Dear shareholders and investors,
The first half of 2026 was productive on two fronts as Stellar AfricaGoldadvanced its gold exploration projects in Africa: Tichka Est in Morocco, its flagship project held under an earn-in with ONHYM, and Zuénoula in Côte d’Ivoire, an early-stage project operated as a joint venture with MetalsGrove Mining Ltd. Both projects progressed from early technical work and reconnaissance sampling toward defined, fully funded drill programs to be implemented in the second half of this year.
At Tichka Est, Stellarconductedan integrated technical program combining 3D geological modelling, structural analysis, remote sensing and geochemistry in preparation for a 5,000-metre diamond drill campaign. The Company sought outside expertise for this specialized work, engaging Viridien Group fromthe UK for hyperspectral and remote-sensing interpretation, Arethuse Geology fromFrance for structural analysis and 3D modelling, and Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P)in Morocco for core scanning and analytical support. Stellar also announced a high-graderock sample, TE-Raz-E2, which assayed218.33 g/t Au from a system of quartz veins located between Zones A and B, a location outside of the area previously drilled. Finally, a drone-based topographic survey over approximately6.5 square kilometers was conducted to enhancethe 3D model and support drill planning.
All of that groundwork culminated with the August 11, 2026 news release when Stellar reported both the final results of its Phase I drilling and the plan for its Phase II program at Tichka Est. Phase I, which comprised11 diamond holes totaling1,579 meters in Zone B, concluded with previously unreleased assays including 18.03 g/t Au over 0.2 meters at the base of hole TCK-010 and 1.76 g/t Au over 3 meters in TCK-008, adding to the earlier headline result of 6.62 g/t Au over 12 meters, including 22.28 g/t over 2 meters, in hole TCK-001. With Phase I drilling and the integrated technical programs completed, theyconcluded the detailed planning for a fully funded Phase II diamond drill program of approximately 24 drill holes totaling 5,000 meters. This program will be divided across Zones B, Zone C, and a newly identified target and regional area.The drilling tender has beenissued, and drilling is expected to start in late September 2026. The drilltargeting was the product of three integrated datasets: Viridien’s satellite remote-sensing study, a 90-sample pathfinder lithogeochemical survey, and Arethuse’s structural review and 3D litho-structural model, which also flagged thenew target area and a 10-metre dyke carrying semi-massive arsenopyrite where rock samples assayedup to 24.52 g/t Au. A seven-trench program is plannedprior to drilling that new area, and a drone-borne magnetic survey over Zones A through C is scheduled for September 2026.
At Zuénoula, the news flow reflects the project’s earlier stage but highly activeexploration program. The first major update came in May when Stellar announced that two parallel, northeast-trending gold-anomalous soil trends, each more than 2.5 kilometers long and peaking at 583 ppb Au, had been identified and selected as priority exploration targets within the Fifty-Five Prospect. The JV operator thenplanned to tighten the definition of these targets through infill soil sampling before moving to auger drilling, which was considered feasible during the wet season. By that point, assay results had been received for approximately 1,000 soil samples out of 1617 in total.
On May 25, 2026, just under two weeks later, Stellar reported that the picture had grown substantially: multiple gold-anomalous trends with a combined strike length of approximately 18 kilometers had now been identified across three major areas, the Fifty-Five Prospect and its northeastern extension at roughly 9 kilometers, the Central Prospect and its extension at about 4 kilometers, and the Konezra Prospect and its extension at around 5 kilometers. A peak soil value of 1,242 ppb Au, or 1.24 g/t, was returned near the permit boundary, and a further potential drill target was defined in the Central Prospect. By now, three field crews were working on tighter infill sampling.
On June 23, 2026, the Company announced a concrete step toward drill testing: a two-rig, two-stage, 10,000-metre auger drilling program designed to test seven potential drill targets that had emerged from the ongoing soil sampling. The joint venture had by then consolidated its exploration areas into four principal prospects, Fifty-Five, Central, Southeast and South West, with the auger program targeting the first three. The plan called for roughly 5,000 meters of initial drilling on a 400-by-50-metre pattern, followed by tighter infill drilling, with holes averaging about five meters deep to test the upper saprolite horizon ahead of eventual aircorereverse circulation or diamond drilling later in 2026.
That auger program commenced on July 15, 2026, with the target list refined to six drill targets across the Fifty-Five, Central and Southeast prospects. Continued infill sampling extended the Fifty-Five Prospect’s Target T1 to a strike length of about 3.3 kilometers and returned a new peak soil assay of 1,324 ppb Au. As I write this note, nearly 1000 linear meters had been drilled at Fifty-Five and Central, and assay results are pending on 3,372 soil samples, additional samples being collected, setting up the next round of target prioritization ahead of follow-up drilling.
In summary, the two projects are moving in tandem but at different stages. Tichka Est has progressed from an integrated technical and remote-sensing study into a fully funded, precisely targeted, 5,000-metre Phase II diamond drill program basedon a detailed 3D geological model. Zuénoula, still in the earlier stages of exploration, has advanced rapidly from broad regional soil sampling to a systematic, staged auger drilling program testing multiple kilometer-scale gold trends, with reverse circulation and diamond drilling anticipated once the auger results help define the most promising bedrock targets later in 2026.
We expect to report on these 2 drill programs throughout the latter months of 2026so stay tuned for the news to be released as the drilling ramps up and the assay results are received.
J.François Lalonde
President & CEO
J.François Lalonde
B.Sc. Civil. Engineering
PRESIDENT AND CHIEF
EXECUTIF OFFICER