West African gold explorer Aurum Resources has delivered the best-ever drill result from its flagship 3.22-million-ounce Boundiali gold project in Côte d'Ivoire, with a stunning 28.8-metre intercept averaging a hefty 22.92 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 204m downhole. The eye-watering result included an even higher-grade core of 17.95m at a bonanza grade of 36.57g/t gold.
That wasn’t the only significant hit from Aurum's latest batch of eight diamond drill holes. A second interval returned a hefty 57m grading 2.87g/t gold from 192m, which included a stout 5-metre section assaying 12.31g/t gold.
Other notable results from the campaign included a 22-metre intercept at 4.7g/t gold from 279m, which contained a two-metre zone at a stellar 45.86g/t gold.
The results come from the company’s expanded 150,000m diamond drilling program at Boundiali, with the latest holes targeting the company's BST1 deposit as a mix of infill, step-out and extensional drilling. Management says the findings confirm the gold mineralisation system at BST1 remains open, with the new holes expected to contribute to an upgrade of the indicated resource in the next resource update slated for Q4 2026.
The new dataset will then feed into a definitive feasibility study expected to be delivered later in 2026.
The company is well-funded to continue its aggressive exploration push, with a cash balance of more than A$95 million, following a $52.5 million placement in mid-September. Aurum is planning a massive 180,000m of drilling for the 2026 calendar year, with 150,000m aimed at driving resource growth at Boundiali and 30,000m to start at its Napié project in the fourth quarter. Napié lies an estimated 100km southeast of Boundiali,
Aurum’s total group mineral resource currently stands at a significant 4.38 million ounces of gold, split between the 3.22 million ounces Boundiali project and the 1.16 million ounces Napié project, which was acquired through a takeover of Mako Gold last year.
The company’s ground sits in the prolifically gold-endowed Birimian greenstone belt in West Africa. The belt hosts a string of major gold mines, including Resolute Mining’s 11.5-million-ounce Syama mine in neighbouring Mali and Atlantic Group’s five-million-ounce Tongon mine, 75km northeast of Boundiali.
Aurum Resources managing director Dr Caigen Wang said: "We expect these holes to contribute to the BST1 Indicated Resource (currently 6.9Mt @ 0.9 g/t Au for 190koz) in the next MRE update for Boundiali, expected early in the December quarter."
A prefeasibility study delivered in June for Boundiali outlined a maiden probable ore reserve of 42.1 million tonnes at 0.9 g/t gold for 1.21 million ounces. The project also received its environmental approvals in May, clearing a significant hurdle on its path to development.
A key part of Aurum’s strategy centres upon its ownership of 16 diamond drill rigs, which the company says allows it to explore faster and more cost-effectively than its peers.
With a hefty bank balance, its own fleet of drill rigs probing virtually any rock likely to contain gold - which it invariably does - and a deluge of results like the ones that have just landed, Aurum seems to be on fire. The company now appears to be locked into a clear trajectory towards a critical resource update followed by a definitive feasibility study later this year, which could set the stage for a final development decision at its burgeoning West African gold play.
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