Ms. Isabelle Proulx reports

STELMINE INCREASES SIGNIFICANTLY THE LENGTH OF THE GOLD-BEARING CORRIDOR AT MERCATOR

Stelmine Canada Ltd. has acquired the Minuapan property, totalling 69 square kilometres, through staking. The decision stems from the 2023 exploration work leading to the discovery of geochemical anomalies suggesting a new 10-kilometre-long mineralized zone located 45 kilometres southwest of the Mercator gold-bearing corridor (DDH 2022 -- 2.62 grams per tonne gold (Au) over 17.8 metres -- Jan. 27, 2023).

The reason to explore this new zone and to stake for additional claims are based on several factors.

1. Historical data as:

• EM anomalies generated by a Falconbridge airborne survey flown in 2000 suggesting a mineralized zone;
• A 0.6-gram-per-tonne gold (Au) showing described by Falconbridge (2000);
• The occurrence of numerous pluri-metric iron formation layers discovered by Falconbridge (2000) and Stelmine (2023).

2. Stelmine results

The 2023 exploration work aimed for finding extensions to the Meridian zone and resulted in the discovery of six zones (October 11, 2023 PR). One of these, Minuapan, particularly provided interesting results, which also led to the acquisition of the property:

• 15-kilogram till samples revealed up to 15 gold grains from the heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) yielding 219 parts per billion (ppb) Au;
• Grab rock samples from outcrops and erratic boulders generated anomalous Au (0.24 to 0.47 gram per tonne Au) and arsenic (As) (896 to 4,800 ppm As) concentrations.

There are generally five criteria used to evaluate the prospectivity of a mining property. Commonly the presence of three of these criteria warrants further exploration. Minuapan does present the five criteria defined as such:

• The exposure of geological units with a potential to hold the desired commodity;
• A significant geophysical signature (EM-MAG-IP);
• Complex structural patterns (regional faulting, folding);
• Grab rock samples having anomalous concentrations of the desired commodity;
• Anomalous concentrations of the desired commodity in the secondary environment (lake sediments and tills).

Moreover the results from the 2023 exploration campaign also indicated a possible extension of gold mineralization on the Mercator property. Channel sampling of the Baloo showing produced 12 out of 31 analyzes with gold values over 0.1 gram per tonne (g/t), the highest reaching 1.41 g/t. The Baloo showing exposes silicate iron formations similar to that occurring in the Meridian zone located 2.7 kilometres to the south. Moreover, a geophysical survey completed during the summer of 2023 yielded high chargeability (over 30 millivolts per volt (mv/V)) and low resistivity (less than 500 Ohm per m) anomalies at depth. More work should be performed on this new zone to unearth more mineralized outcrops which would justify investigations at depth.

While exploring metasedimentary terranes outside the gold-bearing Meridian zone on Mercator, Stelmine has discovered new high-potential gold zones associated with iron formations having similar composition and geophysical signatures to that of Meridian IF. This fact vindicates the company's decision to investigate the under-explored Opinaca metasedimentary subprovince in the Caniapiscau district and strengthens the high discovery potential of precious and base metals and critical minerals.

QA/QC (quality assurance/quality control) protocol for till samples

Fifteen-kilogram till samples are commonly collected from the C-horizon at a 30 to 100 centimetres (cm) depth using a clean auger or shovel. The sample is cleaned of coarse pebbles (greater than sixteen millimetres) and organic material, such as roots. The sampled material is put in single use rice bag that is sealed with plastic cable ties and numbered. For each sample collected, the sample number, UTM co-ordinates obtained with a portable GPS, and a brief description are systematically recorded on an electronic tablet by the geologist. The samples are then transported to base camp, then put in larger rice bags and kept securely in a field tent before being sent by floatplane to the city of Wabush. The 15-kilogram samples are sent to the ODM laboratory in Ottawa, Ont. Gold grains and other minerals are counted from the heavy mineral concentrate. The HMC is then shipped to the Actlabs laboratory in Ancaster Ontario to be analyzed by INAA and aqua regia-ICP methods (codes 3A and 3C).

Stelmine implements a strict QA/QC protocol in the manipulation of till samples collected. A clean metal shovel is used to dig through the topmost soil layers and to sample the glacial till (C-horizon) at a depth of between 30 to 130 cm. Roughly one kg of till is collected. The sample is cleaned of coarse pebbles (greater than 16mm) and organic material, such as roots. The sampled material is put in single use rice bag that is sealed with plastic cable ties and then numbered. For each sample collected, the sample number, UTM co-ordinates obtained with a portable GPS and a brief description are systematically recorded on an electronic tablet by the geologist. The samples are then transported to base camp, dried for at least 48 hours, then put in larger rice bags and kept securely in a field tent before being sent by floatplane to the city of Wabush. Transport to the Actlabs laboratories in Ancaster, Ont., is done by truck using dependable transport companies. Gold and other elements are analyzed by the INAA plus ICP_OES (code 1H) method.

Qualified person

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Michel Boily, PGeo, PhD, and a company director. Mr. Boily is the qualified person responsible for the scientific and technical information contained herein under National Instrument 43-101 standards.

About Stelmine Canada Ltd.

Stelmine is a junior mining exploration company pioneering a new gold district (Caniapiscau) east of James Bay in the underexplored eastern part of the Opinaca metasedimentary basin where the geological context has similarities to the Eleonore mine, located very close to the contact of this basin. Stelmine has 100-per-cent ownership of 1,815 claims or 933 square kilometres in this part of Northern Quebec, highlighted by the Courcy and Mercator projects.

We seek Safe Harbor.