Sun Summit Provides Exploration Update from the JD Project in BC's Toodoggone District; over 5,000 Meters of Drilling Completed at the Creek Zone
Rhea-AI Summary
Sun Summit (OTCQB: SMREF) reported progress on its 2026 exploration program at the JD Project in British Columbia’s Toodoggone District. Over 5,100 meters of drilling across 13 holes have been completed at the Creek zone, with nine additional holes planned to test near-surface high-grade and bulk-tonnage gold mineralization.
One drill rig has moved to the Finn zone, where up to 19 holes and ~5,100 meters of drilling are planned. A 740-line km MobileMT airborne survey over the project has been completed, with data due mid-July 2026. Results from the 2026 drilling are expected to support an inaugural mineral resource estimate targeted for Q1 2027. Drilling and complementary exploration are anticipated to continue into early October, and more than 1,400 core samples from Creek have already been shipped for assay.
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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 14, 2026) - Sun Summit Minerals Corp. (TSXV: SMN) (OTCQB: SMREF) ("Sun Summit" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update from its ongoing project-wide 2026 exploration program at the Company's JD Project, Toodoggone Mining District, north-central British Columbia (the "JD Project").
Highlights:
- Drilling nearly complete at the Creek zone: Over 5,100 meters of drilling have been completed across thirteen holes at the Creek zone using two drill rigs, with an additional 9 holes planned. The holes were designed as both step-out and infill drill holes to investigate the extent and continuity of near-surface, high-grade and bulk-tonnage gold mineralization. Highlight intercepts from 2025 drilling at the Creek zone include 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 25th, 2025, News Release).
- One drill rig has been moved to the Finn zone where up to nineteen drill holes are planned: The holes were designed as step-out, infill and exploration drill holes to investigate the extent and continuity of near-surface bulk-tonnage gold-silver mineralization. Highlight intercept from 2025 include 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 22nd, 2026, News Release).
- Focused and Systematic Drill Program: Results from the completed 2026 drill program are expected to contribute to an inaugural mineral resource estimate planned for Q1 of 2027.
- Project-wide exploration activities focused on drill target refinement are ongoing, including:
- 740-line km of Mobile MagnetoTelluric ("MobileMT") airborne geophysical survey completed across the JD Project at a nominal line spacing of 250 meters designed to investigate the scale of alteration zones of known targets as well as identify new target areas. Final data deliverables are expected in mid-July 2026.
- Additional Induced polarization (IP) geophysical surveying will be planned subject to refinement of targets once the MobileMT survey data has been received and integrated into the property-wide geophysical compilation with particular emphasis along the JD Porphyry Trend.
- Geological mapping, geochemical and geochronological studies are ongoing across the greater JD Project with the aim of refining the ages and controls on the epithermal and porphyry systems. These data will be used to place key magmatic and mineralization events at the JD Project into the greater Toodoggone district metallogenic framework.
"Our 2026 program has gotten off to a strong start," said Niel Marotta, CEO of Sun Summit Minerals. "Both drill rigs have seen excellent core production under good ground conditions, and the early start this season has put us ahead of schedule. We have shipped more than 1,400 core samples to the lab from five completed holes, with more on the way. We look forward to reporting initial results from the Creek Zone in the coming weeks."
2026 JD Exploration Program
The primary exploration goals at JD in 2026 are to advance and expand the Creek and Finn gold-silver targets with the aim to prepare an inaugural mineral resource estimate by Q1 2027. In addition, geological mapping, new geochronological age dating and airborne MobileMT geophysical data will assist to generate and refine new priority targets across the project. New priority targets have been identified along the highly prospective 4.5 km long epithermal-related Finn to Creek corridor, as well as the 12 km long JD Porphyry trend.
Drilling update:
Over 5,100 meters of drilling has been completed at the Creek zone with holes collared along the known 500-meter northwest-southeast trend. Drill holes are designed to investigate the extent and continuity of near-surface, high-grade and bulk-tonnage gold mineralization. Individual holes are designed to systematically test the vein-controlling structures on 60-meter pierce-points covering a strike-length of over 500 meters and a down-dip extent of over 200 meters.
The first hole of 2026 at the Finn Zone has been collared, and drilling is underway. Up to 5,100 meters of drilling is planned at the Finn zone with holes designed to investigate the down-dip, strike extent and continuity of near-surface, high-grade and bulk-tonnage gold-silver mineralization. Drilling at Finn is designed to investigate the structural and/or lithological controls on deeper gold-associated, silver-rich mineralization and probe potential feeder zones at depth.
Timeline:
Drilling and complementary exploration activities are anticipated to continue into early October. Drill core samples from the first five holes at Creek zone have now been submitted to the lab for assay analyses. Results will be released once compiled and interpreted.
Figure 1. 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 QP 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.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6142/305079_e9f850d484d8cbff_001full.jpg
Figure 2. Map of the JD Project showing the broad JD Porphyry trend and the epithermal-related Finn to Creek Corridor. Key targets are highlighted.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6142/305079_e9f850d484d8cbff_002full.jpg
Figure 3. Plan map highlighting the ~4.5 km Creek to Finn Corridor showing drill collar locations as well as results from recent and historical rock and soil geochemical surveys (see October 29th, 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.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6142/305079_e9f850d484d8cbff_003full.jpg
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. Some technical information contained in this 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.
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 JD 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.
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 (TSXV: SMN) (OTCQB: SMREF) 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, and Orbit Project in the prolific Toodoggone region of north-central BC, and the Buck Project in central B.C.
Further details are available at www.sunsummitminerals.com.
References
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Sun Summit Minerals news release November 25, 2025
- Sun Summit Minerals news release January 22, 2026
- Sun Summit Minerals news release October 29, 2025
Link to Figures
Figure 1: https://wp-sunsummitminerals-2024.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/2026/05/SunSummit_JDProjectOwnership_2026-scaled.jpg
Figure 2: https://wp-sunsummitminerals-2024.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/2026/07/SMN_JD_Targets_20260713.jpg
Figure 3: https://wp-sunsummitminerals-2024.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/2026/05/2026_JD_Plans_Figure1_20260502-scaled.jpg
On behalf of the board of directors
Niel Marotta
Chief Executive Officer & Director
info@sunsummitminerals.com
For further information, contact:
Matthew Benedetto, Simone Capital
mbenedetto@simonecapital.ca
Tel. 416-817-1226
Forward-Looking Information
Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements, which involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition, the forward-looking statements require management to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There is significant risk that the forward-looking statements will not prove to be accurate, that the management's assumptions may not be correct and that actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Generally forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as "anticipate", "will", "expect", "may", "continue", "could", "estimate", "forecast", "plan", "potential" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release may include, but are not limited to, the timing of and size and scope of the drill program at the JD Project; the Company's expectation that results from the 2026 drill program will contribute to an inaugural mineral resource estimate and the timing of any such estimate; the advancement of exploration targets at the JD Project; the anticipated completion, interpretation and utilization of geophysical, geological, geochemical and geochronological studies, including MobileMT and potential IP surveys; and the Company's exploration plans, expectations and forecasts. These forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions which may prove to be incorrect which, without limiting the generality of the following, include: the Company's ability to complete the drill program as currently contemplated; risks inherent in exploration activities; volatility and sensitivity to market prices; volatility and sensitivity to capital market fluctuations; and fluctuations in metal prices. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof or the dates specifically referenced in this press release, where applicable. Except as required by applicable securities laws and regulation, Sun Summit disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/305079