Star Metro - Star Copper Begins Drilling at Star East Target as 15,000 Metre 2026 Exploration Campaign Gets Underway

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / June 2, 2026 / Star Copper Corp. (CSE:STCU)(OTCQX:STCUF)(FWB:SOP) ("Star Copper" or the "Company"), a critical minerals exploration and development company, is pleased to announce the commencement of its 2026 exploration and drill campaign at its flagship Star Project in British Columbia.

Operational Update

The company is mobilizing on its previously announced fully funded 15,000m drill program at the project. With over $15MM cash-in-hand, the program will double the historic number of meters drilled with the goal of producing a maiden resource (see news dated April 14, 2026) as well as testing the Company's nested porphyry hypothesis. Klaus Heppe, Technical advisor (see news dated May 20, 2026) is working hand-in-hand with Senior Project Geologist Jeremy Hanson at Hardline Exploration Corp. to unearth the increasingly evident potential of the Star Main and satellite targets.

The early season program has been designed to test a series of compelling geophysical, geochemical, and structural targets generated through the integration of induced polarization ("IP") chargeability and conductivity anomalies, airborne magnetic data, soil and rock geochemistry, historic trenching, and detailed geological and structural mapping. (See Figure 1)

Four drill platforms have now been fully constructed, and the drill has been mobilized to the first pad located within the Star East target area, where drilling is expected to commence this week (see Figure 2).

Initial drilling at Star East and Star North will target large chargeability anomalies coincident with elevated copper geochemistry and interpreted structural corridors. Additional drilling planned within the Copper Creek zone will evaluate multiple IP chargeability anomalies associated with coincident copper and gold soil anomalies hosted within strongly altered and fractured volcanic rocks and quartz monzodiorite dike swarms on both sides of the Copper Creek gully system. The drilling here will be to follow up on the successful first hole last year at Copper Creek, (see news dated March 24, 2026)

Darryl Jones, CEO of Star Copper notes, "The start of drilling at Star East marks an important milestone as we launch what is expected to be our largest exploration campaign to date. The integration of new geophysical data, surface geochemistry, and structural interpretation has significantly refined our targeting across the district. We believe the initial drill holes have the potential to demonstrate the broader scale copper-gold potential of the Star Project beyond the historically drilled Star Main zone."

The Company expects the first part of the drill campaign to be followed by expanded drilling activities and additional geophysical surveys, including planned 3D IP and magnetotelluric ("MT") surveys intended to further refine deep porphyry copper-gold targets across the district.

Qualified Person

Jeremy Hanson, P. Geo., a Qualified Person as that term is defined under NI 43-101, is an independent contractor of the Company and has reviewed and approved the technical aspects of this news release.

Warrant Exercise Update

In related news, Star Copper is pleased to report that all outstanding warrants exercisable at $0.75 per share have now been exercised, resulting in the Company receiving approximately $4,500,000 in additional proceeds bolstering the cash balance of the company to well over $15,000,000 on hand.

The complete exercise of these warrants further strengthens the Company's balance sheet and reflects continued support from existing shareholders and warrant holders. The additional capital provides Star Copper with increased financial flexibility as it advances its fully funded 2026 exploration program at the Star Project, including drilling at Star North, Star East, Star West, and Copper Creek, as well as planned 3D IP and MT geophysical surveys designed to refine deeper drill targets at Star Main.

Marketing Update

The Company is further pleased to announce that it entered into an updated consulting services agreement dated effective as of June 1, 2026 (the "Upswitch Agreement") with Upswitch Media Corp. ("Upswitch"), to provide the Company with certain marketing and investor relations services to expand awareness of the Company's business and to communicate with the investment community (the "Upswitch Services"). The Upswitch Services may include, among other things, engaging copywriters, designing ad content and campaigns promoting the Company, providing translation services, onboarding ad campaigns with publishers, tracking, organizing and executing the Upswitch Services through testing and analytic studies. The Upswitch Services will be provided and disseminated through a variety of news and investment community online communications channels and may further include print publications where applicable. Upswitch will commence providing the Upswitch Services on June 1, 2026, for an initial term of 90 days, renewable at the Company's discretion after the expiry of the 90-day term. Upswitch is arm's length to the Company. Jeff Gillis, the principal of Upswitch, is located at 2709B 43rd Ave., Suite 1013, in the city of Vernon in the province of British Columbia and will act as primary representative and service coordinator. Mr. Gillis may be contacted at 1-604-373-5875 and [email protected]. To the Company's knowledge, Upswitch and Mr. Gillis do not currently own, directly or indirectly, securities in the capital of the Company. In consideration of the Upswitch Services, and pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Upswitch Agreement, the Company has agreed to pay Upswitch an aggregate fee of C$1,000,000. The Upswitch Agreement does not provide for the issue of any securities of the Company as compensation.

i2i Marketing Group

In addition, the Company entered into an online marketing agreement with i2i Marketing Group, LLC ("i2i") dated June 1, 2026 (the "i2i Agreement"), pursuant to which i2i will provide corporate marketing and investor awareness services, including content creation management, author sourcing, project management and media distribution. Under the i2i Agreement, the Company has agreed to fund an initial marketing budget of up to approximately US$600,000 for an initial term of six (6) months commencing on the effective date of the i2i Agreement, which budget will be applied toward the development, design and distribution of advertising content and media outreach as part of the marketing campaign. Following the initial term, the i2i Agreement may continue on a month-to-month basis pursuant to mutual agreement, unless terminated by either party on ten (10) days' written notice. The services provided under the i2i Agreement will be delivered and disseminated primarily through online news, marketing and investor communications channels and may include other media formats as agreed between the parties. i2i is arm's length to the Company. Joe Grubb, the principal of i2i, is located at 1107 Key Plaza #222, in the city of Key West in the state of Florida and will act as primary representative and service coordinator. Mr. Grubb may be contacted at 1‑240‑315‑4665 or [email protected]. To the Company's knowledge, i2i and Mr. Grubb do not currently own, directly or indirectly, securities in the capital of the Company. The i2i Agreement does not provide for the issuance of any securities of the Company as compensation.

Investing News Network

The Company also entered into certain marketing and investor awareness agreements with Dig Media Inc., doing business as the Investing News Network ("INN"), pursuant to (i) an INN Agency Service Agreement dated May 31, 2026 (the "INN Agency Agreement") and (ii) an Investing News Campaign Agreement dated May 31, 2026 (the "INN Campaign Agreement", and together with the INN Agency Agreement, the "INN Agreements"). Under the INN Agency Agreement, INN will provide programmatic advertising services, including competitor-targeted digital advertising, for a total fee of approximately US$35,000. Under the INN Campaign Agreement, INN will provide a comprehensive investor marketing campaign, including advertiser profile hosting, banner advertising, press release syndication, newsletter coverage, video production, email marketing, push notifications and related promotional services, for a total fee of approximately US$60,000. The services provided under the INN Agreements will be delivered and disseminated primarily through online news, marketing and investor communications channels and may include other media formats as agreed between the parties. The engagement under each of the INN Agreements is for a term of approximately 12 months commencing May 31, 2026 and ending May 31, 2027, subject to earlier termination or extension in accordance with the terms of the respective agreements. The services under the INN Agency Agreement will commence at the discretion of the Company and will continue until the allocated budget is exhausted, and the services under the INN Campaign Agreement will commence upon receipt of the initial payment. INN is arm's length to the Company. Mike Rodger, a principal of INN, will act as primary representative and service coordinator. INN and Mr. Rodger may be contacted at 604-688-8231, [email protected], and [email protected], respectively. To the Company's knowledge, INN and its principals do not currently own, directly or indirectly, securities in the capital of the Company. The INN Agreements do not provide for the issuance of any securities of the Company as compensation.

Qualified Person

Jeremy Hanson, P. Geo., a Qualified Person as that term is defined under NI 43-101, is an independent contractor of the Company and has reviewed and approved the technical aspects of this news release.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

~Darryl Jones~

Darryl Jones

CEO, President & Director

Star Copper Corp.

About Star Copper Corp. (CSE:STCU)(OTCQX:STCUF)(FWB:SOP/WKN A416ME)

Star Copper Corp. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on the discovery and advancement of large-scale copper-gold systems in British Columbia. The Company's flagship Star Project is located in British Columbia's prolific Golden Triangle and hosts multiple high-priority targets and exhibits geological characteristics consistent with significant porphyry copper deposits (watch our videos: https://starcopper.com/media/). The project hosts multiple copper-gold porphyry-style targets, including Star Main, Star North, East & West, Copper Creek and Copperline. Significant exploration including historical drilling has confirmed open mineralization at depth and in all directions. Star Copper's strategic plans include geological mapping and geophysical surveys to refine existing targets, diamond drilling programs to test high-priority zones, environmental baseline studies and permitting groundwork alongside data analysis and resource modeling to support a future resource estimate prepared in accordance with NI 43-101. The Company further plans to advance its Indata Project with follow-up drilling to expand on previous high-grade copper and gold intercepts, trenching and surface sampling to delineate mineralized zones, and infrastructure improvements for site accessibility and operations. With a commitment to sustainable development and value creation, Star Copper aims to position itself to support surging industrial demand to meet growing global electrification needs.

For more information visit: www.starcopper.com for in depth information and the ability to watch our videos at https://starcopper.com/media/, and while you are there, sign up for free news alerts at https://starcopper.com/news/news-alerts/, where you can follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook or LinkedIn. Additional information regarding the project, including historical drilling, is available under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca and/or in the Company's February 26, 2025, technical report.

Investor Relations

Star Copper Corp.
Email: [email protected]
Web: https://starcopper.com/

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding exploration of the Company's flagship Star Project and the potential thereof, as well as the anticipated mineral resource estimate planned in respect of the Star Project. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include, but are not limited to, the early-stage nature of the Star Project, the inherently unpredictable nature of resource exploration, market conditions and the risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect, and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements as expressly required by applicable law. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

SOURCE: Star Copper Corp.

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A.Harris--SMC