Stellar AfricaGold signs 5,000 m Phase II drill contract at Tichka Est
(TheNewswire)
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Vancouver, BC – September 22, 2026 – TheNewswire – Stellar AfricaGold Inc. (TSXV: SPX, OTC: STLXF) ("Stellar" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the advancement of its fully funded exploration program at the Tichka Est Gold Project, Morocco (see press release dated August 11, 2026).
Highlights
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Following a competitive tender process (AO 01-2026) a contract has been executed with Compagnie Marocaine des Forages Minier ("CMFM"), a Moroccan drilling contractor, for the fully funded Phase II diamond drilling program at the Tichka Est Gold Project, Morocco. Rig mobilization has commenced and drilling is expected to begin in October 2026. The Company will announce the start of drilling.
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Trenching commenced at the new dyke target area identified by the Company's integrated targeting work (see news release dated August 11, 2026) on September 14, 2026. The trenching program comprises seven mechanical trenches totalling approximately 217 metres, accompanied by detailed structural mapping. Results will be reported once received, validated and interpreted. Five drill holes of the 24-hole Phase II program are provisionally allocated to this area.
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A contract has been signed with geophysical contractor PROGREM SARL for a high-resolution, closely spaced ("closed-grid") drone magnetic survey over Zones A, B and C: approximately 144 line-kilometres, comprising east–west lines at 50-metre spacing and 500-metre tie lines, flown at a nominal 60-metre terrain clearance. Deliverables include full processing, interpretation and 3D magnetic inversion. Acquisition is scheduled for October 2026. Data will be acquired under strict contractual quality-control acceptance criteria and integrated into drill targeting.
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The Company's 3D litho-structural model has been refined with the complete, validated Phase I drilling database, finalizing collar positions and orientations for the Phase II 24-hole, ~5,000-metre drill program.
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Drill platforms, access and water supply are in place. The program remains fully funded.
Phase II Drilling — Contract Signed, Mobilization Underway
Following the competitive tender launched in August (AO 01-2026), the Company has executed a drilling services contract with Compagnie Marocaine des Forages Minier ("CMFM"). CMFM was selected from a short list of three qualified bidders based on its technical capability, mountain-terrain experience, safety record, schedule and price. The contract includes performance-based requirements, including minimum core recovery in mineralized zones, systematic downhole deviation surveys and oriented core, and the contract preserves the Company's flexibility to re-sequence holes as results are received. Mobilization of the contractor's rig and crews to the High Atlas Tichka Est site is underway; drilling is expected to commence shortly. The first holes of the Phase II program will target the depth and strike extensions of the mineralized diorite sill stack at Zone B, directly beneath drill hole TCK-001 (12 m @ 6.62 g/t Au, including 2 m @ 22.28 g/t Au; see news release dated August 11, 2026).
Trenching Underway at the New Dyke Target
Excavation of the first trenches at the new dyke target began on September 14, 2026. The seven-trench program (approximately 217 metres) is designed to test, beneath surface cover, a dyke corridor identified by the convergence of the Company's 2026 satellite remote-sensing study, dyke-population mapping and anomalous rock sampling. Systematic channel sampling and detailed structural mapping are accompanying the excavation. Assay results will be reported once received, validated and interpreted in accordance with NI 43-101 standards. The trenching results will facilitate finalizing the drill plan for the five holes provisionally allocated to this area. At present it in anticipated that this new dyke target will be drilled in Q4 2026 following the drill holes planned for Zone B.
CEO, Mr JF. Lalonde, commented:
“This drilling campaign represents an important milestone in Stellar AfricaGold’s exploration of Tichka Est. I am very proud of the team's work ethics. The drilling contractor was selected after a competitive process, and the past six months of disciplined work led to a sound program identifying the proposed new drill targets.
I am keen to begin this fall season’s major exploration program and look forward to receiving the assay results—first from the trenching campaign that is currently underway on the newly identified mineralized dyke zone, and subsquently from the drilling campaign, both of which could open entirely new target areas in Tichka Est.”
Geophysics — Detailed Survey Contracted; Regional Interpretation Completed
A contract has been signed with geophysical contractor PROGREM SARL for a high-resolution, closely spaced ("closed-grid") drone magnetic survey over Zones A, B and C: approximately 144 line-kilometres, comprising east–west lines at 50-metre spacing and 500-metre tie lines, flown at a nominal 60-metre terrain clearance. Deliverables include full processing, interpretation and 3D magnetic inversion.
The closed-grid drone magnetic survey will map the geometry of the diorite sills and dykes that host gold mineralization, resolve late-fault offsets, and test the geophysical expression of the hydrothermal system interpreted from the Company's 2026 lithogeochemical survey. The survey will be flown with a Geometrics MagArrow magnetometer towed beneath a DJI Matrice 350 RTK platform, with an Overhauser base station for diurnal correction, terrain-following flight plans built on a high-resolution digital terrain model, and a daily repeat-line quality control protocol; acquisition, processing and 3D magnetic inversion are governed by contractual quality-control acceptance criteria. Acquisition is scheduled for October 2026, subject to weather windows at site elevations of up to approximately 2,500 metres.
Qualified Person
The technical content of this press release has been reviewed and approved by M. Yassine Belkabir, MScDIC, CEng, MIMMM, a Stellar director and a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101.
About the Tichka Est Gold Project
The Tichka Est Gold Project comprises five research permits and one exploitation licence covering 82 km² in the High Atlas region of Morocco, approximately 90 km south of Marrakech. Under an earn-in agreement with Morocco's Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM), Stellar can earn an 85% interest in the project by incurring US$2.39 million in exploration expenditures over three years. Gold mineralization is currently recognized in three zones: Zone A, Zone B representing the most advanced area following recent drilling, and Zone C. Much of the 82 km² project area remains unexplored or only superficially explored.
About Stellar AfricaGold Inc.
Stellar AfricaGold Inc. is a Canadian precious metals exploration company focused on North and West Africa, with active exploration programs in Morocco and Côte d'Ivoire. The Company's principal projects are the Tichka Est Gold Project in Morocco, where Stellar is advancing a gold discovery with a fully-funded 5,000 meters diamond drilling program scheduled for the fall and winter of 2026, and the Zuénoula Gold Project in Côte d'Ivoire, operated under an earn-in and joint venture agreement with MetalsGrove Mining Limited with a fully funded 10,000 meters auger drilling program is underway. Stellar trades on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV: SPX), the Tradegate Exchange (TGAT: 6YP) and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSX: 6YP). The Company maintains its head office in Vancouver, BC, and its in-country office in Marrakech, Morocco.
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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