Star Copper begins step-out drilling at Star Main for northeast extension

Company adds second drill rig to advance 15,000-metre program VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / July 7, 2026 / Star Copper Corp. (CSE:STCU)(OTCQX:STCUF)(FWB:SOP) ("Star Copper" or the "Company"), a critical minerals exploration and development company, is pleased to announce the mobilization of a second drill rig as a scheduled component of the 15,000-metre (m) drill program at its Copper-Gold Porphyry Star Project located within the well-known Golden Triangle and Golden Horseshoe regions of British Columbia. The fully funded 2026 drill campaign was designed to focus on first pass and follow-up drilling across Star Main and four key exploration target areas (Star North, Copper Creek, Star East, and Star West). Current drill scheduling now focuses activity to test a northeastern extension at the Star Main target area, and is designed to evaluate the continuation of hypogene mineralization beyond 100m to the east of historic drill hole S-025, which intersected 269m grading 0.42% copper and 0.198 g/t gold and remains one of the strongest historical drill holes completed within the northeastern portion of the Star system. 1 Since hypogene processes occur deep below the Earth's surface and tend to form deposits of primary minerals, as opposed to supergene processes that occur at or near the surface and tend to form secondary minerals, Star Copper believes the evidence to-date represents a compelling resource expansion opportunity, with historical drilling, alteration patterns, and geophysical signatures suggesting the Star Main system remains open to the northeast and may extend well beyond the currently defined mineralized footprint.

Star Copper CEO, Darryl Jones notes, "The case for a strong hypogene system to aide in building a geologic constrained resource model points us directly northeast of known drilling into a region that has seen little modern exploration. Our management, advisory, and technical teams all see a significant opportunity to not only extend the Star Main project area but also unlock new targets to add to the overall porphyry model. Hypogene processes represent the backbone of these types of systems, and we firmly believe in the model and approach." The planned drilling (see Figure 1) will test interpreted extensions of the mineralized porphyry corridor along strike and at depth, targeting coincident magnetic and chargeability anomalies that have never been adequately drill-tested.

Hole S-063 is being drilled 60m east of hole S-054A which was drilled on the eastern margin of the Star Main system to test a coincident magnetic and IP chargeability anomaly and evaluate continuity from the strong results from historic hole S-025. The drill hole successfully confirmed widespread copper-gold mineralization and refined the structural and alteration model in an area considered important for future resource opportunity. Hole S-054A intersected 183 metres grading 0.28% CuEq (0.23% Cu and 0.06 g/t Au) from 26 metres, including 108 metres of 0.36% CuEq from 106 metres and 45 metres of 0.47% CuEq from 137 metres (see news release of January 13, 2026). 1 Historical data compiled and reviewed in the Company's NI 43-101 Technical Report titled NATIONAL INSTRUMENT 43-101 TECHNICAL REPORT ON THE STAR PROJECT, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA with an effective date of November 7, 2022, prepared by Jeremy Hanson, P.Geo.