Starcore Advances Exploration at Kimoukro Gold Project in Cóte d’Ivoire
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Suite 750 – 580 Hornby Street, Box 113, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6C 3B6 Telephone: (604) 602-4935 Fax: (604) 602-4936 e-mail.
[email protected] website: www.starcore.com
March 27, 2025 TSX: SAM
FSE: V4JA
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES
Starcore Advances Exploration
at Kimoukro Gold Project in Cóte d’Ivoire
Vancouver, B.C. - Starcore International Mines Ltd. (TSX: SAM) (“Starcore” or "the Company")
is pleased to provide an update on the local geology of its Kimoukro Project, located within the
prolific Fetekro-Oumé greenstone belt in Côte d'Ivoire.
The Kimoukro Project is a fully-permitted exploration project located at the western border of the
Fetekro-Oumé greenstone belt (FOGB), in central Côte d’Ivoire , 30 Km south of the capital
Yamoussoukro. Such FOGB is a highly prospective Birimian-aged terrane, stretching some 280 km
NNE-SSW, and known for hosting multi-million-ounce gold deposits, including the Lafiguè mine at
its northern edge, and Bonikro and Hiré mines. The latter are located 30 km S of the project and share
similar geological characteristics. Yet, the perspective area of Kimoukro is underexplored.
The Fetekro -Oumé greenstone belt is made-up by Paleoproterozoic basalts and andesites and
volcano-sedimentary sequences, bounded by granitic-gneissic basement rocks. The belt is structurally
complex and was deformed in greenschist-facies metamorphism conditions during the compressional
and transpressive events of Eburnean Orogeny; late -stage deformation was accompanied by
emplacement of felsic (granitoid) intrusions.
At a regional scale, the prominent tectonic trends and the shape of the FOSZ are highlighted by
regional geophysics and remote-sensing. The main structural features are referred to N30°E oriented
western splays of the Brobo-N’Zi shear zone, and a number of higher-order, anastomosing structures.
At the latitude of the Kimoukro project, the FOGB is about 20 km wide and trends N -S to NNW,
shows bending and rotation of the tectonic fabric of about 35° to the W, with flexure trending as NW-
SE regional lineaments; a number of intrusions of different size are present. (Figure 1).
As a result, the greenstones and sedimentary cover are affected by extensive shear, folding and
thrusting, providing favourable conditions for gold mineralization, which is locally enhanced by
ductile-to-brittle shear and fracturing especially around late-stage intrusions.
______________________________________________________________________________
Suite 750 – 580 Hornby Street, Box 113, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6C 3B6 Telephone: (604) 602-4935 Fax: (604) 602-4936 e-mail.
[email protected] website: www.starcore.com
FIGURE 1: Regional geology over shaded TMI magnetic image and major structures
______________________________________________________________________________
Suite 750 – 580 Hornby Street, Box 113, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6C 3B6 Telephone: (604) 602-4935 Fax: (604) 602-4936 e-mail.
[email protected] website: www.starcore.com
Local Geology
The Kimoukro project lies in low-land near the Bandama river; most of the area is covered by recent
alluvial sediments, which are mostly clay, with pockets of sand and gravel material that are locally
anomalous in gold.
The alluvial cover has a maximum thickness of about 20 m while it is only 1-3 m-thick in the central
area of the permit, disappearing to the east, where latisoils occur. Alluvial sediments obviously
truncate the original laterite soil profile; residual and dismantled cuirass are reworked in the alluvial.
The geology of the Kimoukro Project consists of deformed metasedimentary rocks interlayered with
volcanic sequences, representing a deep-water succession common to the Toumodi-Oumé region. A
preliminary bedrock geology map is based on data collected from artisanal mineworks and sporadic
outcrops, results of auger drilling, IP and ground Magnetic survey. The central portion of the permit
is dominated by a package of highly sheared , fine-grained metasediments exhibiting NNW - to N-
trending foliation. The metasediments package includes dark shales, banded siltstone and claystone,
of mafic composition; the interlayered rocks are amphibole-rich metabasites, and felsic siltstones. On
the western side, basaltic and fine-grained andesitic rocks are present, while the northeastern portion
hosts a granitoid intrusion (monzogranite to tonalite), with its contact zones showing evidence of
mylonitization and widespread mineralization. Additionally, a second granitoid body is exposed in
the southwestern part of the permit. A network of felsic dykes including rhyolite and microgranite,
crosscuts the sedimentary sequences, displaying NW, NNW, and NE trends. Hematite, sericite and
silica alteration occur in the contact halos of the felsic intrusions and dykes.
______________________________________________________________________________
Suite 750 – 580 Hornby Street, Box 113, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6C 3B6 Telephone: (604) 602-4935 Fax: (604) 602-4936 e-mail.
[email protected] website: www.starcore.com
FIGURE 2: Local geology and major structures. Contours of gold anomalies are shown.
Structural Geology
The structural framework of the Kimoukro Project reflects the progressive deformation associated
with the Eburnean orogeny. The area is characterized by steeply dipping, NNW-trending foliation
planes, interpreted as a product of intense shearing and transpressive tectonics.
Metamorphism in the area is within the greenschist facies, and primary bedding of metasediments
has been largely transposed into the dominant foliation fabric, which dips steeply westward. The
structural environment is interpreted as a steeply dipping monocline, potentially forming the western
flank of a larger (Km-scale), faulted synclinorium. Subsequent tectonic accidents occurred in the area,
noticeably, multiple intrusions of granitic bodies, causing local perturbation to the tectonic grain with
folding, fracturing and dyke emplacement.
All the granite bodies show limited deformation, except near their contact zones where shear bands
are evident. Extension and shear quartz veins are consistent with progressive shear deformation
associated to the intrusive emplacement. This deformation event is tentatively correlated to the high-
angle crenulation of quartz veins parallel to the metamorphic layering (Figure 2). This implies two
events of deformation and veining, developed under a different tectonic regime. Although the field
evidences only identify progressive deformation which can result from progressive re -orientation of
______________________________________________________________________________
Suite 750 – 580 Hornby Street, Box 113, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6C 3B6 Telephone: (604) 602-4935 Fax: (604) 602-4936 e-mail.
[email protected] website: www.starcore.com
the local stress field, this multi -stage evolution is tentatively ascribed to separate events, at least at
local scale, named D1 and D3, the latter coeval to the granitoid intrusions which correlate to regional
descriptions in literature.
Accordingly, the Kimoukro area has undergone multiple deformation phases,
• D1 Event Characterized by tight folding and thrusting and development of pervasive foliation,
which reworked the original layering. Progressive quasi-coaxial deformation observed in
shear bands, pervasive s-c structures. There is no sufficient evidence yet to univocally separate
the two events.
• First mineralisation event with development of quartz veins consistent with progressive
layer-parallel shear ; likely occurred during progressive shear. No evidence for reworking
early systems.
• D3 Event: Development of a prominent north-trending shear corridor in transpressive
regime, anastomosing shear zones develop and local stress is re-oriented. Room is made for
syn-tectonic intrusion emplacements.
• Intrusion of granitoids and second gold veining event: tentatively late D3 deformation
event. Rise and emplacement of felsic intrusions and dykes, with associated mineralised
veins. NW and NE-trending structures provided space accommodation for the intrusions.
Local trend of the veins is variable, reflecting local stress field orientation, with NW to
NNW preferential trend in the Kimoukro permit.
Quartz veining occurs in the foliation planes throughout the permit, however, is particularly
associated with late -stage shear deformation, displaying varying structural styles depending on the
host rock. Within metasediments, veins and silicified material often exhibit ductile deformation,
stretching and boudinage along shear planes, whereas in felsic dykes, brittle behaviour prevails, and
veins are mainly extensional. Granitic bodies are crossed by both extensional veins and shear bands
and veins. The regional foliation of the greenstones is affected by non-coaxial folding and crenulation,
deviating by approximately 35°W from the regional trend. Shear veins within mylonitic zones along
the Granite-Tonalite contacts have been progressively deformed and transposed, while extensional
veins continue to form, indicating a protracted mineralizing event , related to, or enhanced by the
intrusion’s emplacement occurred during late-stage tectonic events.
______________________________________________________________________________
Suite 750 – 580 Hornby Street, Box 113, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6C 3B6 Telephone: (604) 602-4935 Fax: (604) 602-4936 e-mail.
[email protected] website: www.starcore.com
FIGURE 3. Style of quartz-veining and progressive deformation.
Mineralization
The gold mineralisation at Kimoukro is both primary and secondary: the secondary mineralisation is
hosted in laterite and in some sandy -gravel alluvial deposits. The p rimary gold mineralization is
structurally controlled and associated with both shear quartz veins and intrusion -related systems.
Extensive artisanal mining further supports the presence of significant gold mineralization especially
in the deformation zones surrounding the granite-tonalite contacts.
Figure 4 shows the in -soil gold anomaly , encompassing 2km x 600 m over 50 ppb Au and over
1300x400m over 200 ppb Au , in the central part of the permit . Another continuous anomaly zone,
600x400 m >50 ppb Au, is found in the alluvial sediments SW of the permit and it is open to W and
NW.
Grab rock samples from artisanal mineworks returned 0.5 to 1.5 g/t Au with peaks of 18 g/t Au in
mylonites at the contact with the Granite -Tonalite intrusive. The general trend of the mineralisation
is NNW-SSE to N-S over the permit, while in the artisanal mining zone, most veins trend N130°. The
mineralisation is open to the east side.
______________________________________________________________________________
Suite 750 – 580 Hornby Street, Box 113, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6C 3B6 Telephone: (604) 602-4935 Fax: (604) 602-4936 e-mail.
[email protected] website: www.starcore.com
FIGURE 4. Distribution of gold anomaly from soil and rock samples
The primary mineralisation occurs in quartz veins of different nature. Shear veins millimetre -size to
>0.5 m wide (smokey quartz, or Qz+Car+Alb+Py±Au veins), are usually parallel to the tectonic shear
in contrast to extensional veins. The latter often are progressively deformed and reworked in shear
______________________________________________________________________________
Suite 750 – 580 Hornby Street, Box 113, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6C 3B6 Telephone: (604) 602-4935 Fax: (604) 602-4936 e-mail.
[email protected] website: www.starcore.com
zones which are though t to be coeval with mylonitic shear at the southern contact of the Granite -
Tonalite intrusive. The mineralisation style is generally sulphide-poor, with Pyrite <0.5%, except for
local pockets of massive sulphides in mylonitic shists. F ree gold is visible at the edge of sulphides,
or in quartz and quartz-carbonate veins. Associated mixed sulphides (Gal, Sph, Cpy ) indicate the
magmatic contribution to the mineralisation . P reliminary geochemical data indicat ing anomalous
concentrations of base metals, including copper, zinc, molybdenum, and tungsten, particularly near
the granite contact, also suggest magmatic-hydrothermal overprint on gold deposition. The alteration
associated to mineralisation include hematite, sericite, albite, carbonate.
Among several exploration targets represented by exposed or worked veins, t he deformation and
alteration halos around the Granite-Tonalite contact are obvious perspective targets for further
exploration.
The mineralization styles at Kimoukro align with key gold systems observed throughout the Fetekro-
Oumé belt, reinforcing its potential as a major gold-bearing structure within this prolific region. The
geological characteristics of the Kimoukro Project highlight its strong potential for further discovery,
positioning it as a key target within the expanding gold exploration landscape of Côte d’Ivoire.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical disclosure in this news release has been supervised and approved by Dr.
Riccardo Aquè, Ph.D. Eurogeol., a Qualified Person as that term is defined in NI 43 -101. He is
independent of the Company.
About Starcore
Starcore International Mines is engaged in precious metals production with focus and experience in
Mexico. While this base of producing assets has been complemented by exploration and development
projects throughout North America, , Starcore has expanded its reach internationally with the project
in Côte d’Ivoire. The Company is a leader in Corporate Social Responsibility and advocates value
driven decisions that will increase long term shareholder value. You can find more information on
the investor friendly website here: www.starcore.com.
ON BEHALF OF STARCORE INTERNATIONAL
MINES LTD.
(Signed) “Robert Eadie”
Robert Eadie, President & Chief Executive Officer
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
ROBERT EADIE
Telephone: (604) 602-4935