Aurum keeps piling on the ounces at giant Côte d’Ivoire gold play
Brought to you by BULLS AND BEARS
Doug Bright
Updated ,first published
Aurum Resources has captured a bunch of thick gold intercepts from its latest drilling at its Boundiali gold project in northern Ivory Coast, led by a hole in the BDT2 deposit from 299.4m to 40.60m at 1.06 grams gold per tonne (g/t), including 6 million at 2.77g/t gold.
A second hole explored 26m at 1.48g/t gold from 175m, including 4m at 3.82g/t gold, while a third hole returned 23m at 1.32g/t gold from 376m, including 3m at 5.33g/t gold.
Indicative of the wide range of intercept types encountered, Aurum also showed a sharp high-grade gain of 2m at 12.82g/t gold from 50m; This includes an impressive 25.33 g/t gold over 1 m in a single hole; Highest individual 1m interval reported in the 28-hole, 9905.85m data set.
In contrast, the longest interval yielded a thick series of 44.36 m at 0.56 g/t gold from 291.64 m, including 4.36 m at 1.15 g/t gold.
‘These results demonstrate the potential for scale on offer at Boundiali.’
Dr Caigen Wang, managing director of Aurum Resources
The latest work focused on the BDT2 deposit, where most of the 28 holes were designed to convert inferred resources into indicated resources and, in some areas, push the boundaries of known gold resources at depth and along strike.
The CIS2 target has already developed into a significant reserve with an estimated combined indicated and inferred resource of 26.8 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.8 g/t gold for 640,000 ounces of gold.
Aurum said drilling continues to demonstrate encouraging continuity of mineralization across multiple sections and while analysis and interpretation are still progressing, the company believes the emerging picture at BDT2 supports further resource definition work across the wider Boundiali system.
Aurum’s program is designed to continue increasing drill hole density and sharpen its geological model while pursuing thick zones of gold mineralization that could develop into a more solid resource base.
The company says the intercepts reported in the update will be incorporated into ongoing modeling as it works on the next set of results.
Dr Caigen Wang, managing director of Aurum Resources, said: “These results demonstrate the potential for scale on offer at Boundiali, as our drilling targets only the most prominent outcrop anomalies. All deposits will remain open and we will be operating 16 diamond drillers by the end of this month.”
Boundiali lies in one of West Africa’s richest gold belts, and Aurum appears to be sharpening its understanding of the project’s growing scale, structural controls and wider exploration potential with each drilling campaign.
As drilling continues and more testing is expected, investors will almost certainly be watching how quickly the company can turn its growing pile of intercepts into a clearer resource story.
For now, Aurum’s message is simple. BDT2 continues to deliver heavy gold hits, confirming that mineralization extends beyond current resource boundaries and implying that the company may only be scratching the surface of a much larger gold system.
If the next wave of results keeps the momentum going, the company should have plenty to talk about as it advances Boundiali into the next phase of resource definition drilling.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
