REG - Sunrise Resources - PIOCHE SEPIOLITE PROJECT, NEVADA, USA

Sunrise ResourcesAnnouncement

08/01/2026 07:00

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RNS Number : 0692O  Sunrise Resources Plc  08 January 2026

 

SUNRISE RESOURCES PLC

("Sunrise" or the "Company")

 

8 January 2026

 

PIOCHE SEPIOLITE PROJECT, NEVADA, USA

 

 

Further the Company's announcement (31 October 2025) of positive test results
from its Pioche Sepiolite Project in Nevada, USA, the Company is pleased to
provide the following report on a field-work programme carried out at Pioche
in December 2025.

 

Summary:

 

·    New field programme completed in December 2025.

 

·    Sepiolite outcrops located and sampled for further performance
testing - seven mini-bulk samples collected.

 

·    Detailed review of core samples from 2024 drilling suggests
additional layers and thicknesses of sepiolite not previously sampled or
tested.

 

Ø Forty-four additional core samples selected for performance testing.

 

·    New samples provided to interested party, a large European industrial
minerals company.

 

·    Samples collected will also support a planned Phase 3 testwork
programme to apply Company's processing methodology across a wider range of
samples, particularly for sepiolite applications in the valuable US oil and
gas drilling markets.

 

More detailed information and field photographs are provided below.

 

 

Commenting today, Executive Chairman Patrick Cheetham said:

 

"We have made considerable progress with the Pioche Sepiolite Project in 2025,
building on the good work carried out by Tolsa in 2024.

 

"Tolsa's work has demonstrated that there are extensive sepiolite beds at
Pioche, extending over several square kilometres, and our process development
testwork in 2025 has laid a good foundation for the commercial development of
this deposit, one of just a handful of commercial sized deposits in the World
for this rare industrial mineral.

 

The samples resulting from the December field programme provide a bank of
samples available to interested parties with the first batch of samples having
now been received by a large European industrial minerals group."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Further information:

 

 Sunrise Resources plc         Tel: +44 (0)1625 838 884

 Patrick Cheetham,

 Executive Chairman
                               Tel: +44 (0)207 628 3396

 Beaumont Cornish Limited

 Nominated Adviser

 James Biddle/Roland Cornish
                               Tel: +44 (0)207 469 0930

 AlbR Capital Limited

 Broker

 Lucy Williams/Duncan Vasey

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations
(EU) No. 596/2014 which forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ('MAR'). Upon the publication of this
announcement via Regulatory Information Service ('RIS'), this inside
information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

Nominated Adviser

Beaumont Cornish Limited ("Beaumont Cornish") is the Company's Nominated
Adviser and is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Beaumont Cornish's
responsibilities as the Company's Nominated Adviser, including a
responsibility to advise and guide the Company on its responsibilities under
the AIM Rules for Companies and AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers, are owed
solely to the London Stock Exchange. Beaumont Cornish is not acting for and
will not be responsible to any other persons for providing protections
afforded to customers of Beaumont Cornish nor for advising them in relation to
the proposed arrangements described in this announcement or any matter
referred to in it.

 

Shares in the Company trade on AIM. EPIC: "SRES".

Website: www.sunriseresourcesplc.com (http://www.sunriseresourcesplc.com)

 

Detailed Information

 

The December 2025 field-work programme followed on from the July 2025 receipt
of all remaining core samples from Tolsa's drill testing of the Pioche
sepiolite deposit in 2024 and the Company's Phase 1 and 2 development
testwork, details of which were reported in previous 2025 news announcements.

 

The field-work programme work was carried out by Mr Patrick Cheetham
(geologist) and Mr Tom Powell, the Company's 20% partner in the project and an
acknowledged expert on the processing and mining of industrial clays,
especially sepiolite.

 

The first objective of the December 2025 field work was to locate and sample
surface outcrops of high grade sepiolite for submission to potential partners
for the project. This was carried out successfully and seven mini-bulk samples
were collected across the project area.

 

The second objective was to review in detail the remaining "core" samples
collected by Tolsa via sonic drilling and to select further samples for
testing using the sample preparation techniques developed by Mr Powell which
were previously reported in 2025.

 

It is clear from this review that Tolsa's sampling of core and subsequent
testwork has been quite selective. Several additional and unsampled zones of
sepiolite clay of varying grades were identified which have potential to add
to the economic value of the deposit.

 

As a result of this core review a further 44 samples have been taken from the
drill cores for further testing and for supply to interested parties.

 

The testing programme now planned for these samples is designed to demonstrate
the commercial properties of the Pioche deposit over a wider range of samples
than tested by the Company to-date. This includes testing to confirm its for
use in oil and gas drilling in saltwater formations (see "About Sepiolite"
below) an important market for sepiolite in the USA. This application was not
tested by Tolsa but the Company's testing on a limited number of to date, as
reported in 2025, gave positive results.

 

A number of samples collected in December 2025 have been submitted to an
interested party in Europe, a large industrial minerals company.

 

Further information will be provided as it becomes available.

 

 

Above:  Recovering boulders of sepiolite clay from outcrop prior to bulk
sampling.

Above :Boxed core samples from sonic drilling in storage. Samples being tested
for moisture content. Sepiolite, due to its high absorbency can contain as
much as 50% moisture.

 

 

Above. Core samples of sepiolite clay. Orange red spots result from chemical
field tests using a chemical stain to make an initial positive identification
of magnesium bearing sepiolite clay.

 

 

 

About the Pioche Sepiolite Project

The Pioche Sepiolite Project claims are 100% owned by SR Minerals Inc.
("SRM"), a Nevada-registered and wholly owned subsidiary of Sunrise Resources
plc. Tom Powell holds a 20% beneficial interest in the Project.

The Project is located in Lincoln County, Nevada, to the northeast of Pioche,
a historic mining town just off US Route 93. The Company's mining claims are
on Federally owned land administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Access
to rail is available at the town of Caliente, 35 miles south of the project
area on Route 93.

Originally documented as a sepiolite occurrence in the 1970s, the occurrence
was relocated by the Company in 2021. In 2022, Tolsa USA, Inc., a US
subsidiary of Spanish sepiolite producer Tolsa SA, entered into an option to
purchase agreement with the Company and explored the property until December
2024 when the option period expired.

Tolsa completed programmes of geological mapping, trenching, auger drilling
and sonic drilling. This identified two (possibly three) sub-horizontal and
extensive sepiolite beds outcropping intermittently along the margins of two
mesas now known as the West and East Mesa areas. A silica rich caprock tops
the sepiolite at the discovery location forming low mesas and flattened
ridgetops.

 

About Sepiolite

 

Sepiolite is a non-swelling, lightweight, porous hydrous magnesium silicate
clay. It has unique characteristics, is scarce, and there are very few
commercial deposits in the world.

 

In the US, a major use is in oil well drilling fluids primarily as a
viscosifier and suspending agent, especially in saltwater or brine-based
systems where other clays like bentonite are less effective. It has a high
salt tolerance and maintains viscosity in saline or seawater environments
where bentonite tends to flocculate and lose effectiveness. It also exhibits
thixotropic behaviour forming gels when static, suspending drill cuttings and
weighting materials such as barite, but thins out under shear, aiding in
pumpability. It provides good rheological properties without adding a large
amount of solid material, reducing the risk of formation damage. Sepiolite has
high thermal stability and so is the only clay used in high temperature and
high pressure wells.

 

Sepiolite is used in liquid animal feed supplements as a binder and carrier
for nutrients and growth promoter. It is also used in building products such
as drywall tape joint compounds, putty, caulk, texture coatings and asphalt
emulsion coatings where freshwater viscosity is important.

 

Sepiolite possesses a high surface area due to channels in the crystal lattice
that gives it a structural nano-porosity. Its unusual crystal shape also adds
to the internal porosity and gives it a light weight. Sepiolite's high surface
area and porosity account for sepiolite's outstanding sorption capacity. Just
20g of sepiolite can have an internal surface area equivalent to that of a
football field and sepiolite can absorb more than its weight in water. The
largest market globally for sepiolite is for use in light-weight non-clumping
pet litters where it has superior properties compared to other clays used in
this application.

 

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