an esteemed family steeped in the recent history of mining in Portugal. His depth of experience in mining project management, having built several operations in Portugal over the past two decades, will add tremendous strength to Ascendant’s management team. We are grateful for his guidance and contributions to our exploration success thus far at Lagoa Salgada, and we have the greatest confidence in our continued success under his direction in Portugal.”

About Ascendant Resources Inc.

Ascendant is a Toronto-based mining company focused on its 100%-owned producing El Mochito zinc, lead and silver mine in Honduras and its high-grade Lagoa Salgada VMS project located in the prolific Iberian Pyrite Belt in Portugal.

After acquiring the El Mochito mine in December 2016, Ascendant spent two years implementing a rigorous and successful optimization program restoring the historic potential of El Mochito, a mine in production since 1948. With steady state production achieved, the Company remains focused on further cost reduction and operational improvements to drive profitability.

The Company is engaged in exploration and the advancement of the Lagoa Salgada project with the goal of building upon the defined Mineral Resources and robust results of the maiden Preliminary Economic Assessment completed in January 2020 and advancing the project towards construction. Ascendant holds a 21.25% interest in the Lagoa Salgada project through its 25% position in Redcorp - Empreendimentos Mineiros, Lda, (“Redcorp”) and has an earn-in opportunity to increase its interest in the project to 80%. Mineral & Financial Investments Limited owns the additional 75% of Redcorp. The remaining 15% of the project is held by Empresa de Desenvolvimento Mineiro, S.A. (EDM), a Portuguese Government owned company supporting the strategic development of the country’s mining sector. The Company’s interest in the Lagoa Salgada project offers a low-cost entry to a potentially significant exploration and development opportunity, already demonstrating its mineable scale.