Stellar AfricaGold plans 10,000m auger drilling at Zuenoula
(TheNewswire)
 |
Vancouver, BC – June 23, 2026 – TheNewswire - Stellar AfricaGold Inc. (“Stellar” or the “Company”) (TSXV: SPX, TGAT: 6YP and FSX: 6YP) is pleased to announce a 10,000 meter auger drill program at the Stellar-MetalsGrove Joint Venture Zuénoula Gold Project, Cote d’Ivoire.
• Joint venture operator MetalsGrove Mining Ltd. (“MetalsGrove”) has consolidated the exploration targets at the Zuénoula Permit into four principal prospects - Fifty-Five, Central, South East and South West Prospects following ongoing technical review and field verification of multiple gold anomalies.
-
A two-rig, two-stage 10,000-meter auger drilling program is planned to test gold anomalous clusters at the Fifty-Five, Central and South East Prospects, with mobilisation and commencement targeted for end June.
-
Recent soil geochemistry interpretation has defined a total of 7 Potential Drill Targets within the consolidated4 prospects on the permit. These targets will be progressively refined through ongoing infill soil sampling and auger drilling before drilled by Aircore/Reverse Circulation (AC/RC) or diamond drilling (DD) from late 2026.
-
Infill soil sampling programs continue across all four prospects at varying grid spacings,with results continuing to enhance target definition and prioritisation for drill testing.
About the Stellar-MetalsGrove Joint Venture Zuénoula Gold Project, Cote d’Ivoire.
The Stellar-MetalsGrove Zuénoula Gold Project is a joint venture exploration project between Stellar’s Ivorian subsidiary Aucrest SARL (“Aucrest”) and MetalsGrove Mining Ltd.’s Ivorian subsidiary MetalsGrove CDI Pty Ltd (MetalsGrove) to advance Stellar’s 395.78 square kilometer early-stage exploration permit called Zuénoula in Côte d’Ivoire (see Figure 2 below). Pursuant to the joint venture agreement MetalsGrove, the project operator, may earn up to a 50% interest in the Zuénoula Gold Project by incurring US$3,000,000 in exploration expenditures and up to an 80% interest in the Zuénoula Gold Project by incurring a total of US$6,000,000 in exploration expenditures. (For further details of the Stellar-MetalsGrove Joint Venture Agreement see Stellar news release December 9, 2025.)
Stellar President and CEO J. François Lalonde commented:
"Following extensive soil sampling and target refinement, the joint venture exploration team has consolidated the Zuénoula Permit into four principal prospect areas and are preparing to commence a 10,000-meter auger drilling program across the 7 defined potential drill targets. The program is designed to test the bedrock potential beneath surface gold anomalies and represents a critical step towards AC, RC and diamond drilling later this year.
The definition of seven potential drill targets marks an important milestone in the systematic exploration approach and highlights the growing scale and prospectivity of the Zuénoula Gold Project. Several targets exhibit kilometre-scale strike lengths and remain open to further refinement through ongoing infill soil sampling. With more than 1,700 soil samples currently awaiting assay results, there is significant potential to further expand these targets and discover more targets across the permit.
We look forward to updating shareholders as auger drilling commences and additional soil sampling assay results continue to strengthen the discovery potential at Zuénoula."
MULTIPLE NORTHEAST-TRENDING GOLD ANOMALOUS TRENDS IDENTIFIED
Stellar is pleased to announce the planned commencement of a two-rig, two-stage, 10,000 meter auger drilling program at its Zuénoula Permit in Côte d’Ivoire to test the area’s seven potential drill targets defined from multiple gold anomalies identified through the Company’s systematic soil geochemistry programs.
The joint venture operator has consolidated the exploration targets at the Zuénoula Permit into four principal prospects following ongoing technical review and field verification of multiple gold anomalies identified from completed various surface soil sampling programs to date (Figure 1). The Fifty-Five Prospect now incorporates the original Fifty-Five Prospect and its northeastern extension, while the South East Prospect combines the former Konezra Prospect with the South East Prospect. The Central Prospect and South West Prospect remain unchanged from previous reporting. This refinement provides a clearer framework for exploration targeting and reflects the Company's growing understanding of the distribution and continuity of gold anomalism across the project area.
Click Image To View Full Size
Figure 1. Zuénoula Soil Sampling Progress Across the Four Consolidated Exploration Prospects
A two-rig, two-stage, 10,000 m auger drilling program within the Fifty-Five, Central and South East Prospects has been designed (Figure 2) to test the most significant gold anomalous clusters identified. Stage 1 will comprise approximately 5,000m of drilling on a nominal 400m × 50m drill pattern, followed by Stage 2 infill drilling on a 250m × 25m spacing, subject to the results obtained from the initial phase. Auger drilling is planned to an average depth of approximately five metres to test the mineralisation potential from the upper saprolite horizon. Results from ongoing soil infill programs across all three auger target areas will be incorporated into final drill planning to further refine and optimise drill line locations prior to commencement. The two-rig mobilisation and commencement date is scheduled for end June 2026.
Interpretation of the current soil geochemistry dataset (Figure 1 & Table 1) has increased the definition of potential drill targets to 7 (Figure 2), each exhibiting kilometre-scale prospective strike length (Figure 3 and 4). These targets will continue to be refined through ongoing infill soil sampling and auger drilling programs, with the objective of defining coherent bedrock-related mineralisation suitable for follow-up AC/RC or DD from late 2026.
Infill soil sampling continues at varying grid spacings across all four prospects at the Zuénoula Permit. To date, assay results have been received for 1,617 soil samples, while a further 1,755 samples are awaiting laboratory analysis. An additional 306 samples are scheduled for collection.
Click Image To View Full Size
Figure 2. Planned Auger Drilling Areas and 7 Potential Drill Targets Defined at Zuénoula Permit
Click Image To View Full Size
Figure 3. Planned Auger Drilling Areas and Potential Drill Targets Defined
at Fifty-five and Central Prospects
Click Image To View Full Size
Figure 4. Planned Auger Drilling Area and Potential Drill Targets at South East Prospect
Next Phases of Work
The Company has planned the following next phases of exploration programs to advance the identification of new potential drill targets and refine existing potential drill targets for drill testing:
-
Auger drilling:
-
Auger drilling across 3 Prospects: 10,000 meters in 2 stages.
-
Soil Sampling:
-
Fifty-Five Prospect NE: 200m*200m (pending sampling)
-
South East Prospect: 200m*200m (pending assay results)
-
Fifty-Five Prospect: 2000*50m (pending assay results)
-
Central Prospect: 2000*50m (pending assay results)
-
Five-Five Prospect East: 200*200m (pending assay results)
-
South West Prospect: 400m*400m (pending assay results)
The technical information contained in this release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Robert Perring, a current member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (MAIG) and Exploration Manager of MetalsGrove Mining Limited. Mr. Perring is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.
About Stellar Africagold Inc.
Stellar AfricaGold Inc. is a Canadian precious metal exploration company focused on precious metals
in North and West Africa, with active programs in Morocco and Côte d’Ivoire. Stellar’s principal exploration projects are its advancing gold discovery at the Tichka Est Gold Project in Morocco, and its
early-stage exploration Zuénoula Gold Project in Côte d’Ivoire which is operated in Joint Venture with MetalsGrove Mining Ltd subsidiary, MetalsGrove CDI Pty Ltd.
The Company is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange symbol TSX.V: SPX, the Tradegate Exchange TGAT: 6YP and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange FSX: 6YP.
The Company maintains its head office in Vancouver, BC and has a country office in Marrakech, Morocco.
QA/QC
JORC Code, 2012 Edition – Table 1
Section 1- Sampling Techniques and Data
|
Criteria |
JORC Code Explanation |
Commentary |
|
Sampling Techniques |
In cases where ‘industry standard’ work has been done, this would be relatively simple (e.g. ‘reverse circulation drilling was used to obtain 1 m samples from which 3 kg was pulverised to produce a 30 g charge for fire assay’). In other cases, more explanation may be required, such as where there is coarse gold that has inherent sampling problems. Unusual commodities or mineralisation types (e.g. submarine nodules) may warrant disclosure of detailed information. |
No drilling has been undertaken on Zuénoula PR-750 All soil samples collected on Zuénoula PR-750 have been analysed for gold by fire assay at Bureau Veritas laboratory in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. SOIL SAMPLING STAGES
SOIL SAMPLING PROCEDURES |
Section 2 - Reporting of Exploration Results
(Criteria listed in the preceding section also apply to this section.)
|
Criteria |
JORC Code Explanation |
Commentary |
|
Mineral Tenement and Land Tenure Status |
|
|
|
Exploration Done by Other Parties. |
|
|
|
Geology |
|
|
Stellar’s President and CEO J. François Lalonde can be contacted at +1 514-9940654 or by email at lalondejf@stellarafricagold.com. Additional information is available on the Company’s website at www.stellarafricagold.com.
On Behalf of the Board
J. François Lalonde
President & CEO
This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, including statements which may not have been based solely on historical facts but rather may be based on the Company’s current expectations about future events and results. Where the Company expresses or implies an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief is expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis.
Forward-looking statements are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, exploration risk, mineral resource risk, the Company not achieving the production milestones described herein, changes in business plans or commodity prices, failure to obtain regulatory approvals, geopolitical country risk, and the risk factors described in the Company’s most recent Management’s Discussion and Analysis and Annual Information Form, which are available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and should not be unduly relied upon. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Copyright (c) 2026 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
TheNewsWire
News by QuoteMedia - http://www.quotemedia.com
Copyright (c) 2026 QuoteMedia, Inc.