Sun Summit Minerals Corp. (TSX-V: SMN) (OTCQB: SMREF) is pleased to provide an overview of its upcoming 2026 exploration drill program at the JD Project, Toodoggone Mining District, north-central British Columbia. Drilling is set to commence in early June with over 10,000 meters planned across the Creek and Finn zones.

Highlights:

• Transformational Drill Program: Over 10,000 meters of drilling will evaluate the grade, continuity and scale of near-surface gold-silver mineralization across the Creek and Finn zones. Results from the 2026 drill program is expected to contribute to an inaugural mineral resource estimate (“MRE”) planned for Q1 of 2027.
• Creek Zone Targeted Drilling:Drilling at the Creek Zone will include step-out and infill drill holes designed to investigate the extent and continuity of near-surface, high-grade and bulk-tonnage gold mineralization. Drilling will follow-up significant 2024 and 2025 results, including:
  • 81.0 meters of 4.80 g/t gold, including 34.0 meters of 9.07 g/t gold in drill hole CZ-25-021 (November 25^th, 2025, News Release)
  • 78.0 meters of 3.72 g/t gold, including 19.1 meters of 7.50 g/t gold in drill hole CZ-25-007 (September 8^th, 2025, News Release)
  • 122.5 meters of 2.11 g/t gold, including 20.0 meters of 10.01 g/t gold in drill hole CZ-24-004 (October 2^nd, 2024, News Release)
• Finn Zone Targeted Drilling: Drilling at the Finn Zone will include step-out, infill and exploration drill holes designed to investigate the extent and continuity of near-surface bulk-tonnage gold-silver mineralization. Drilling will follow-up significant historic and 2025 results, including:
  • 17.0 meters of 2.31 g/t gold with 113.1 g/t silver, including 6.0 meters of 5.30 g/t gold with 157.9 g/t silver in drill hole FZ-25-002 (January 22^nd, 2026, News Release)
  • 45.0 meters of 3.02 g/t gold with 143 g/t silver, including 5.0 meters of 8.18 g/t gold with 918 g/t silver in historical drill hole JD95-076²
  • 20.85 meters of 8.76 g/t gold with 68 g/t silver including 11.0 meters of 15.1 g/t gold with108 g/t silver in historical drill hole JD95-097²

Drilling scheduled for June: Preparations are underway to mobilize crews to the project in the coming weeks. Drill crews will arrive once camp is re-opened with drilling anticipated to begin in early June.

“We are excited to kick off the most significant drill program at JD since the late 1990s, as we advance towards an inaugural mineral resource estimate, expected in Q1 of 2027,” said Niel Marotta, CEO of Sun Summit Minerals. “The 2026 drill program has been carefully designed to achieve a clear goal of defining a significant resource. Our 3D modeling to date suggests that drilling has defined the upper levels of potentially much larger systems, which remain open at depth and along strike — pointing to meaningful expansion potential at both the Finn and Creek zones. With 10,000 metres of planned drilling, metallurgical testing underway, and a mineral resource estimate targeted for Q1 2027, we will continue to unlock value at JD and capitalize on exploration success in the world-class Toodoggone mining district.”

Significant Drill Program

Drilling in 2026 at the JD project is designed with two primary goals, 1) establish an inaugural mineral resource estimate for the Finn and Creek zones, and 2) explore the lateral and vertical extents of near surface, epithermal-related gold-silver-base metal mineralization at both targets.

2026 drill program details include:

• Creek Zone – Drilling at the Creek Zone in 2024 and 2025 outlined a significant northwest trending, mineralized corridor that spans at least ~750 meters by 300 meters and ~150 meters vertical depth from surface. Near-surface mineralization comprises bulk-tonnage disseminated gold and high-grade vein- and breccia-hosted gold. Up to 5,000 meters across 17 to 20 drill holes are planned at the Creek Zone to systematically evaluate the modelled vein-controlling structures on 60 to 80 meter pierce-points covering a strike-length of over 600 meters (Figure 3) and a vertical extent of over 350 meters. Results from this phase of drilling at the Creek Zone should inform grade continuity, the down-dip and strike extents of mineralization, the presence of additional high-grade zones (e.g., 34.0 meters of 9.07 g/t gold in drill hole CZ-25-021) and will contribute to the inaugural mineral resource estimate.
• Finn Zone – The Finn Zone represents a broad zone of near-surface, epithermal-related gold-silver-base metal mineralization hosted in the hanging wall of a gently, north-dipping, northeast-striking volcaniclastic unit. The zone is open along strike and at depth. Up to 5,000 meters across 15 to 17 drill holes are planned at the Finn Zone to systematically evaluate the down-dip and strike-extent of the favorable, and well mineralized, volcaniclastic unit. Drill holes will cover a footprint of approximately 650 meters by 350 meters on 60 to 80 meter pierce points, primarily down-dip from the densely drilled core of the mineralized zone. Results from this phase of drilling at the Finn Zone should inform grade continuity, the down-dip and strike extents of mineralization, verify historical data and will contribute to the inaugural mineral resource estimate.
• Additional exploration activities across the highly prospective Finn to Creek corridor (Figure 1) including exploration drilling, geological mapping, soil geochemistry, induced polarization geophysical surveying, and airborne geophysics, are also being considered. Details of these proposed complementary programs will be disclosed as budgets are finalised.

Figure 1. Plan map highlighting the ~4.5 km Finn to Creek Corridor showing drill collar locations as well as results from recent and historical rock and soil geochemical surveys (see October 29^th, 2025 news release). The areas marked by the dashed yellow ovals will be the focus for the majority of the 2026 drilling. Targets between will be ranked and prioritised for potential drill testing. See references for sources of historical data.

Mineral Resource Estimate

Over 46,000 meters of drilling in 366 drill holes, including results from 2024 and 2025 by Sun Summit, have been completed across the JD project.  Most of the previous drilling was focused on the Finn and Creek zones (Figure 1). These compiled data, together with results from 2026 drilling and results from an ongoing metallurgical testing (see April 8^th, 2026 News Release), will form the basis of the mineral resource estimate, planned for Q1 of 2027.

The Company has engaged Dahrouge Geological Consulting USA Ltd. to complete an inaugural mineral resource estimate for the JD Project. The MRE will include historical and modern drilling from the Finn and Creek epithermal-related gold-silver mineralized zones. Dahrouge will review and validate the project database and 3D geological domains and will also assist with drill targeting, compositing, statistical analysis, and block model estimation using the supplied geological interpretations. The completed MRE will be classified and reported in accordance with NI 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum standards.

Figure 2. Map of the Toodoggone District showing the location of the JD Project in relation to other development and exploration projects. Data sourced from Thesis Gold & Silver Inc., TDG Gold Corp. and Centerra Gold Inc.’s respective corporate websites. The qualified person has been unable to verify the information and that the information is not necessarily indicative to the mineralization on the property that is the subject of the disclosure.

National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure

This news release has been reviewed and approved by Sun Summit’s Vice President Exploration, Ken MacDonald, P. Geo., a “Qualified Person” as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators. Mr. MacDonald has verified the data disclosed in this press release, including the sampling, analytical and test data underlying this information that has been collected by Sun Summit. Verification procedures include industry standard quality control practices. Some technical information contained in this press release is historical in nature and has been compiled from public sources believed to be accurate. The historical technical information has not been verified by Sun Summit and may in some instances be unverifiable dependent on the existence of historical drill core and grab samples. Management cautions that past results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved on the property.

About Dahrouge USA.

Dahrouge USA is a leading and highly experienced group of qualified professional geologists and mining engineers who provide independent consulting services to the mining and exploration sectors. Jacob Anderson (CPG) is the independent qualified person who will lead the modeling validation and estimation team for Dahrouge.

Mr. Anderson is a resource geologist and is a Certified Professional Geologist (CPG) with the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG). He has significant experience in gold deposits, including stratigraphic, epithermal, vein hosted and porphyry. ⁽¹⁾

⁽¹⁾ For clarity, Mr. Anderson has not independently verified and is not responsible for the technical content and disclosure in this news release. Thetechnical content herein was reviewed and approved by Sun Summit’s Vice President Exploration, Ken MacDonald, P. Geo., as described above in “National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure”.

Community Engagement

Sun Summit is engaging with First Nations on whose territory our projects are located and is discussing their interests and identifying contract and work opportunities, as well as opportunities to support community initiatives. The Company looks forward to continuing to work with local and regional First Nations with ongoing exploration.

About the JD Project

The JD Project is located in the Toodoggone mining district in north-central British Columbia, a highly prospective deposit-rich mineral trend. The project covers an area of over 15,000 hectares and is in close proximity to active exploration and development projects, such as Thesis Gold and Silver Inc.’s Lawyers and Ranch projects, TDG Gold Corp’s Baker-Shasta projects, Amarc Resource Ltd.’s AuRORA project, Centerra’s Gold Inc’s Kemess East and Underground projects, as well as the past-producing Kemess open pit copper-gold mine (Figure 2).

The project is 450 kilometres northwest of the city of Prince George, and 25 kilometres north of the Sturdee airstrip. It is proximal to existing infrastructure in place to support the past-producing Kemess mine, including roads and a hydroelectric power line.

The JD Project is in a favourable geological environment characterized by both high-grade epithermal gold and silver mineralization, as well as porphyry-related copper and gold mineralization. Some historical exploration, including drilling, geochemistry and geophysics, has been carried out on the property, however the project area is largely underexplored.

About Sun Summit

Sun Summit Minerals is a mineral exploration company focused on the discovery, expansion, and advancement of district-scale gold and copper assets in British Columbia. The Company’s portfolio is anchored by its flagship JD Project, alongside the Theory Project in the prolific Toodoggone region of north-central BC, and the Buck Project in central B.C.

References

1. Hawkins, P.A. (1998), 1997 Exploration Report on the Creek Zone for Antares Mining and Exploration Corporation and AGC Americas Gold Corporation, JD Property, Toodoggone River Area, Omineca Mining Division, Internal Report #98-065-1.
2. Davis, J.W., and Jamieson, M.D. (1998), Drilling and Geophysical Report on the M.H. Mineral Clain Group, Toodoggone District, Assessment Report Indexing System, Report 25757, https://apps.nrs.gov.bc.ca/pub/aris.
3. Krause, R.G. (1995), 1994 Geological and Geochemical Report on the JD Gold Silver Property, Toodoggone River Area, Omineca Mining Division, British Columbia, Assessment Report Indexing System, Report 23663, https://apps.nrs.gov.bc.ca/pub/aris.
4. Krause, R.G. (1996), 1995 Geological Report on the JD Gold Silver Property, Toodoggone River Area, Omineca Mining Division, British Columbia, Assessment Report Indexing System, Report 24284, https://apps.nrs.gov.bc.ca/pub/aris.
5. McBride, S. (2013), 2012 Geological, geochemical and diamond drilling report on the JD Property, Assessment Report Indexing System, Report 33556, https://apps.nrs.gov.bc.ca/pub/aris.
6. McBride, S. and Leslie, C. (2014), 2013 Geological, geophysical and diamond drilling report on the JD Property, Assessment Report Indexing System, Report 34762, https://apps.nrs.gov.bc.ca/pub/aris.