Mr. Mathew Wilson reports

STERLING METALS ANNOUNCES INITIAL ASSAY RESULTS FROM THE ADELINE PROJECT, LABRADOR

Sterling Metals Corp. has released assay results from its inaugural drilling on the Adeline project in Labrador, Canada. A total of 1,930 metres of drilling were completed in 11 drill holes focused on testing the Ellis Main prospect and the Whiskey target. In addition to the drilling campaign, the company completed a surface sampling program from outcrops in the Whiskey area.

Highlights:

• Inaugural drilling across the 44-kilometre-by-seven-kilometre basin tested two initial targets on opposite ends of the basin, with 10 of 11 holes intersecting copper mineralization, underscoring the robustness of the system.
• At Ellis, eight holes tested the historic mineralized grey bed at depth and along strike with the following results:
  • ELS-23-007 intersected an extensive copper zone over a 150-metre-by-100-metre area, with 25 m at 0.24 per cent copper and 4.05 grams per tonne silver, including 2.6 m at 0.87 per cent Cu and 11.54 g/t Ag;
  • While the grey bed unexpectedly thinned, drilling intersection a mafic sill, a rock type differing from initial expectations, though typical in systems of this nature;
  • Notably, visuals confirmed six copper minerals across this 25 m wide zone with extensive copper oxides suggesting potential at depth of sulphide accumulations.
• At Whiskey located 25 km east of Ellis, three holes showed pinching of the grey bed with narrower mineralization including:
  • WHS-23-010 intersected 3.1 m at 0.96 per cent Cu and 11.78 g/t Ag, including 0.7 m at 3.54 per cent Cu and 46 g/t Ag;
  • WHS-23-011 which intersected 2.1 m at 1.20 per cent Cu and 16.43 g/t Ag and 0.6 m at 3.22 per cent Cu and 46 g/t Ag.
• Additionally, encouraging sampling of outcrops south of drilling in the Whiskey area showed additional emerging copper trends on the eastern portion of the basin with 17 samples grading higher than 0.5 per cent Cu and up to 2.44 per cent Cu.
• Camp was winterized prior to demobilization and a drill remains on site for a potential winter program.

Mathew Wilson, chief executive officer, stated: "The discovery of a big metal district requires a big metal system, which is exactly what we have at Adeline. The macro environment for copper remains very promising and even more so here at home in Canada. Our aim is to establish a copper project capable of putting Canada back on the copper map and this is just the first step. We are currently evaluating the data to identify a clear path to targeting both at Ellis and across the entirety of the 44 km by seven km system. With over $4-million in the treasury, we are confident our systematic approach to targeting will result in an efficient and successful program when we return to drill at Adeline."

Jeremy Niemi, senior vice-president, exploration and evaluation, commented: "The extent of the mineralization encountered in this inaugural program serves as a clear indication that there is much more to Ellis than we have seen so far -- let alone across the entirety of this project. We went into this program to test a single previously developed target looking to establish the continuity of mineralized grey beds and a potential large hydrothermal breccia zone which we hoped would correlate with the IP survey conducted in the nineties. While the grey beds did not continue at Ellis and the IP did not correlate to a large breccia zone, hole 7 did establish itself as having potential to represent the top of a flow breccia. The native copper in quartz veins and rock type are similar to the zones in the Keewenawan peninsula which provided a large source of copper for the U.S. in the 1900s. The grades and style of mineralization suggest we are potentially in proximity stronger copper zone. We are focused on refining our targeting approach to zero in on large accumulations of copper sulphide mineralization both at depth and to the south at Ellis, and across the property, to increase the probability of future drilling success and targeting."

2023 Adeline drilling program

The company's 2023 Adeline drill program was designed to test both the extents of the mineralized grey beds at Ellis at depth and along strike as well as a potential blowout of the copper mineralization interpreted from the model of historical induced polarization carried out on the project. In the first three holes it became clear that the grey bed mineralization observed on surface and in historical drill core had disappeared and appeared to be replaced by a mafic sill. The top surface of the mafic sill was mineralized with copper oxide and native copper.

Copper mineralization was intersected in the tops of mafic flows in veined and brecciated rocks. This prompted the company to adjust the angle of the last two holes at the target and approach the mineralization from a new perspective. Hole ELS-23-007 intersected a relatively wide zone of copper oxide mineralization which extended beyond fractures as observed in the initial holes. This was thought to potentially be the top of a flow breccia. Hole ELS-23-008 was an attempt to follow this mineralization to the south along the structure and toward historic conductors but deviated to the north and hit the edge of the oxide/sulphide zone, intercepting native copper in quartz veins.

Additionally, the copper zone identified in drilling was not consistent with the IP anomaly identified by Noranda from the nineties. The company is currently carrying out physical properties on the core, especially the rocks above the copper zone, to identify potential alternative sources of the chargeability response shown in the IP survey. There is extensive hematite mineralization and this may be responsible for the large target area shown in the chargeability response.

The final three holes of the program were drilled at the Whiskey target, approximately 25 km east of the Ellis target. The drilling was designed to undercut copper mineralization within grey beds at a historical trench. Drilling showed that the grey bed appeared to pinch, resulting in narrower intersections than observed in the trench. Holes WHS-23-010 and WHS-23-011 intersected 3.54 per cent and 3.22 per cent copper of approximately 0.6 m which were haloed by lower-grade mineralization of one to two m wide.

Whiskey area sampling program

In addition to the drilling program, the company collected a total of 34 outcrop surface samples at the Whiskey target area. Seventeen of the samples graded higher than 0.5 per cent copper and the range of values was between 0.002 per cent Cu and 2.44 per cent. The samples were taken mostly to the south of the Whiskey drilling along additional emerging copper trends. In many cases the sample locations were taken along the historical IP grid and coincident with chargeability anomalies that came to surface.

Next steps

The company is undertaking a number of exploration activities to extract further value from both recent drilling and historical data. Additional analytical work is under way to examine the role of hydrocarbons within the sedimentary rocks in triggering the accumulation of copper mineralization. Analysis of non-carbonate sources of carbon is the initial step and will be followed by a hyperspectral analysis of historical holes for the presence of hydrocarbons across the property. Hydrocarbons in the sediments would be part of a favourable copper mineralization setting and open the opportunity to scan the entire property for new target areas with satellite data. The company anticipates undertaking an advanced hyperspectral study using shortwave infrared channels to map favourable rocks and to bring new target areas across the property forward.

Currently, the field team is carrying out a physical property study on Sterling Metals' 2023 core and historical core available in the Newfoundland and Labrador core library in Goose Bay. Measurements of magnetic susceptibility, gravity, resistivity, chargeability and conductivity are being made on mineralized and non-mineralized drill core to aid in geophysical modeling and in designing future work programs.

Additionally, interpretation of the data from a DIGHEM airborne electromagnetic survey flown in 1992 for Noranda Exploration is under way. The survey identified numerous weak and moderate conductors and Sterling is modelling the conductors, which is expected to allow the team to characterize and rank each conductor. The team will prioritize conductors along favourable regional structures, within ideal host rocks and where copper occurrences have been identified nearby. This study will lead to sites which should be visited in the next exploration campaign for groundwork in 2024.

About the Adeline project, Labrador

Comprising roughly 30,000 hectares and a 44 km strike of copper-silver-rich terrain, Adeline covers the youngest middle Mesoproterozoic volcano-sedimentary sequences, known as the Seal Lake group. The Seal Lake group consists of supracrustal argillaceous and arenaceous sedimentary rocks, intercalated with basalt flows and intruded by gabbro sills. The volcano-sedimentary rocks formed as a result of extensive continental sedimentation from the transition from subaerial to shallow-marine during a rift-related cycle of uplift and erosions.

While sediment-hosted stratiform copper deposits are widespread, economically significant occurrences are infrequent. These deposits contribute to roughly 20 per cent of global copper production and known reserves. Supergiant and giant deposits are formed in basins that experienced extended periods of fluid flow, where specific conditions facilitated the accumulation of substantial quantities of metal-rich fluid, ample reduced sulphur and significant amounts of reductants.

Quality assurance/quality control -- sampling procedures

All drill holes are diamond drill core with NQ diameter. Drill core is delivered by helicopter to the Sterling Metals Seal Lake secure camp and core logging site. All core is photographed, logged and sampled by the Sterling Metals exploration team. After detailed logging and photographs are taken, the boxes to be sampled are secured to the core box lid, and flown by float plane to Goose Bay, where they are received by Sterling Metals personnel and brought to the secure core facility. Drill core was halved by sawing with a diamond saw blade and half core samples were placed in prelabelled clear sample bags with a unique sample ID tag, sealed with a zip tie, and then placed into rice bags sealed with security tags and securely stored until shipped by commercial transport to the ALS Geochemistry core preparation facility in Montreal, Que. ALS Geochemistry is an accredited laboratory certified under ISO 17025 standard.

For samples not containing native copper:

Preparation for these samples involves crushing them until 70 per cent successfully pass through a two-millimetre sieve, followed by the generation of a 250-gram subsample split using a riffle splitter. The remaining material is further processed to achieve an 85-per-cent passing rate through a 75-micrometre sieve. Subsequently, the samples undergo analysis using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), which provides a comprehensive understanding of sample composition with a suite of 48 elements included in the ICP package. Sample digestion is carried out using a specialized four-acid mixture, with a 0.4-gram aliquot. This method allows for the measurement of copper concentrations of up to 100,000 parts per million and silver concentrations of up to 200 ppm, which would prompt overlimit analysis.

For samples containing native copper:

Preparation for these samples involves crushing them until 70 per cent successfully pass through a two mm sieve, followed by the generation of a 1,000-gram subsample split using a riffle splitter. Subsequently, the entire 1,000-gram subsample undergoes screen metallic copper analysis. The minus fraction is then sent for ICP analysis to determine the full suite of 48-element concentrations.

A crushed marble blank, a certified OREAS copper standard and a core duplicate are systematically inserted into the sample analysis process. Furthermore, an extra blank sample is included immediately after any native copper samples. Analysis of the QA/QC results is performed upon receipt from the laboratory, along with analysis of ALS's internal QA/QC results, including pulp and reject duplicates.

Qualified person

Mr. Niemi, PGeo, senior vice-president, exploration and evaluation, for Sterling Metals, has reviewed and approved the technical information presented herein.

About Sterling Metals Corp.

Sterling Metals is a mineral exploration company focused on large-scale and high-grade Canadian exploration opportunities. The company is advancing the Adeline project in Labrador which covers an entire sediment-hosted copper belt, with demonstrated potential for important new copper discoveries with significant silver credits, and the Sail Pond project in Newfoundland.

We seek Safe Harbor.