[spacer height=”20px”]2016 – Detailed Exploration of the B3 Zone Gold Discovery 

The 2016 exploration at the Balandougou Gold Project included:

Trenching and Sampling

During 2016 Stellar excavated additional trenches at the Zone B3 discovery and re-sampled numerous high-grade zones within the surface oxide gold mineralization.

Aerial view of trenches at B3Zone  – 2016

Excavator trenching at B3Zone

Inspection of Zone B3 completed trench

Quartz veins within Zone B3 trenches

Metallurgical Testing

Stellar engaged the Metallurgy and Mineralogy Division of SGS South Africa to perform a four-stage gravity recovery test work on a 72-kilogram composite sample collected from the mineralized sections of trenches F, G and H across the B3 gold structure of the Balandougou Project in Guinea.

The pre-test head grade of the composite sample submitted to SGS was 3.5g/t Au. For the test, a 50 kilogram sub-sample was concentrated through four stages of gravity separation using consecutively smaller milling sizes. The overall gold recovery after gravity separation was 66.2% with 33.8% of the gold remaining in the gravity tails. The 33.8% unrecovered gold in the tailings is thought to be due to the presence of fine gold particles in the initial sample that were too fine to recover using only gravity separation.

To address the issue of fine gold not being recovered by gravity separation, the Company requested a further bench test using cyanidation on the tailings after completion of the last stage of gravity separation to evaluate the suitability of a cyanide circuit to process the gravity tailings and increase the gold recovery. The cyanidation bench test of the gravity tailings resulted in a 91% gold recovery from the tailings over a four-hour leach period.

The combination of the four-stage gravity separation followed by cyanide leaching test resulted in a combined gold recovery of 97% of the tested head grade.

At this time Stellar does not plan to include a cyanide circuit into its bulk sample program but will store all tailings in a manner suitable for reprocessing if and when a cyanide circuit is implemented.

Environmental and Social Impact Study

Also during September 2016, the Company engaged the Bureau D’Études Guineen De L’Ingenierie et de L’Environnement SARL (B.E.G.I.E SARL) to conduct a Social and Environmental Impact Study, which is a prerequisite for Stellar’s Guinean subsidiary to be granted a Semi-Industrial Exploitation License. The Guinea Environment and Mining Code requires the completion of an environmental and social impact study for all mining projects to evaluate the effects of any proposed semi-industrial or industrial mining operation on the ecological balance and on the quality of life of the neighboring populations as well as, if necessary, propose measures to mitigate any identified adverse impacts.

Stellar is pleased to report that following all necessary local consultations and having received a positive recommendation, an Environmental Certificate of Conformity was awarded to Stellar’s subsidiary MGWA-Goldenfrank SARL.