Another big gold hit for Aurum as resource looms

Aurum Resources has hit some of its best exploration numbers yet in Côte d'Ivoire, jagging an impressive 17.31m hit grading 5.9 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from a recent diamond drilling program to test the Boundiali BM Target 1 prospect at its Boundiali gold project.

The uber-rich intercept, which also included 6m at a much higher 16.07g/t gold, came in at a depth of 273m and marked a significant breakthrough in the company’s exploration campaign.

The new hit, some 250m below surface, has also increased the boundaries of the known gold mineralisation at the prospect by a further 100m down dip. It is below the big 11.46m hit Aurum reported in September from the 162m mark grading 6.67 g/t gold.

The 4324m, 18-hole campaign was designed to test multiple prospects along the BM tenement and used 100m line spacings.

It also picked up other solid intercepts including 29m grading 1.55g/t gold from 178m, including a section of 13m at 2.19g/t gold. Another 14m intersection came in at 3.10g/t gold from 143m with a 1m slice grading a remarkable 32.38 g/t gold and a 17m hit running at 1.33 g/t gold from 183m.

The company says after leveraging data from previous drill campaigns to map the BM Target 1 prospect, the recent campaign has now confirmed gold mineralisation at the site remains open along a 2.5-kilometre strike and at depth. Notably, the true widths of the intercepts are also equivalent to more than 70 per cent of the reported downhole lengths, hinting at enormous untapped potential across the strike zone.

Drilling will continue at site with plans for additional follow-up work to build on the results gathered across the past two months.

Aurum Resources managing director Dr Caigen Wang said: “Our six rigs are systematically ramping up drilling and with our new camp now online, we are starting to see increased operational efficiencies as we work to unlock the full potential of Boundiali.”

Aurum is gearing up for a busy close to the year, with the next batch of assay results anticipated within the next few weeks. The company is maintaining an ambitious pace of exploration, drilling 10,000m per month using its own fleet of rigs targeting 50,000 downhole metres by the end of 2024.

Following the purchase of 1.5 hectares near the Boundiali township in July, the company recently completed stage one construction of its Dougoujin camp quarters for up to 50 people, with an eventual stage two plan to house up to 70 people.

Aurum remains in a strong financial position with $19 million cash in the bank providing the company with the flexibility to accelerate its drilling programs and capitalise on its highly encouraging results to date.

Aurum’s six owner-operated diamond drill rigs are also a key part of the fast-track strategy, keeping exploration costs low and improving efficiencies.

The company is expecting to release a maiden JORC resource for Boundiali by the end of the year, which is a remarkable effort given it started exploration work only 12 months ago.

While busying itself with Boundiali, Aurum also made a bold move in October to bid for ASX-listed Mako Gold, which was seen as friendly merger of the two African gold explorers.

As Mako’s flagship Napié project is positioned in the same gold-rich greenstone belt as Boundiali and several other world-class mines, the deal is seen by both companies as an opportunity to expand their individual land holdings, share administrative costs and leverage Aurum’s drill rig fleet.

Aurum offered one of its shares for every 25.1 Mako shares, at the time valuing Mako shares at 1.8 cents each - a hefty 112 per cent premium compared to its 30-day average price.

Post consolidation, Mako shareholders will hold a 20.5 per cent stake in the merged company, while Aurum shareholders will retain the remaining 79.5 per cent. In a sign the merger plan is on track, Aurum declared the takeover bid “unconditional” on Friday. The offer is set to close on Wednesday, December 4th, unless extended.

In anticipation of the merger, Aurum has also taken some proactive steps by adding a further two diamond drill rigs to its fleet and stocking up on 30,000m worth of drilling consumables and spare parts.

The rigs, which were shipped from China at the start of November, should arrive in-country by the end of the year in time to hit the ground running at Napié - a prospect Aurum management regards as potentially hosting a multi-million-ounce gold deposit.

With the gold price running riot, currently trading at US$2701 per ounce (A$4134), it’s a good time to be a gold explorer and Aurum appears to be taking that sentiment to the next level and is in a hurry to get there.

With exceptional drill results continuing to flow through from Boundiali -and a friendly merger likely to open up the potential for another new large-scale gold discovery - Aurum is making a clear statement of intent, aiming to become the next major West African gold producer sooner rather than later.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au