Star Metro - Sterling Metals Provides Corporate Update

Highlights:

• Year-Round Drilling Driving Rapid Progress

  • The 2026 drill program is progressing well, with approximately 6,200 metres completed across 9 holes.

  • The primary focus of the first half of this drill program has been to expand the boundaries and provide more definition of the 500m x 400m x 300m MEPS Discovery zone both laterally and at depth.

  • Drilling to date this winter has increased the size and better defined the shape of the MEPS deposit with additional on-going drilling expected to further increase the size and continuity of this mineralized body.

  • Important early results of this winter program to date have been the confirmation that the MEPS discovery zone is controlled by a combination of a felsic dyke-sill complex and intersecting key feeder structures, and that a Cu-Mo mineralized multiphase porphyry stock underlies the MEPS Discovery area.

• Expanded Field Program

  • Preparations are underway for expanded fieldwork, including mapping and prospecting at the 6km² Gimlet target, located over 2km southwest of the MEPS Discovery. The area hosts strong surface copper geochemistry, including widespread bornite, underlain by an extensive, strong resistivity low.

  • Upcoming work will support drill targeting for the summer program, alongside additional geochemical sampling across the broader 8km copper corridor, including extensions toward the past-producing Tribag mine, located 10km to the Northeast of the MEPS discovery.

  • The Company is also planning a property-wide geophysical program, combining resistivity and gravity surveys with existing datasets, to better identify prospective porphyry centres and prioritize future drill targets.

• Accelerating Discovery Through Key Infrastructure and Technology Integration

  • Sterling has now moved into a 6.5-acre field headquarters located 15 minutes north of Sault Ste Marie and 30 minutes south of the Project boundary, with both situated along the Trans Canada Highway. This new centre of operations brings together core production facilities (core logging, analysis, cutting, sampling, shipping and storage) with staff housing, communications, vehicles and supplies, that will facilitate and expedite all future field work and drill programs.

  • Sterling has engaged GeologicAI (Home - GeologicAI) to integrate automated core scanning into its geological logging workflow, enabling up to a 72-hour turnaround on XRF, hyperspectral, and other core data, that will allow on-the-go, more informed decisions in the field during drill programs. Follow up assays through accredited labs will continue.

  • The Company has also partnered with VRIFY Technology to use AI-assisted targeting methods towards improving regional target development across the entire 30km long Batchewana copper belt.

Mat Wilson, CEO and Director, commented, "We are taking full advantage of low-cost, year-round drilling conditions to quickly advance exploration at Soo Copper towards both definition and expansion of the MEPS Discovery and exploration for additional new discovery areas. Drilling into a multiphase porphyry stock beneath the open-ended MEPS Discovery confirms our geological model and exploration approach and is consistent with porphyry related copper mineralization identified elsewhere on the property, including at the km-scale Tribag Mine copper breccia pipe complex located to the northeast of the MEPS Discovery. There is much more potential to test across this 30km long copper belt.

Additionally, with our new operations base in place, we are well positioned to scale up exploration activities, including the potential addition of several drill rigs as we expand the program towards faster results and discoveries. The use of core scanning technology to aid in real time decision making in the field as well as the use of AI targeting of this information adds a tremendous tool for our exploration team as we look to enhance our integrative approach to exploration of this growing copper system. Supported by approximately $10.5 million in the treasury, Sterling is in a strong position to quickly advance Soo Copper and demonstrate the importance that this project could have for the Batchewana Bay community, the City of Sault Ste. Marie, and the Province of Ontario."

Exploration Update

Drilling continues to advance efficiently under a year-round program, with approximately 6,200 metres completed to date. Current drilling is focused on expanding the mineralization footprint of the MEPS Discovery zone, while also targeting structural pathways that may link this shallow zone of copper mineralization to a larger porphyry-hosted copper deposit at depth. Important early results of this winter program to date have been the confirmation that the MEPS Discovery zone is controlled by a combination of a felsic dyke-sill complex and intersecting key feeder structures, and that a Cu-Mo mineralized multiphase porphyry stock underlies the MEPS Discovery area.

Recent drilling intercepted a multiphase porphyry stock beneath the westernmost part of the MEPS target area, predominantly composed of a granite porphyry hosting broadly disseminated and locally veined copper mineralization, including chalcopyrite and locally bornite, with geological features consistent with the granite porphyry stock intercepted approximately 1.5km to the east (see press release dated March 1, 2026). Importantly, however, an additional porphyry phase that appears to host more sulphides as very finely disseminated chalcopyrite-molybdenite-pyrite along with quartz-pyrite-chalcopyrite-molybdenite veins associated with local zones of potassic alteration, is also present and may represent an earlier, better mineralized intrusive phase of the stock. Other intrusive phases, including felsic dykes seen above within the MEPS Discovery zone, were also intercepted, all hosting variable amounts of disseminated and veined sulphides. These early drill results confirm the presence of a large mineralized multiphase porphyry stock that will require additional drilling to vector towards a zone of more concentrated copper mineralization that may also represent a connection with the shallow high-grade copper mineralization above at the MEPS Discovery.

Given the seasonally poor ground conditions, drilling is currently being conducted from established pads within the boundary of the MEPS Discovery and is drilling multiple orientations from each of these pads. This approach continues to provide effective coverage while maintaining operational efficiency. At the conclusion of the winter melt, the Company will then move the drill rig to new pads along strike from MEPS to continue to determine the extent of the mineralized footprint and to locate and follow the more mineralized parts of the system.

Gimlet Target and Surface Expansion

With ground conditions beginning to improve, Sterling is preparing for an expanded mapping and prospecting program at the Gimlet target, one of the most prospective areas identified to date.

Historical and recent work has identified 93 copper outcrops, including 38 occurrences of bornite, along a mineralized trend now extending approximately 8km (refer to Figure 1; the "Copper Corridor"). The system remains open to the southwest, where additional exploration is planned ahead of the summer drill program.

Technology Integration and Data-Driven Exploration

Sterling has engaged VRIFY to support AI-assisted targeting and enhance the visualization of exploration data, allowing stakeholders to interact with the Project in a fully integrated 3D environment.

In addition, the Company has finalized a contract with GeologicAI to integrate automated core scanning into its geological logging workflow. This system is expected to deliver a 24-72-hour turnaround on XRF, hyperspectral, and other datasets across full drill core, significantly reducing reliance on external laboratories and enabling faster, data-driven decision-making in the field. To learn more about GeologicAI's core scanning and logging technology, please visit https://www.geologicai.com/.

Operations and Infrastructure

The Company has fully transitioned to a new 6.5-acre operations base located approximately 15 minutes north of Sault Ste. Marie, with direct access from the Trans-Canada Highway. The site includes a newly constructed core facility and is being further developed to support long-term exploration, including planned storage capacity for up to 300 kilometres of drill core. This expanded infrastructure positions Sterling to scale operations efficiently, including the deployment of multiple drill rigs.

Sterling would also like to acknowledge and thank the Government of Ontario for its ongoing support through the Ontario Junior Exploration Program ("OJEP"), which contributes to advancing exploration activities at Soo Copper.

Sterling also announces the closing of the previously announced sale of its Sail Pond Project, allowing for increased focus on its flagship Soo Copper Project.

Qualified Person

Jeremy Niemi, P.Geo., Senior Vice President, Exploration and Evaluation for Sterling Metals has reviewed and approved the technical information presented herein.

About the Soo Copper Project

The Soo Copper Project sits just 20 minutes off the Trans-Canada Highway, one hour north of Sault Ste. Marie, and 20km from rail and deep-water access. With near-surface copper-one of the most critical of all critical metals-alongside gold, and with the project now demonstrating both scale and grade, Sterling sees the potential for Soo Copper to become a nationally significant asset as Canada accelerates its efforts to secure strategic copper resources. Prime Minister Carney's recent designation of copper as one of Canada's first five strategic assets underscores the importance of this discovery and its potential to emerge as a key project of national interest.

About Sterling Metals

Sterling Metals is a mineral exploration company focused on large scale and high-grade Canadian exploration opportunities. The Company is advancing the 25,000-hectare Soo Copper Project in Ontario which has past production, and multiple breccia and porphyry targets strategically located near robust infrastructure and the 29,000-hectare Adeline Project in Labrador which covers an entire sediment-hosted copper belt with significant silver credits. Both opportunities have demonstrated potential for important new copper discoveries, underscoring Sterling's commitment to pioneering exploration in mineral rich Canada.

Sterling Metals acknowledges that its exploration activities within the Soo Copper project are conducted on the traditional lands of the First Nations of the North Shore of Lake Superior. We recognize and respect the longstanding and diverse relationships Indigenous Peoples have with the land and are committed to engaging in a manner that is respectful, transparent, and inclusive.

For more information, please contact:

Sterling Metals Corp.
Mathew Wilson, CEO and Director
Tel: (416) 643-3887
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.sterlingmetals.ca

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. This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

SOURCE: Sterling Metals Corp.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

A.Lavoie--SMC