Stelmine Canada announced results of 1,950 m of diamond drilling from 13 holes collared in the Meridian Zone of the Mercator property, located in Caniapiscau mining district (Quebec). This first phase of exploration drilling confirms an important gold mineralized system extending at least 1.7km X 500 m to a depth of 200 m. The best core intercepts were 17.8 m at 2.62 g/t Au m, incl. 5.6m at 4.87 g/t Au (Hole MCT22-08) and 9.75 m at 1.13 g/t Au, incl.

1.70 m at 3.21 g/t Au (Hole MCT22-03). Hole MCT22-08 providing the best gold intersection was the only hole drilled under a 500 m x 200 m area characterized by high chargeability values where most of the surface high gold assays were obtained in grab and channel samples. Stelmine intends to focus its upcoming drilling campaign on this particular sector.

5 of the 13 drillholes yielded significant intersections with gold values > 1.0 g/t ranging from 1.45 to 17.80 m in apparent thickness and depths varying from 9 to 194 m. The grade and extent of the mineralization confirm the significant surface gold data obtained since 2018 from grab and channel samples yielding 15% of gold values > 1.0 g/t and 41% over 200 ppb. At the core of the property (Meridian Zone), 22 channel sites provided gold values ranging from 3.0 m at 0.88 g/t to 27.5 m at 2.07 g/t Au. There is a strong correlation in drillcore gold intercepts and low resistivity/high chargeability zones.

Several of these IP-derived anomalies are yet to be drilled, especially in the southwestern Meridian Zone. Furthermore, access to the most promising drilling sites on the southwestern area of the Meridian Zone was hampered par the steep denivelation and several targets were not drilled during the current program but will be investigated in the upcoming 2023 drill campaign. A new IP/Resistivity survey with 100 m line spacing is also planned to better define its drill targets.

Compelling results from Mercator over the last 2 years prompted Stelmine to acquire 165 new adjacent claims. The extended land package covers a sedimentary basin with similar geological and structural characteristics found in the original Mercator property providing Stelmine with a unique highly prospective portfolio in an under-explored terrain. Indeed, outside the immediate Meridian Zone, limited grab rock and channel sampling from moderately to strongly magnetic mafic granulitic assemblages generated anomalous Au (up to 0.5 g/t) and As (up to 4,000 ppm) hinting at a larger mineralized system than previously thought. Gold mineralization at Mercator occurs within faulted and folded granulite facies mafic rocks (basalts and gabbros) and iron formations (?) interlayered with a thick assemblage of migmatized paragneiss forming a large sedimentary basin within the La Grande/Opinaca subprovinces.

Löllingite/arsenopyrite, pyrrhotite, pyrite, and chalcopyrite are the principal sulphide minerals associated with gold. The Meridian Zone displays shallow dipping mineralized slabs along a ridge bounded by important low angle thrust faults.