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Gladiator Metals Corp. reported high-grade assay results from diamond core drilling completed at the Cowley prospect, located within its 100 percent owned Whitehorse Copper Project in Yukon, Canada. Exploration drilling on the Southern Limb intersected a thick interval of skarn-hosted copper mineralization in hole C-26-015, returning 36.0 metres grading 2.63 percent copper from a downhole depth of 82.0 metres. The intercept included an internal high-grade core measuring 20.0 metres grading 3.61 percent copper from 94.0 metres downhole, confirming the presence of robust semi-massive to massive chalcopyrite and bornite mineralisation.
A parallel diamond drill hole, C-26-016, collared to test the lateral extension of the Southern Limb, returned an additional substantial intercept of 52.2 metres grading 1.17 percent copper from 70.8 metres downhole. This intercept included 14.5 metres grading 2.21 percent copper from 82.5 metres, demonstrating remarkable structural consistency and thickness across adjacent drilling fences. The reported intercepts demonstrate that the Cowley prospect hosts cohesive near-surface mineralisation with exceptional grade continuity along strike and down dip.
The analytical results form part of Gladiator Metals' extensive 2026 exploration campaign across the 35-kilometre-long Whitehorse Copper Belt. The company has completed more than 16,000 metres of diamond core drilling year-to-date, targeting high-grade skarns developed along contacts between mid-Cretaceous granodiorite plutons and Upper Triassic Lewes River Group carbonate sediments. Historical mining in the belt extracted more than 10 million tonnes of copper ore, but modern systematic diamond drilling is now identifying unmined extensions and virgin high-grade lenses that were bypassed by historical shallow workings.
The Whitehorse Copper Project benefits from top-tier logistical infrastructure, situated adjacent to all-weather paved highways, high-voltage hydroelectric transmission lines and the territorial capital of Whitehorse. Gladiator Metals is using the assay results from Cowley to refine its subsurface 3D wireframe models as part of an ongoing initiative to deliver an inaugural National Instrument 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate for the property. Multi-rig drilling will continue to evaluate high-priority skarn targets across the property throughout the remainder of 2026.