Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 27, 2025) - 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.
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.
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 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.
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 primary 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.
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 zones which are thought 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. Free 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. Preliminary geochemical data indicating 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, the 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.
Note: Figures 1 - 4 as referenced in this news release can be viewed in the version of this news release filed on SEDAR+ and on our website.
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
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