White Cliff Minerals (ASX:WCN) extends copper structure at Stark with new assay results

White Cliff Minerals’ latest drilling results from the Stark prospect within the Rae Copper Project in Nunavut provide further definition to what is emerging as a district scale sediment hosted copper system.

The company has released assays from the maiden diamond drilling program at Stark and Hulk, with the information adding clarity to the geological controls operating across the northern project area.

The results contribute meaningfully to an evolving interpretation of mineralisation associated with the redox boundary between Rae Group sediments and underlying basement units.

Highlights

• STK25003 returned 25m at 0.6 per cent copper from 240m downhole including 1m at 5.7 per cent copper from 254m.

• STK25003 is located approximately 500m south of STK25001.

• STK25001 returned 7m at 0.4 per cent copper and 3.5m at 7.2 per cent copper in the basement below the redox boundary.

• Electromagnetic survey data has been collected and is currently being processed and interpreted.

• The target horizon remains untested to the east and north.

• A Spring 2026 drilling program is being planned.

The latest assays underscore the technical importance of the redox boundary at Stark, a geological contact where Rae Group sediments meet the Husky Creek Formation.

This interface represents an ideal chemical trap for copper deposition, a setting typical of stratiform copper systems, and confirming this chemical gradient is valuable because it provides a key vector to ore and helps refine targeting parameters for subsequent drilling.

The work undertaken is further positioning the Rae Project within the broader category of sediment hosted and volcanic related copper systems already known elsewhere within the tenement package.

STK25003 intersected mineralisation immediately below the redox boundary beginning at 240m, matching expectations for reduced facies stratigraphy identified in earlier drilling.

STK25001 meanwhile confirmed mineralisation above the horizon, reinforcing the prospectivity of both the sediments and the basement units.

As illustrated in the cross sections within the company’s announcement, the geological relationship between the targeted contact and copper bearing zones is becoming increasingly well defined as drilling progresses.

White Cliff Minerals also highlights that areas to the east and north of these holes remain untested, leaving considerable scope for follow up.

The regional context adds further dimension, with the company noting that sediment hosted copper deposits supply approximately 20 per cent of global copper production and that reduced facies deposits average 1.4 per cent copper based on USGS grade tonnage models.

The Rae Project is interpreted as having more than 70km of prospective strike where reduced marine sediments overlie volcanic units and red bed sandstones, creating conditions favourable for stratiform mineralisation.

Early drilling configuration issues meant several holes did not reach the desired horizon, but the company states that these holes still yielded important geological information that has strengthened the vertical model and enhanced definition of the upper Rae Group stratigraphy.

In describing the implications of the new results, Managing Director Troy Whittaker commented:

“The results from STK25003 continue to build the geological story at Stark, confirming that a significant copper system is developing along the unconformity between the Rae Group sediments and the underlying basement rocks.”

Operationally, the company reports that rigs performed safely and efficiently, achieving depths beyond 500 metres and demonstrating capability to continue targeting the redox boundary in future programs.

With a rig secured on site at the Hope Lake Camp and prepayments completed for the next phase, the company is positioned to recommence drilling without delay when conditions allow.

The latest assays provide continuity to White Cliff Minerals’ emerging geological model at Stark and contribute incremental confidence to the broader Rae Copper Project.

With electromagnetic survey data awaiting interpretation and the mineralised horizon still open to the east and north, the next phase of drilling in Spring 2026 is expected to offer further clarity on scale and continuity.

Within the context of the company’s strategy across both sediment hosted and volcanic related copper systems, the results provide additional technical foundations for future exploration planning.

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