Aurum Resources has uncovered another high-grade gold intercept outside the 1.59-million-ounce resource boundary at its Boundiali gold project in Côte d’Ivoire, intercepting 12 metres of gold running a staggering 22 grams per tonne (g/t).
The intercept from 145m downhole was the first assay of four holes drilled at the company’s BD Target 3 for 678m and features bonanza-grade sections within the intercept of 2m at 35.59g/t gold and 7m of 27.5g/t gold.
Target 3 sits on the southwest end of the company’s core BD tenement and is outside its current resource of 780,000 ounces. The intercept is nearly one kilometre south of the known mineralisation at Target 3 and is a great deal thicker and has a higher grade than any historic intercepts at the prospect.
The latest result is among the highest-grade hits recorded at the entire BD tenement and extends BD Target 3 to a 3km-long prospect.
Aurum says assays for three additional diamond drill holes are still pending and are eagerly anticipated.
Aurum Resources managing director Dr Caigen Wang said: “Our targeted drilling, informed by detailed review of historical data and field mapping of artisanal workings, is proving highly effective. Despite achieving a 1.59m ounce MRE in just over 12 months, we see significant potential for further resource expansion at Boundiali.”
The discovery at BDT3 feeds into Aurum’s aggressive, continuous and fully-funded 100,000m diamond drilling campaign, which aims to expand Boundiali’s existing 1.59m-ounce mineral resource.
The company is planning two resource updates in 2025 from the campaign, which has run for more than 12 months. It hopes to capture continued high-grade announcements at its Boundiali’s BST, BD and BM tenements outside the existing resource as the BD Target 3 prospect remains open along strike and at depth.
The broader Boundiali gold corridor at the BD tenement spans some 13km by 3km, yet only a fraction has been systematically drilled, leaving significant room for resource expansion.
The astonishing scale of the drilling program is due to Aurum’s shrewd move to buy six diamond drill rigs when it acquired Boundiali.
The company has continued to leverage its fleet of eight self-owned diamond drill rigs, ensuring low-cost, high-efficiency exploration that appears to be delivering high-grade ounces in spades.
In addition to Boundiali’s aggressive drilling, Aurum has officially commenced a pre-feasibility study for the project, due to be finished by the end of this year. The pre-feasibility study will lay the groundwork for Aurum to build potential development and production scenarios alongside simultaneous resource growth as it progresses resource extension and explorative drilling.
Aurum is also turning its attention to the recently acquired Napié gold project – previously owned by Mako Gold - where it plans to run an additional 30,000m drilling blitz to grow the current 870,000-ounce resource at the project’s Tchaga and Gogbala deposits.
The company enters the year with a tasty $23 million in cash reserves to fully fund its ambitious drilling and development plans at a fraction of the costs a similar diamond drilling campaign would cost it, if it were whirring away in Australia’s booming goldfields.
With a combined 2.5m-ounces mineral resource across Boundiali and Napié, rapidly advancing drilling programs and gold prices continuing to push all-time highs every week, Aurum is well on its way to proving up one of West Africa’s next major gold development projects.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Andrew Todd
