Stellar AfricaGold commences auger drilling at Zuénoula permit
(TheNewswire)
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Vancouver, BC – July 15, 2026 – TheNewswire - Stellar AfricaGold Inc. (“Stellar” or the “Company”) (TSXV: SPX, TGAT: 6YP and FSX: 6YP) is pleased to announce that a 10,000-meter auger drill program is now underway at the Stellar-MetalsGrove Joint Venture Zuénoula Gold Project, Cote d’Ivoire.
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Ongoing technical review and interpretation of recent infill soil sampling results have refined the exploration focus at the Zuénoula Permit to the area of six drill targets within three principal prospects: Fifty-Five, Central and South East.
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These targets will be progressively refined through additional infill soil sampling and auger drilling before advancing to Aircore (AC), Reverse Circulation (RC) and Diamond Drilling (DD) programs anticipated to begin in late 2026
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New 200m × 50m infill soil sampling results from the Fifty-Five Prospect have extendedDrill Target T1 to a strike length of approximately 3.3km. The program also returned a new peak soil assay of 1,324ppb Au (1.324g/t Au), further supporting the high prospectivity of the target area.
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The 10,000-metre auger drilling program has commenced and will test the highest-priority gold anomalous cluster areas encompassing Drill Targets T1 and T3–T5 within the Fifty-Five and Central Prospects
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The Auger drilling program has been designed to drill an average depth of approximately 5 metres, targeting the upper saprolite horizon to evaluate the bedrock potential beneath the surface soil gold anomalies.
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A 200m X 50m infill soil sampling program is underway across DrillTarget T6 within the South East Prospect, and a similar program is scheduled over Drill Target T2 in the northeastern extension of the Fifty-Five Prospect. These programs are designed to further refine drill target geometry and prioritise targets for follow-up auger drilling.
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Assay results have been received for 3,372 soil samples, with a further 343 samples pending assay. In parallel, 601 additional soil samples are being collected, while auger drilling comprising 503 holes at the Fifty-Five Prospect and 472 holes at the Central Prospect is underway.
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 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:
"The commencement of auger drilling represents an important milestone in the Joint Venture’s systematic exploration strategy at the Zuénoula Permit. Over the past 6 months, the project has been progressively advanced from regional reconnaissance through multiple phases of soil geochemistry, enabling the exploration team to refine its focus to three principal prospects and six drill targets. This disciplined approach is now delivering tangible drill-ready targets for the first phase of subsurface testing.
The continued expansion of drill target T1 to approximately 3.3 kilometres and the identification of a new peak soil assay of 1.324 g/t gold from the prospect area reinforces our confidence in the scale and prospectivity of the Zuénoula gold system. These results demonstrate that ongoing infill soil sampling continues to enhance our understanding of the Zuénoula project and improve the quality of drill targeting.
Importantly, the auger drilling program is expected to provide the first direct assessment of the bedrock potential beneath these extensive surface gold anomalies. Together with additional infill soil sampling planned over the remaining target areas, the results will be used to prioritise follow-up Aircore, Reverse Circulation and diamond drilling later this year. We believe the Zuénoula Permit continues to demonstrate significant potential for gold discoveries as our exploration progresses."
10,000-METER AUGER DRILLING PROGRAM COMMENCED; SIX DRILL TARGET AREAS TO BE TESTED
Stellar is pleased to announce that a 10,000m auger drilling program has commenced at its Zuénoula Permit in Côte d’Ivoire to test six drill target areas defined from multiple gold anomalies identified through the Company’s systematic soil geochemistry programs.
Ongoing interpretation of recently completed infill soil sample results (Table 1) has further enhanced the Joint Venture’s understanding of the Zuénoula Permit, enabling exploration activities to be focused on three principal prospects: Fifty-Five, Central and South East (Figure 1),where increased confidence in the continuity and distribution of gold anomalism has led to the definition of six drill targets, which will be systematically evaluated through the current auger drilling program before advancing to Aircore (AC), Reverse Circulation (RC) and Diamond Drilling (DD) from late 2026.
Click Image To View Full Size
Figure 1. Planned Auger Drill Lines Over Gold Anomalous Contours Across Six Drill Targets within the Fifty-Five, Central and South East Prospects at the Zuénoula Permit.
Recent 200m × 50m infill soil sampling has further refined the Company's priority drill targets within the Fifty-Five and Central Prospects. At the Fifty-Five Prospect (Figure 2), the T1 drill target has been extended to approximately 3.3km from 2.0km strike length previously, while a new peak soil assay of 1,324ppb Au (1.324g/t Au) has been identified. At the Central Prospect (Figure 3), the refined T3, T4 and T5 drill targets will be tested with the planned auger drilling program.
Click Image To View Full Size
Figure 2. Planned Auger Drill Lines Over Gold Contours Across the 3.3km-long T1 Drill Target
within the Fifty-Five Prospect, Zuénoula Permit
Click Image To View Full Size
Figure 3. Planned Auger Drill Lines Over Gold Contours Across the T3-T5 Drill Targets
within the Central Prospect, Zuénoula Permit
Auger Drilling Program
The planned 10,000-meter auger drilling program has commenced following successful meetings with local authorities, including mines department and various community representatives. The initial program will focus on the highest-priority gold anomalous clusters identified from systematic soil geochemistry around the areas of Drill Targets T1 and T3–T5 within the Fifty-Five and Central Prospects, providing the first direct assessment of potential bedrock-related gold mineralisation beneath the surface geochemical anomalies. Results from this program will be used to refine subsequent drill targeting and guide follow-up exploration.
The auger drilling program has been designed to an average depth of approximately five metres, targeting the upper saprolite horizon where residual gold geochemical signatures are expected to be best preserved. Drilling through the complete weathering profile will provide important geological and regolith information while enabling evaluation of the relationship between surface soil anomalies and the potential underlying saprolite-hosted mineralisation.
A selective sampling strategy has been adopted to maximise geological information while maintaining analytical efficiency. Holes located within priority drill target areas will be sampled as continuous 2m composite intervals throughout the entire hole, together with an additional bottom-of-hole (BOH) sample collected from the upper saprolite horizon. Outside the priority target areas, only the BOH sample will be collected. This approach is expected to provide a better understanding of vertical gold distribution within the weathering profile and improve interpretation of the relationship between surface geochemical anomalies and potential bedrock mineralisation.
Continuing soil sampling
Infill soil sampling at 200m × 50m spacing will continue to support target refinement across the Zuénoula Permit. The current program is focused on Drill Target T6 within the South East Prospect, with a further campaign planned over Drill Target T2 in the northeastern extension of the Fifty-Five Prospect. These programs are designed to improve anomaly definition, refine drill target geometry and assist in prioritising targets for future auger and follow-up AC, RC, or DD drilling.
Next Phases of Work
The Joint Venture plans 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:
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Auger drilling:
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Fifty-Five Prospect: 503 holes
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Central Prospect: 472 holes.
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Soil Sampling:
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Fifty-Five Prospect NE: 200m x 200m 343 samples (pending assay results)
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South East Prospect: 200m x 500m, 601 samples (sampling underway)
Table 1. Zuénoula PR750 – Soil Samples Assays Above 70 ppb Au
WGS-84 UTM Zone 29N
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Sample ID |
Zone |
East |
North |
Au ppb (FA) |
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KN2826 |
WGS84_29N |
827401 |
842999 |
1,324 |
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KN1566 |
WGS84_29N |
829900 |
847800 |
1,242 |
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KN2654 |
WGS84_29N |
828550 |
843001 |
968 |
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KN0551 |
WGS84_29N |
827300 |
842600 |
583 |
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KN2504 |
WGS84_29N |
829350 |
843001 |
575 |
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KN2724 |
WGS84_29N |
828250 |
843200 |
415 |
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KN2110 |
WGS84_29N |
828551 |
837800 |
344 |
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KN1364 |
WGS84_29N |
827303 |
838804 |
297 |
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KN2011 |
WGS84_29N |
827950 |
The technical information contained in this release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Lijun Yang, a current member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (MAIG) and Managing Director of MetalsGrove Mining Limited. Mr. Yang is independent of Stellar AfricaGold Inc.
Mr. Yang 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
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Criteria |
JORC Code Explanation |
Commentary |
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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. |
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
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Section 2 - Reporting of Exploration Results
(Criteria listed in the preceding section also apply to this section.)
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Criteria |
JORC Code Explanation |
Commentary |
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Mineral Tenement and Land Tenure Status |
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Exploration Done by Other Parties. |
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Geology |
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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.
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