Sun Metals Corp. (TSX-V: SUNM)  and the Takla First Nation are pleased to announce a new Exploration Agreement for Stardust, a project located within the traditional lands of Takla in northcentral B.C. Sun Metals is also pleased to provide an update on its exploration program at Stardust, a high-grade copper-gold mineralized system with district potential. 

The new Exploration Agreement replaces the expired agreement and is valid through to December 31, 2021. Sun Metals and Takla’s initial two-year agreement was announced in 2018. The agreement respects Aboriginal title, rights and interests, and continues to recognize Takla’s stewardship role in environmental and wildlife monitoring.

“Building strong relationships with communities is a foundational principle of Sun Metals, and continues a commitment both Chair Donald McInnes and myself have actively supported and delivered on in our previous career paths in run-of-river hydro and mining projects, respectively,” said Sun Metals President & CEO Steve Robertson. “We thank Takla for their continued trust and furthering our partnership to grow value at Stardust.”

Pursuant to the new Exploration Agreement, and subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval, the Company expects to issue 500,000 share purchase warrants. The Warrants are exercisable at $0.35 until December 31, 2021.  Any common shares issuable on exercise of Warrants will be subject to a four month and a day hold period from the date the Warrants are issued.

Exploration update

Our fully funded $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 began in early July and is anticipated to run until early October. Twelve to sixteen holes are planned. The program design will remain flexible to allow the exploration team to follow up on successful results. 

To date, nine diamond drill holes have been completed and 1,397 drill core samples have been shipped to the lab. In total, 6,439 metres of drilling have been achieved during the 2020 drill campaign at Stardust. Completed holes targeted:

• the highly prospective and shallower southern up-plunge extension of the zone near hole 453;
• hole 455 which was not finished during the 2019 campaign and focuses on the northern down-plunge extents of the zone;
• vertically below the 421 zone exploring for a vertical feeder component to the mineralization.

Three diamond drill rigs remain onsite and are actively drilling. The three rigs are targeting the southern extension of the 421 zone, mineralization in the 101-lens target areas and new fold targets for analogous zones.

We have created brief videos to provide further insight on our exploration targets:

• Hole #453: an opening to a new pathway: https://vimeo.com/442807083
• Multiple high-grade zone analogs: https://vimeo.com/442807078
• Potential vertical feeder system: https://vimeo.com/442807080
• Building a larger, more cohesive deposit (101 lens): https://vimeo.com/442807079
• Mineralization at depth: https://vimeo.com/442807082

In just two years, Sun Metals’ technical team has developed a proven understanding of this 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 zone[2]. The 421 zone now comprises a plunge length of 375 metres and remains open for both extension and expansion.

Technical aspects of this news release have been reviewed, verified and approved by Ian Neill P.Geo., Vice President Exploration of Sun Metals, who is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Minerals Projects.

About Sun Metals

Sun Metals is advancing its 100% owned flagship, high-grade Stardust Project located in northcentral British Columbia, Canada. Stardust is a high-grade polymetallic Carbonate Replacement Deposit with a rich history.  Sun Metals also owns the Lorraine copper-gold project (joint-ventured with Teck Resources Limited), and the OK copper-molybdenum project. 

The Canyon Creek copper-gold skarn zone at Stardust was the subject of a 2018, NI 43-101 resource estimate published by the Company titled “Stardust Project NI 43-101 Technical Report Omineca Mining Division, British Columbia” with an effective date of January 8, 2018. In that report, GeoSim Services Inc. provided the following estimate.

Stardust Project – Canyon Creek zone Mineral Resource Estimate^³: