Stellar Africagold - Auger Drilling Commenced ON Refined Drill Targets at the Zuénoula Permit, Côte D’Ivoire
STELLAR AFRICAGOLD - AUGER DRILLING COMMENCED ON REFINED
DRILL TARGETS AT THE ZUÉNOULA PERMIT, CÔTE D’IVOIRE
Vancouver, BC – July 15, 2026 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.
Highlights
• 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.
• 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.
• New 200m × 50m infill soil sampling results from the Fifty-Five Prospect have extended Drill 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• A 200m X 50m infill soil sampling program is underway across Drill Target 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.
• 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 Management Commentary
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.
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.
Figure 2. Planned Auger Drill Lines Over Gold Contours Across the 3.3km-long T1 Drill Target
within the Fifty-Five Prospect, Zuénoula Permit
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 sys tematic 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, tog ether 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:
➢ Auger drilling:
• Fifty-Five Prospect: 503 holes.
• Central Prospect: 472 holes.
➢ Soil Sampling:
• Fifty-Five Prospect NE: 200m x 200m 343 samples (pending assay results)
• 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
Sample ID Zone East North Au ppb (FA)
KN2826 WGS84_29N 827401 842999 1,324
KN1566 WGS84_29N 829900 847800 1,242
KN2654 WGS84_29N 828550 843001 968
KN0551 WGS84_29N 827300 842600 583
KN2504 WGS84_29N 829350 843001 575
KN2724 WGS84_29N 828250 843200 415
KN2110 WGS84_29N 828551 837800 344
KN1364 WGS84_29N 827303 838804 297
KN2011 WGS84_29N 827950 839201 278
KN2399 WGS84_29N 827750 837400 275
KN1487 WGS84_29N 828499 840199 272
KN0741 WGS84_29N 829299 842800 263
KN2341 WGS84_29N 828550 838200 263
KN2824 WGS84_29N 827350 843000 250
KN2164 WGS84_29N 828600 840000 246
KN2249 WGS84_29N 828399 838402 245
KN2093 WGS84_29N 827999 837599 238
KN2090 WGS84_29N 827799 837599 213
KN2547 WGS84_29N 830150 843800 205
KN0955 WGS84_29N 827102 832199 200
KN2226 WGS84_29N 828251 838600 190
KN2754 WGS84_29N 829449 843399 190
KN0670 WGS84_29N 826299 842001 189
KN2302 WGS84_29N 828750 839001 178
KN1930 WGS84_29N 828901 842600 173
KN2197 WGS84_29N 828549 840600 155
KN0276 WGS84_29N 827600 835800 148
KN2736 WGS84_29N 829200 842401 146
KN0089 WGS84_30N 169324 836993 144
KN1338 WGS84_29N 827700 837399 143