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Stuhini Exploration Ltd. (TSXV: STU) (OTCQB: STXPF) (WKN: A2PLBV) ("Stuhini" or the "Company") is pleased to announce highly favourable metallurgical test results from a 1585 pound (719 kg) surface mini-bulk sample collected in September 2025 from the Silver Surprise Zone at its 100%-owned Ruby Creek Project, located 20 km east of Atlin, British Columbia.
"With multiple high-grade surface samples, the Silver Surprise Zone has always stood out as one of the most intriguing areas on the property," said Meredith Eades, President and CEO. "We're very pleased to see the metallurgical results confirm 95% silver recovery from a 1585 lb surface mini-bulk sample via direct smelting with a grade of 4,200 g/t silver. At a time when global demand for silver continues to rise — driven by investment interest and industrial uses like solar, electronics, and electrification, this is a significant strategic advantage."
Key Highlights:
- 1585 lb (719 kg) surface mini-bulk sample with a grade of 4,200 g/t silver (0.42% Ag), confirming very high-grade silver mineralization exposed at surface
- Gravity separation using a single pass on a Gemini shaking table recovered 15% of the contained silver and produced a 445-gram (14.3 troy ounce) refined silver bar (Figure 1)
- Direct smelting test achieved 95% silver recovery
- Tailings after gravity separation assayed 3,540 g/t silver
Why These Results Are Significant:
The 15% gravity recovery was achieved with a single, simple shaking-table pass — no chemicals and no re-processing of tailings. For coarse, native-silver-rich mineralization, this is a strong initial result and confirms a large portion of the silver is free and heavy.
More importantly, a separate direct-smelting test on the same material (crushed rock fed straight to a furnace) recovered 95% of the silver without any gravity pre-concentration or chemical reagents.
Direct smelting at 95% recovery is the standout outcome and could be a preferred processing route for this style of ultra-high-grade, quartz-hosted silver mineralization.
Figure 1: 445-gram (14.3 troy ounce) refined silver bar produced from the Silver Surprise mini-bulk sample via gravity table separation.
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Metallurgical Summary:
The 1585 lb (719 kg) mini-bulk sample was collected by hand from multiple exposed quartz-sulphide veins and processed under the direction of metallurgist Rino Mihoc of Ruby Gold Ltd. The sample was milled in a 3' x 3' Denver ball mill to 80% passing 50 mesh and concentrated on a 6' x 4' Gemini gravity concentrating table. The resulting concentrate from a single pass on the gravity table graded approximately 10% silver at a recovery rate of 15%. This concentrate was smelted and refined into a 445-gram silver bar.
A separate direct-smelting test on a representative sub-sample returned 95% silver recovery without chemical reagents or flotation. The high native silver content and simple quartz-hosted mineralogy make the mineralization particularly well-suited to this low-complexity processing route.
Next Steps:
The Silver Surprise Zone remains open along strike in both directions and at depth. The Company is planning follow-up prospecting and sampling in 2026 to potentially extend the zone at surface. A larger bulk sample or drilling program is also possible in 2026, subject to permitting.
Silver Surprise Zone - Description and Known Extent:
The Silver Surprise Zone hosts the highest silver grades identified to date on the Ruby Creek Property. Previous surface grab sampling returned 28 samples assaying between 1,000 g/t and 16,030 g/t silver, including four samples over 10,000 g/t silver (16,030 g/t Ag, 14,179 g/t Ag, 12,980 g/t Ag, and 12,294 g/t Ag). Visible native silver is common throughout the zone.
Mineralization occurs in at least three parallel, sub-vertical quartz-sulphide veins and vein-breccias hosted in granodiorite of the Late Cretaceous Surprise Lake Batholith. Individual veins are approximately 1 metre wide and currently exposed at surface semi-continuously over strike lengths of 180 m, 50 m, and 30 m respectively before passing beneath talus cover. The veins strike ~220° (southwest), lie within the broader Adera structural corridor, and remain open along strike in both directions and at depth.
Numerous high-grade silver float boulders have been found uphill from the known exposures, indicating excellent potential for additional parallel veins or up-slope extensions concealed beneath the talus.
Figure 2: Silver results in rock samples within the Silver Surprise Zone, showing the surface trace of the mineralized veins along with mapped fault/shear traces.
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Qualified Person
Mr. Nicholas Clive Aspinall, M.Sc., P.Eng., is a consulting geologist to Stuhini Exploration and is a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Aspinall has verified the data disclosed in this press release, including the sampling, analytical and test data underlying the technical information, and has approved the technical information contained herein.
About the Ruby Creek Project
The 29,734-hectare, road-accessible Ruby Creek Project is located 20 km east of Atlin, British Columbia. The property hosts the Ruby Creek Molybdenum Deposit containing a measured and indicated pit-constrained resource of 433 million pounds of molybdenum (March 15, 2022), as well as 48 documented mineral occurrences including 16 gold-related showings and 7 significant placer creeks.
In addition to the high-grade Silver Surprise Zone, Stuhini has identified three other priority silver targets — Daybreak, Adera, and Ruffner — together forming a cluster of silver prospects surrounding and along trend from the molybdenum deposit (Figure 3). Anomalous tungsten and antimony mineralization further enhance the critical-minerals potential of the tenure. This combination of a large, permitted-scale molybdenum resource surrounded by multiple high-grade silver and critical-metal targets sets Ruby Creek apart as a rare multi-commodity opportunity in western Canada.
Figure 3: Ruby Creek Project overview showing Silver Surprise, Daybreak, Adera, and Ruffner silver targets in relation to the Ruby Creek molybdenum deposit and proposed open pit.
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About Stuhini Exploration Ltd.
Stuhini is a mineral exploration company focused on exploration and development of precious and base metals properties in western Canada. The Company's portfolio of exploration properties includes the flagship Ruby Creek Property, 16 km east of Atlin, BC; the Big Ledge Property, 57 km south of Revelstoke, BC.
For further information on Stuhini, visit our website at www.stuhini.com or contact:
Meredith Eades
President & CEO
meades@stuhini.com
604.360.4668
Twitter: @STUexploration
LinkedIn: Stuhini Exploration
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: statements regarding the interpretation of metallurgical test results from the Silver Surprise Zone; the proposed 2026 exploration program, including channel sampling, mapping, larger-scale bulk sampling, or drilling; and the broader development and exploration potential of the Ruby Creek Project.
Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions believed by the Company to be reasonable at the time of preparation. These include, but are not limited to: the accuracy and representativeness of the bulk sample; that laboratory results and metallurgical recoveries reflect field-scale conditions; that permitting and logistical conditions will allow for follow-up work; that commodity prices and capital markets will remain supportive; and that the Company will have continued access to financing, technical expertise, and regulatory approvals.
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These risks include, but are not limited to: the possibility that bulk sample results may not be representative of the broader zone; changes in silver prices or market sentiment; exploration or operational challenges; delays in permitting or field access; and broader economic, environmental, or geopolitical disruptions.
Although Stuhini believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance they will prove to be correct. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/276382
