Stellar Africagold - District-Scale Soil Sampling Defines First GOLD Exploration Target at Zuénoula, Cote D’Ivoire
STELLAR AFRICAGOLD - DISTRICT-SCALE SOIL SAMPLING DEFINES
FIRST GOLD EXPLORATION TARGET AT ZUÉNOULA, COTE D’IVOIRE
Vancouver, BC – February 4, 2026 Stellar AfricaGold Inc. (“Stellar” or the “Company”) provides the
following update on the exploration progress at the Stellar-MetalsGrove Joint Venture Zuénoula Gold
Project, Cote d’Ivoire.
Highlights
- District-scale soil sampling (1km by 1km) defines first gold exploration target on Zuénoula.
- 13 km2 area to be infilled with higher density sampling (400m by 400m) to define the centre
of gold anomalism and trend of mineralisation.
- Innovative PortablePPB field assay lab established in nearby town of Zuénoula to facilitate
rapid analysis of MGA samples
- Field sampling commenced 10 January and 200 of the planned initial 320 (1km by 1km) soil
samples already collected
- Gold anomalous cluster is located within an interpreted NE -trending belt of mafic volcanic
rocks on the NW-side of an interpreted small granite intrusion
- Second SEMS Exploration sampling crew being mobilised to further increase sampling capacity
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. subsidiary, MetalsGrove CDI
Pty Ltd (MetalsGrove) to advance Stellar’s 395.78 square kilometer early -stage exploration permit
called the in Côte d’Ivoire. Pursuant to the joint venture agreement project operator MetalsGrove may
earn up to a 50% interest in the Zuénoula Gold Project by incurring US$3,000,000 in exploration
expenditures and up to a n 80% interest in the Zuénoula Go ld 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 Management Commentary
Stellar President and CEO J. François Lalonde commented:
“We are pleased with the rapid commencement of exploration by MetallsGrove at the Zuénoula Gold
Project and with the early indications of anomalous gold in the soil sampling. I extend our thanks to the
MetalsGrove team on the fast start to 2026 exploration.”
MetalsGrove Management Commentary
MetalsGrove Managing Director and CEO, Mr Lijun Yang, commented:
“These initial results are a great start to our 2026 field season and the application of the innovative
PortablePPB assay technology eliminated the usual time delay between sample collection, receipt of
assays, and the implementation of follow -up in -fill s oil sampling. I am also pleased that SEMS has
additional capacity to mobilise a second sampling crew to Zuénoula to further increase our rate of
sampling.”
“The Zuénoula permit lies in an exploration corridor with favourable geological characteristics, including
mixed volcanic and metasediment lithological sequences, complex structural features, and active
artisanal workings, all of which are strong indicators of gold discovery potential.”
Zuénoula Soil Sampling Update
Stellar is pleased to announce that initial sampling on Stellar -MetalsGrove Zuénoula Gold Project has
defined a significant cluster of three 1km by 1km spaced gold anomalous (15 to 33 dU) soil samples
coincident with a NE-trending magnetic feature interpreted to reflect a mafic volcanic unit intruded by
an elongated granite.
Field work at Zuénoula commenced four weeks after the Stellar-MetalsGrove JV agreement was signed,
and of the initial 320 broadly-spaced (1km by 1km) soil samples planned, 200 have been collected and
124 assayed, with further assays to be received within the coming days. A further 90 infill samples over
13 km2 are to be collected on 400m by 400m centres to follow-up the initial gold anomalous cluster of
three soil samples. Further infill will then be initiated to a point that will facilitate the effective sighting
of drill holes.
Figure 1. Map illustrating progress of soil sampling on Zuénoula permit and the location of the recently
defined gold anomalous soil cluster (soon to be infilled) on aeromagnetic (RTP) image
Figure 2. Map illustrating progress of soil sampling on Zuénoula permit and the location of the recently
defined gold anomalous soil cluster (soon to be infilled) on Google image
QA/QC
JORC Code, 2012 Edition – Table 1
Section 1- Sampling Techniques and Data
(Criteria in this section apply to all succeeding sections)
Criteria JORC Code Explanation Commentary
Sampling
T echniques
• Nature and quality of sampling (e.g. cut
channels, random chips, or specific
specialized industry standard
measurement tools appropriate to the
minerals under investigation, such as
down hole gamma sondes, or handheld
XRF instruments, etc.) These examples
should not be taken as limiting the broad
meaning of sampling.
• Include reference to measures taken to
ensure sample representivity and the
appropriate calibration of any
measurement tools or systems used.
• Aspects of the determination of
mineralisation that are Material to the
Public Report.
In cases where ‘industry standard’ work has
been done, this would be relatively
No drilling has been undertaken. The current
ASX announcement presents initial results of a
soil geochemical survey being undertaken on
the Zuénoula project PR-750 in Cote d’Ivoire.
Soil Sampling (PortablePPB): Initial broad-
spaced (1km by 1km) soil sampling supported
by rapid field analysis of samples using the
PortablePPB analytical technique is being
undertaken so that gold anomalous trends can
be identified and infill sampling conducted to
define drill targets before the field crew is
demobilized.
• The highly professional and experienced
consulting group SEMS Exploration Services
has been contracted to conduct soil
sampling and assay the samples using their
PortablePPB mobile laboratory
• The MGA Exploration Manager was onsite at
the start of the field program to instruct the
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.
sampling crew on the Standard Sampling
Procedure required by MGA
• MGA provided SEMS Exploration Services
with an Excel table listing the designated
sample point locations using WGS-84 UTM
zone 29N coordinates
• Each soil sample is collected from within 100
metres of the designated sample point, with
the actual sample point then recorded
• At each sample point: 1) the organic rich soil
is brushed away, 2) a 15cm deep hole is dug
and the sample collected by taking a
channel-cut along the entire length of the
hole, 3) 800g of the minus 2mm sieved
fraction of each sample is collected from the
sample point, 4) at the field lab in Zuénoula,
a hand-held XRF (pXRF) is used to determine
and record arsenic, copper, nickel, tungsten,
iron and manganese concentrations 5) gold
is determined using the PortablePPB
technique and results are reported in dU, an
partial extracted gold measurement units
• Duplicate samples are collected every 20th
sample and given the next sample number
• No Standards other than instrument
calibration standards are used to avoid low-
level gold contamination. Gold anomalous
samples sites (+15dU Au) are to be re-
assayed using the fire assay technique at
MSALabs in Yamoussoukro
• Samples are processed and stored at the
secure SEMS field laboratory and compound
in Zuénoula.
• Assay results are reported to MetalsGrove
within 48 hours so that infill sampling can be
planned and scheduled.
Drilling
T echniques
• Drill type (e.g. core, reverse circulation,
open-hole hammer, rotary air blast,
auger, Bangka, sonic, etc.) and details
(e.g. core diameter, triple or standard
tube, depth of diamond tails, face-sampling bit
or other type, whether core is oriented and if so,
by what method, etc).
• No drilling has been undertaken.
Drill Sample
Recovery
• Method of recording and assessing core
and chip sample recoveries and results
assessed.
• Measures taken to maximise sample
recovery and ensure representative
nature of the samples.
• Whether a relationship exists between
sample recovery and grade, and whether
sample bias may have occurred due to
preferential loss/gain of fine/coarse
• No drilling has been undertaken.
material.
Logging • Whether core and chip samples have
been geologically and geotechnically
logged to a level of detail to support
appropriate Mineral Resource
estimation, mining studies and
metallurgical studies.
• Whether logging is qualitative or
quantitative in nature. Core (or
costean, channel, etc.) photography.
• The total length and percentage of the
relevant intersections logged.
• No drilling has been undertaken.
• Soil samples are comprehensively logged for
a range of parameters including color, soil
horizon, sample weight, slope, dominant
grain size (clay, silt, sand), general
topography, residual or transported,
proximity to artisanal workings, other
ground disturbances such as field plowing,
and general land use (grassland, plantation,
crop, etc.).
Sub-sampling
Techniques and
Sample
Preparation
• If core, whether cut or sawn and
whether quarter, half or all core taken.
• If non-core, whether riffled, tube
sampled, rotary split, etc. and whether
sampled wet or dry.
• For all sample types, the nature,
quality and appropriateness of the
sample preparation technique.
• Quality control procedures adopted for
all sub-sampling stages to maximise
representivity of samples.
• Measures taken to ensure that the
sampling is representative of the in-situ
material collected, including, for
instance, results for field
duplicate/second-half sampling.
• Whether sample sizes are appropriate
to the grain size of the material being
sampled.
• No drilling has been undertaken.
• The 800g -2mm soil fraction collected in the
field is riffle split at the field laboratory in
Zuénoula into two 400g sub-samples, with
one used for PortablePPB analysis and the
other used for pXRF and fire assay analysis
when the PortablePPB determination
equals or exceeds 15dU
• The 400g subset of the initial 800g sample is
obtained using a riffle splitter to ensure
adequate mixing of the sample.
Quality of Assay
Data and
Laboratory Tests
• The nature, quality and
appropriateness of the assaying and
laboratory procedures used and
whether the technique is considered
partial or total.
• For geophysical tools, spectrometers,
handheld XRF instruments, etc., the
parameters used in determining the
analysis, including instrument make
• Samples are analysed using the patented
detectORE™ process developed by Portable
PPB Pty Ltd in Australia
• The process involves a partial extraction
using the safe, non-dangerous GLIX-20®
reagent that is akin to traditional BLEG
(which uses a cyanide leach)
• The 400g samples are added to the reagent
and tumbled for 12 hours, into which the
and model, reading times, calibration
factors applied, and
their derivation, etc.
• Nature of quality control procedures
adopted (e.g. standards, blanks,
duplicates, external laboratory checks)
and whether acceptable levels of
accuracy (i.e. lack of bias) and precision
have been established.
detectORE™ collector device had been
inserted
• After the bottle roll process has completed,
the collector device is removed, washed,
and dried prior to reading on a Vanta M
(VMR) pXRF loaded with Evident/Olympus’s
detectORE™ mode
• The entire process is managed using
Portable PPB’s Portable Lab Information
Management System (pLIMSTM), which
records all aspects of the sample
throughput, including QAQC and control of
the pXRF via the Application Programming
Interface to Olympus/Evident’s co-
developed detectORE™ mode.
• Certified Collector Devices (CCDs) supplied
by PortablePPB with known quantities of
gold ranging from 0 -1000 ppb are used to
check that the pXRF was functioning
correctly and that the instrument settings
were as intended. One CCD serves as a
blank.
• The pLIMS software confirmed the
instrument settings are correct and the VMR
is operating as expected, controlled by the
pLIMS API and Evident’s detectORE™
firmware.
Verification of
Sampling and
Assaying
• The verification of significant
intersections by either independent or
alternative company personnel.
• The use of twinned holes.
• Documentation of primary data, data
entry procedures, data verification,
data storage (physical and electronic)
protocols.
• Discuss any adjustments to assay data.
• The detectORE™ process is checked in
accordance with PortablePPB’s
recommended processes and procedures.
These include the insertion of 400g
reference materials (RMs).
• The RMs comprise mixtures of commercial
Certified Reference Materials (CRMs) and
barren regolith material. The RMs are of
known, but uncertified gold concentration
and are used to check that the leach and
collect process has worked as intended
during the 12-hour bottle roll.
• RMs were inserted at a rate of 1 every 44
samples throughout the sample batches.
The RMs were checked against Portable
PPB’s cloud-based database and passed
within the accepted tolerance ranges for
the technique, currently 20% (3 sigma).
• The pXRF instrument settings are checked
using a range of Certified Collector Devices,
which are used to confirm the pXRF is
operating as expected. The pXRF spectral
files are reviewed by Portable PPB’s cloud
and SME procedures.
Location of
Data Points
• Accuracy and quality of surveys used to
locate drillholes (collar and down-hole
surveys), trenches, mine workings and
other locations used in Mineral
Resource estimation.
• Specification of the grid system used.
• Quality and adequacy of topographic
control.
• A handheld GPS is used to locate the soil
data positions, with a +/-5m vertical and
horizontal accuracy
• Sample locations (UTM WGS84 zone 29N)
and sample descriptions are noted on a
standard form in the field and entered into a
computer of an evening
• GPS measurements of sample positions are
sufficiently accurate for first pass, board-
spaced sample collection.
Data Spacing
and
Distribution
• Data spacing for reporting Exploration
Results.
• Whether the data spacing and
distribution is sufficient to establish the
degree of geological and grade
continuity appropriate for the Mineral
Resource and Ore Reserve estimation
procedure(s) and classifications applied.
• Whether sample compositing has been
applied.
• The 1km by 1km offset soil sample pattern
over the permit area, excluding areas of
irrigated sugar cane, is considered an
effective technique for identifying and
delimiting gold anomalous trends, which are
then followed up with higher density
sampling, with 400m by 400m as the next
phase and then further infill as required to
define well constrained drill targets.
Orientation
of data in
relation to
geological al
structure
• Whether the orientation of sampling
achieves unbiased sampling of possible
structures and the extent to which this is
known, considering the deposit type.
• If the relationship between the drilling
orientation and the orientation of key
mineralised structures is considered to
have introduced a sampling bias, this
should be assessed and reported if
material.
• The sample location configuration has been
deliberately planned to avoid directional
bias.
Sample
security
• The measures taken to ensure sample
security.
• 800g of the -2mm sieved fraction of soil
samples are collected in plastic bags,
assigned individual sample numbers and
transported to the secure SEMS lab and
compound in Zuénoula for gold
determination by PortablePPB.
Audits or
Reviews
• The results of any audits or reviews of
sampling techniques and data.
• The sampling and assay technique adopted
by MetalsGrove has been effectively used in
the Vavoua-Kounahiri district, and more
widely in Cote d’Ivoire, to define drill targets
and it is considered an effective initial
approach for defining gold anomalous
lithogeochemical trends.
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
• Type, reference name/number, location and
ownership, including agreements or
material issues with third parties such as
joint ventures, partnerships, overriding
royalties, native title interests, historical
sites, wilderness or national park and
environmental settings.
• The security of the tenure held at the time
of reporting, along with any known
impediments to obtaining a licence to
operate in the area.
• Following the acquisition of the three
Gemica joint venture (JV) permits in Côte
d’Ivoire, MetalsGrove entered into
another JV with TSX-V listing company
Stellar AfricaGold Inc. (Stellar) for its PR-
750 Zuénoula permit. PR-750 was granted
on 17 April 2024 for an initial four-year
period, renewable for two additional
three-year periods.
• The Zuénoula permit is located between
existing MetalsGrove controlled Kounahiri
West and Vavoua permits along the same
Birimian greenstone belt. The two groups
of joint venture permits (4) occupy a
combined area of 1,315 km², strategically
situated along the Abujar–Napie gold
trend within the Oumé–Fetekro Birimian
greenstone belt in central west of Côte
d’Ivoire, approximately 100 km north of
the Abujar gold mine and 160 km south of
the Napie gold project.
Exploration
Done by Other
Parties.
• Acknowledgement and appraisal of
exploration by other parties.
• MetalsGrove is not aware of any previous
systematic exploration for gold having
been conducted with the Zuénoula permit
PR-750.
Geology • Deposit type, geological setting, and style of
mineralisation.
• The Zuénoula permit (Stellar JV), together
with the Vavoua, Vavoua West, and
Kounahiri West permits acquired through
the Gemica JV, are in the central west of
Côte d'Ivoire at the south edge of the
West Africa craton. This region is the
world’s largest Proterozoic gold-producing
region, and Cote d’Ivoire contains 35% of
the region’s Birimian Group rocks, which
host multiple multi-million-ounce gold
deposits.