Marrakech – Canadian mining company Stellar AfricaGold has confirmed the successful completion of its Phase I diamond drilling campaign at the Tichka Est Gold Project in Morocco. The company is now fast-tracking a fully funded 5,000-meter Phase II program aimed at advancing the project toward a maiden mineral resource estimate.
According to a statement by Stellar released on March 3, the Phase I campaign intersected structurally controlled gold mineralization within a shear-hosted quartz vein system in Zone B.
The results validated the company’s geological model and indicated continuity of gold mineralization at depth. Additional assay results are pending final analysis under NI 43-101 standards.
“The drill results received to date validate our structural model and confirm the presence of a robust gold system,” said J-François Lalonde, President and CEO of Stellar AfricaGold. “With additional equipment mobilized and a fully funded 5,000-metre drill program in the planning stage, we are entering an accelerated growth phase.”
The company has already moved to scale up field operations. A second excavator was mobilized on March 2 to advance surface trenching and prepare drill pads. A dedicated regional exploration team is set for deployment by March 15 to evaluate satellite gold and silver targets across the 86-square-kilometer Tichka Est permit area.
The Phase II program will focus on three objectives. It will expand mineralization identified in Zone B, test structural extensions to the north and south, and evaluate depth continuity. The broader goal is to establish sufficient drill density to support a formal resource estimate.
Planned technical work for the second quarter of 2026 includes structural mapping, 3D geological modeling incorporating the new drill data, and remote sensing with hyperspectral mapping.
The company also intends to carry out a high-resolution topographic survey and a diorite sampling program using four-acid digest multi-element analysis. Construction of additional access roads to priority extension targets is also underway.
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Stellar stressed that the current findings are exploratory. There has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource, and it remains uncertain whether further work will lead to one.
The technical content in the company’s release was reviewed and approved by Yassine Belkabir, a Stellar director and qualified person under NI 43-101.
Stellar AfricaGold is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol SPX. It is also traded on the Tradegate and Frankfurt exchanges. The company maintains its head office in Vancouver and a country office in Marrakech.
The Tichka Est development comes as Morocco’s mining sector draws increasing international attention. In September 2025, fieldwork in the southern Guelmim region uncovered 34 gold-bearing quartz veins with grades ranging from 6 to 30 grams per tonne. Preliminary estimates there point to a potential of 3 to 5 million ounces.
Morocco’s annual gold production is quite low. It was reported at 104 kilograms in 2023, down from 167 kilograms in 2022. While historical, intermittent production has occurred, recent output mainly comes from the Tiouit mine.
Production averaged roughly 1,200 kg per year between 1993 and 2023, with significant fluctuations, including a peak of 2,747 kg in 2002. Despite low production, Morocco holds 22.12 tonnes of gold reserves as of late 2025.
The country’s diverse mineral portfolio, spanning copper, lithium, titanium, and rare earth elements, combined with its proximity to European markets, continues to position it as an emerging destination for mineral exploration and investment.
