Storm discovers VMS system at Gold Standard; stock reacts  – Richard Mills

It only took Storm Exploration (TSXV:STRM) five holes to prove its working thesis that volcanogenic massive sulfides (VMS) are present at its Gold Standard Project 60 km north of Fort Frances, Ontario.

Storm’s Sept. 23 news release highlights 1,000 meters in five holes drilled so far at Gold Standard. 1,500 meters in 10 holes are planned.

Storm starts drilling massive VMS target at Gold Standard, Ontario — Richard Mills

Drilling spans 1.9 km of the VMS target’s 7-km strike length.

All holes have intersected disseminated and/or semi-massive to massive sulfide mineralization.

The presence of chalcopyrite (a copper sulfide mineral) and sphalerite (a zinc sulfide mineral) has been confirmed in all holes.

“This is an important exploration milestone,” Storm’s President and CEO Bruce Counts said. “Storm has identified a new VMS occurrence with confirmed critical minerals and significant size potential.”

 “These results demonstrate that the entire 7 km of the conductivity anomaly is prospective. Given the exploration potential at Gold Standard, a comprehensive phased program of exploration, including geophysics, geochemistry and systematic drilling, is being planned.”

Shareholders reacted favorably to the news, with STRM gaining as much as 20%, Wednesday before leveling off at about +9%.

Airborne and ground electromagnetic VLF-EM surveys have outlined a conductivity anomaly that is continuous over 7 km.

The anomaly is 50 to 100 meters wide and indicates strong potential for subsurface sulfide mineralization. We know this because Inco drilled four shallow holes on the property back in 1969 and 1970. Every hole intersected sulfide mineralization, including copper and zinc sulfides.

Two holes intersected semi-continuous sulfides over 20 meters.

However, Inco never assayed the core because their focus was strictly on nickel.

Storm Exploration: Forgotten Inco VMS Target Offers Massive Potential Leverage for 2026

The property comprises 373 mineral claims covering 7,869 hectares and lies within the Manitou-Stormy Lakes Greenstone Belt along the Manitou Stretch-Pipestone Lake Deformation Zone, a large crustal structure that spans over 60 km along its strike and up to 3 km in width.

Storm’s Gold Standard Project is also home to three historical gold mines that were operational between 1901 and 1903. Surface rock samples collected by Storm in 2022 near the HW-271 mine, on the southern end of the property, have returned impressive high-grade gold values, such as 166 grams per tonne, 88.6 g/t and 83.4 g/t and 1.47% copper as well.

Drill program

Initial results from the drill program confirm the presence of a previously unrecognized VMS system. Historically, VMS deposits have been an important source of critical minerals, accounting for up to 6% of global copper production and 22% of global zinc production.

Storm has completed 1,000m in 5 drill holes over 1.9 km of strike length (Figure 1) and has intersected broad intervals of disseminated, massive, semi-massive, and stringer/vein sulfide mineralization. The sulfides are hosted within a variably textured, bi-modal volcanic sequence featuring extensive silicification, quartz-chlorite-sericite-(+/-) garnet alteration as well as chert exhalative zones.

Sulfide mineralization, including pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and sphalerite, has been confirmed in core from all drill holes and appear to be stacked in zones that coincide with geological contacts between mafic and felsic volcanic units.

Drilling is targeting a strong conductivity anomaly that was first identified by an airborne Versatile Time Domain Electromagnetic (VTEM) survey. Subsequent ground Very Low Frequency Electromagnetic (VLF-EM) surveys have refined the target to show variably dipping, strong conductive bodies.

This first phase of drilling is testing 1.8 km of the 3-km north-south-striking limb of the conductivity anomaly. The 4 km east-west-striking limb of the anomaly remains untested (Figure 2).

Storm has also engaged the services of professional geologist and exploration consultant, Dr. Stephen Piercey, PhD, P.Geo., FGC, to review the technical details of the project and help inform the company’s approach to exploration going forward. A site visit and core review is planned for the coming days.

Dr. Piercey is an award-winning geologist with over 25 years of experience focused on VMS deposits. He has a deep understanding of VMS systems having worked, researched, and consulted in numerous VMS districts in North America (e.g., Finlayson Lake District, Yukon; Ambler District, Alaska; Flin Flon District, Manitoba; Abitibi Greenstone Belt, Ontario; Tally Pond, Buchans-Roberts Arm, Springdale, and Baie Verte belts, Canadian Appalachians).

Dr. Piercey is a university research professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at Memorial University of Newfoundland and a professional geoscientist in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and British Columbia.

Next steps

Detailed core logging and processing is currently underway in Thunder Bay. A summary of the drill program and the geology of each hole will be provided when logging is complete.

Assay results are expected early in the new year.

Under the Spotlight – Bruce Counts, CEO Storm Exploration TSXV:STRM

Conclusion

Today’s results confirm my initial thoughts that Stom has come across a unicorn: an undiscovered massive sulfide deposit hiding in plain sight.

Which is huge.

Clearly investors agree with me. They bid up STRM shares as high as $0.66, a 52-week high, before the stock settled back to $0.58. Still a great day for Storm and its team.

There is potential for much greater share price appreciation if further drilling confirms that Gold Standard hosts a VMS deposit that could be monster-sized. The shares trading at a current $0.58 represent a sizeable delta for share price appreciation.

Moreover, today’s good news comes on the heels of a $3.2 million financing including $2 million from legendary investor Eric Sprott.

“Eric Sprott’s investment into Storm is a huge vote of confidence in the team and what we’re doing at Gold Standard,” Counts said in a recent video. “It’s obviously an important addition to our treasury as well as our shareholder registry.”

High-net-worth investors, management and advisors hold an impressive 61% of Storm’s shares, with retail holding 39%.

Storm Exploration Inc.
TSXV:STRM
Cdn$0.58 2026.09.23
Shares Outstanding 21m
Market cap Cdn$16.5m
STRM website 

Richard (Rick) Mills
aheadoftheherd.com

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Richard owns shares of Storm Exploration Inc. TSXV:STRM. STRM is a paid advertiser on his site aheadoftheherd.com

This article is issued on behalf of STRM