2024 drilling reveals untapped copper zones across Arctic Chief Trend.

Gladiator Metals Corp. Dec. 16 announced promising drill results from its maiden exploration program along the Arctic Chief Trend in Yukon, Canada, revealing significant copper-gold mineralization across two key prospects and a newly recognized mineralization style that could reshape exploration efforts across the company's Whitehorse Copper project.

Located just outside of Yukon's capital city, the 5,280-hectare (13,294-acre) Whitehorse Copper project lies within the historically productive 35-kilometer (22-mile) by five-kilometer (three-mile) Whitehorse Copper Belt, which produced roughly 267.5 million pounds of copper, 225,000 ounces of gold, and 2.84 million ounces of silver between 1967 and 1982.

Kicking off its 2024 exploration campaign in May, Gladiator Metals began drilling at the Middle Chief target within the Chiefs Trend before shifting focus to Cowley Park, where 5,623 meters of drilling were completed across 32 holes. The broader 13,000-meter program also included 1,500 meters at Chiefs Trend, 1,500 meters at Best Chance, and 2,500 meters at Arctic Chief.

Throughout the year, drilling has highlighted the continuity and expansion potential at these targets. At Cowley Park, results confirmed near-surface, high-grade copper mineralization, while early assays from Chiefs Trend revealed significant widths of copper-gold skarn.

This momentum now shifts to Arctic Chief, where maiden drilling has unveiled promising new opportunities.

"The discovery of previously unrecognized, broad widths of mineralization at two separate prospects highlights the lack of systematic exploration coverage across our 35 kilometre long Whitehorse Copper project," said Gladiator Metals CEO Jason Bontempo. "This early success indicates the potential of the district now that it is being targeted by a well funded, dedicated technical team for the first time since mine closure in the 1980's."

Encompassing the Arctic Chief and Best Chance prospects, the Arctic Chief Trend has emerged as a new focal point for Gladiator. Early drilling at these sites has not only confirmed significant copper-gold mineralization but also revealed a previously unrecognized style of silicate skarn mineralization.

This newly identified silicate-rich skarn mineralization, distinct from the magnetite-copper skarns historically targeted in the region, opens up broader exploration opportunities across the Arctic Chief Trend and the wider Whitehorse Copper project.

Gladiator Metals Corp.

Plan map of the Arctic Chief Trend highlighting copper-gold skarn targets and recently returned drill results in yellow.

Initial drilling highlights include:

• 52 meters averaging 0.75% copper and 0.28 grams per metric ton gold from a depth of 142 meters in hole ACG-005, including 30 meters averaging 1.03% copper and 0.33 g/t gold (Arctic Chief).

• Two meters averaging 2.38% copper and 2.19 g/t gold from 103 meters in ACG-002 (Arctic Chief).

• 43 meters averaging 0.65% copper from 16 meters in ACG-007, including 19 meters averaging 1.05% copper (Best Chance).

• 52 meters averaging 0.37% copper from 24 meters in ACG-007D2 (Best Chance).

The maiden drilling program at the Arctic Chief Trend was designed to test several promising exploration concepts. This included assessing the resource potential of near-surface high-grade copper mineralization around the previously mined Arctic Chief open pit and conducting a first pass of the recently mapped Best Chance prospect.

At Best Chance, an approximately 450-meter-long magnetic high identified through drone aeromagnetic surveys was targeted for its potential to host copper-magnetite skarn mineralization.

The program also aimed to explore significant extensions to known high-grade mineralization, test sub-parallel trends, and evaluate the resource potential of copper-silicate skarn mineralization situated between the granite contact and historically mined zones.

Additionally, the drill program sought to better understand the economic potential of co-products such as gold, which had been inconsistently assayed in historical drilling.

Comprising 13 holes totaling 2,441 meters, Gladiator's 2024 drilling program at the Arctic Chief Trend included six holes at Arctic Chief and seven at Best Chance.

While assay results from all the completed holes have provided key insights into the mineralization potential of these prospects, follow-up drilling in 2025 will further test the continuity and grade of these zones.

This includes targeting higher-grade copper-magnetite skarn mineralization identified within the broader envelope of lower-grade copper-silicate skarns.

"Our fully funded 2025 exploration program will include follow up drilling designed to target higher grade mineralized zones within the broader envelope of lower grade copper-skarn mineralization," said Bontempo.

Building on the success of the 2024 program, Gladiator plans additional exploration in early 2025, including induced polarization (IP) surveys and shallow drilling to further delineate higher-grade copper-magnetite skarn zones within the Arctic Chief Trend while expanding the broad widths of silicate skarn mineralization discovered in the region.