Aurum Resources has unearthed a swag of high-grade gold intercepts, including a stunning 3-metre hit grading an eye-watering 80.09 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, from drilling outside the existing combined resource envelope at its 3.22-million-ounce Boundiali project in West Africa.
The results emerge from the company's ongoing 100,000m diamond drilling program in Côte d’Ivoire, with assays from 46 holes also confirming a new zone of mineralisation at the until now thinly tested BST2 prospect in the southwest corner of Aurum's extensive tenement suite, where it lies entirely outside the current combined mineral resource estimate.
The high-grade intercepts land at a moment when the global market remains buoyed by a strong gold price, after the precious metal touched record highs earlier in the year. Moreover, the results come as Côte d’Ivoire’s national gold output is projected to climb to 62 tonnes in 2026, highlighting the country’s favourable operating environment.
Twenty kilometres southeast of BST2, drilling at the BST1 deposit, which already holds a 570,000-ounce resource, was designed to test for extensions and returned several impressive hits. The standout among these was a 3m intercept going 80.09g/t gold from just 66m downhole depth, which included an eye-watering 2m slice going 117.73g/t gold.
Other significant results from BST1 include a thick 38m section grading 4.20g/t gold from 65m around a 3m core at 30.52g/t gold. A separate hole returned 3.77m at 9.62g/t gold from 57.23m, including a rich 2.77m run assaying 12.75g/t gold.
Perhaps more significantly for resource growth, drilling at the BST2 prospect, which currently has no defined resource, also delivered the goods. The best result was a 3m intercept grading a solid 27.65g/t gold from 144m, including a 1m section at a bonanza 78.13g/t gold. Another better hit at BST2 included 2m at 5.10g/t gold from 117m.
Aurum says the results from BST2, formerly known as Gbemou, back up historical work that identified a 2km-long gold-in-soil anomaly at the prospect.
Aurum Resources managing director Dr Caigen Wang said: “Our latest results from drilling at BST continue to de-risk and build our resource base for the Boundiali Gold Project. At BST1, new holes have intersected shallow high-grade mineralisation including 3m at 80.09g/t Au from 66m as well as confirming gold mineralisation in areas currently classified as Inferred. At the BST2 prospect, which sits entirely outside the current Mineral Resource, today's results support further growth potential, although more drilling will be required before it can be classified.”
The company is in the middle of a massive 130,000m drilling program for the 2026 calendar year, with 100,000m allocated to Boundiali and 30,000m to its nearby 1.16-million-ounce Napié project. Combined, the two projects give Aurum a current group resource of 4.4 million ounces of gold.
With 16 of its own diamond drill rigs busy on site and a healthy $54.7 million in cash as of June, the company appears well-funded to continue its aggressive exploration push.
The latest assays will be fed into the next MRE update for Boundiali, targeted for the end of the third quarter this year. A definitive feasibility study for the project is expected to follow in late 2026.
Aurum is clearly not resting on its laurels with its hefty 3.22-million-ounce Boundiali resource. The latest drilling proves there is still plenty of high-grade gold to be found around the margins of the known deposits.
With bonanza hits extending the mineralisation at BST1 and a new high-grade zone emerging at the previously BST2 prospect, the upcoming resource update is shaping up to be significant.
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By Doug Bright
