Gunnison Copper Corp (TSX:GCU, OTCQB:GCUMF, FRA:3XS0) announced that it has completed all planned metallurgical drilling at its Gunnison deposit in Arizona and expanded its metallurgical testing program as it prepares to ramp up its 2026 district-wide drilling campaign.
The company currently has two drill rigs operating at the Gunnison Copper Project, with metallurgical drilling now underway at the Strong & Harris deposit. Core samples from the completed Gunnison drilling have been submitted to independent laboratories for analysis.
Gunnison has increased its planned column leach testing from 270 to 405 tests, with 68 currently in progress. The program also now includes 63 flotation tests to assess the recovery of copper, zinc and silver from sulfide ores.
The broader 2026 program calls for up to 120 drill holes totaling approximately 138,000 feet (42,000 metres), representing an investment of more than US$15 million. To date, seven holes totaling 7,950 feet (2,420 metres) have been completed.
The program includes up to 36 metallurgical holes totaling approximately 33,000 feet (10,000 metres), with the remaining drilling focused on resource expansion, resource conversion and exploration across the Gunnison and Strong & Harris deposits.
Construction of a new core logging and storage facility is expected to be completed in September, after which Gunnison plans to increase the number of active drill rigs from two to six.
The company expects the expanded campaign to test extensions of known mineralization, upgrade inferred resources toward measured and indicated classifications and further evaluate the district-scale mineralized system.
Craig Hallworth, Gunnison's CEO, said that completing the initial metallurgical drilling at Gunnison and advancing work at Strong & Harris are “important milestones” for the company's efforts to optimize the project and expand its resource base.
“With six drill rigs expected to be operating in September, we'll significantly increase the pace of drilling as we begin an exciting phase focused on expanding and upgrading the resource base,” Hallworth said.
Hallworth also highlighted the potential for additional mineral resources and byproduct recovery as the program progresses.
“We believe the district offers exceptional potential to add additional mineral resources, as well as the possibility of recovering payable zinc and silver byproduct credits, and we look forward to sharing preliminary results as they become available later this year,” he wrote.
Gunnison expects to publish preliminary results from the 2026 district-wide drilling program in the fourth quarter of 2026, with full results anticipated in mid-2027.