Tinka Reports Additional Step-Out & Infill Drill Holes at Ayawilca and Highlights Upper Manto Discovery

VANCOUVER, Sept. 18, 2018

Key Highlights:

• Five resource step-out drill holes at West, South, Central and Camp areas have all intersected significant zinc mineralization hosted mostly by Pucara limestone, the main host of the zinc sulphide mineralization;
• Hole A18-148 intersected high-grade zinc (5.5 metres grading 10% zinc) 100 metres further east of the current resource at the Central area, with extensions to be tested later in 2018;
• Hole A18-146 intersected high-grade zinc and silver mineralization (1.7 metres grading 27% zinc & 1520 g/t silver from 57 metres depth) in an 'Upper Manto' hosted by sandstone at the South area, above and lateral to the known limestone hosted resource. The Upper Manto has been observed in other drill holes and is considered significant due to its shallow depth and proximity to existing resources;
• Hole A18-150 (9.6 metres grading 6% zinc) and adjacent hole A18-154 have extended known mineralization at the West area 120 metres to the northeast – mineralization remains open;
• Seven resource infill holes are also reported from the West and South areas, drilled to improve the Company's geological model and to target additional zinc mineralization at depth;
• Tinka now plans to update the Ayawilca resource estimate in Q4 2018, while step-out drilling continues.

Graham Carman, Tinka's President and CEO, stated: "The step-out drill hole results reported in this release are very positive, and show that the footprint of zinc mineralization at Ayawilca is getting larger. So far in 2018 we have discovered several new areas of significant zinc mineralization, including:

• thick and high-grade intersections up to 150 metres to the northwest of the West Ayawilca resource (e.g., hole A18-118);
• the Camp area, which connects West mineralization with the Central area (e.g., holes A18-130 & 134);
• repetitions of mineralized limestone beneath lenses of phyllite at West Ayawilca which can host exceptional zinc grades (e.g., 10.4 metres grading 44% zinc, hole A18-129);
• shallow zinc sulphide mineralization hosted by the overlying sandstone within a laterally extensive Upper Manto; and
• extensions to the mineralization east of the Central and West areas (e.g., holes A18-148 & A18-150);

"Zinc mineralization still remains open along strike and down dip in several directions, while other prospective areas such as Zone 3 continue to offer additional potential."

"A priority in 2018 has been to identify additional zinc resources with step-out drill holes. In addition, several infill holes have been drilled, to test for repetitions of the mineralized limestone beneath and within areas of known resources where key information was lacking. The infill holes drilled at the South and West areas have improved our geological model and understanding of the controls of the mineralization, while also confirming the continuity of grade and thickness of zinc mineralization."

"Tinka has so far drilled 19,000 metres in 2018, on top of 46,000 metres drilled at the Ayawilca project from the initial discovery in 2013 to the end of 2017. A resource update is planned for Q4 2018, based on all drill data to the end of September 2018. An additional 1,000-2,000 metres of drilling is planned for the remainder of the year, with one rig operating at site. Importantly, the 2018 drill program is on schedule and on budget."

"Upon completion of the resource update in Q4 2018, the Company will be in a position to either move ahead with a Preliminary Economic Assessment in 2019, or to focus on further resource expansion.  In the meantime, we look forward to updating our shareholders with information on additional drill results and the upcoming resource update."