High-Grade Growth: Drilling Begins at Sun Metals’ Stardust Copper-Gold Project

Three diamond drill rigs are currently onsite and actively drilling. Our fully funded 2020 $3.8 million exploration program is focused on expanding the high-grade 421 zone at Stardust, and exploring for similar thick high-grade, massive sulphide zones that this system is known for.   The drill program is anticipated to run until early October and consist of 12 – 16 holes.  The program design will remain flexible to allow the exploration team to follow up on successful results.

Initial drilling is focused on expanding the 421 zone, including two rigs on the highly prospective and shallower southern up-plunge extension of the zone near hole 453 and on completing hole 455 which was not finished during the 2019 campaign and is targeting the northern down plunge extents of the zone.

Subsequent drilling will include:

• Targeting vertically below the 421 zone exploring for a vertical feeder component to the mineralization;
• Test fold targets in carbonate stratigraphy east of the 421 zone for analogous zones;
• Targeting the footwall of the 101 lens in areas of open mineralization.

Sun Metals has developed and implemented COVID-19 infection and control protocols at Stardust to meet or exceed all government requirements, as well as satisfy the Company’s mandate to protect the workers and communities that we rely on (See June 3, 2020 press release for more information on our COVID-19 safeguards). In mid-June, Sun Metals received conditional provincial approval to occupy camp at Stardust and proceed with our planned drill program.

Sun Metals has recently created several brief videos to provide insight on exploration potential at Stardust:

• We know the roadmap to discovery: https://vimeo.com/425220373
• Expansion opportunities in 421 zone: https://vimeo.com/425220275
• Multiple untested folds like 421 zone: https://vimeo.com/425220335

In just two years, Sun Metals’ technical team has developed a proven understanding of the Stardust system that has resulted in significant discovery success. In 2018, our first full season at Stardust, our technical team drilled one of that year’s strongest discovery holes: DDH18-SD-421, which intersected 100 metres of 5.05% copper equivalent (CuEq)¹. In 2019, we started to delineate what is now known as the 421 zone, one of the most significant recent high-grade copper-gold discoveries in Canada. Seventeen pierce points now define the 421 zone and have established continuity. Average mineralized drill intercepts in this zone are greater than historic drill intercepts in the nearby Canyon Creek zone². The 421 zone has been delineated over a plunge length of 375 metres and remains open for both extension and expansion.

¹ See press release dated November 14, 2018 available at www.sunmetals.ca

² See the technical report titled “Stardust Project Ni 43-101 Technical Report Omineca Mining Division, British Columbia” with an effective date of January 8, 2018 for further information, available at www.sunmetals.ca or under the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com