Aurum Resources has delivered a massive 50.9 million tonne maiden resource estimate averaging one gram per tonne (g/t) gold for 1.59 million ounces of contained gold at its Boundiali gold project in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa.
The resource estimate includes mineralised zones from the company’s three separate BST, BD and BM tenement blocks with a range of resource targets and where systematic drilling campaigns are ongoing.
The resource estimate for the BST ground comprises 11mt grading 1g/t gold for 360,000 ounces of gold from its Nyangboue target, one of two targets so far defined in the BST block.
The BD tenement offers 11.9mt from Target 1 at a grade of 0.9g/t gold for 340,000 ounces and a further 16.3mt from Target 2 at 0.8g/t gold for 440,000.
The BM tenement block has produced a Target 1 resource of 7.5mt grading 1.2g/t gold for 300,000 ounces and an additional 4.2mt from its Target 2 averaging 1.1g/t gold for 150,000 ounces of the yellow metal.
In each example, gold mineralisation remains open at depth and along strike, with extensive areas still left to feel the bite of Aurum’s many drill bits onsite at the project.
Aurum has not yet undertaken any resource estimation for its fourth and north-westernmost BN tenement block.
The company’s four distinct tenements stretch over a north-south strike distance of 75km that extends east-west across-strike by about 30km, enclosing a total of 1037 square kilometres.
Aurum’s managing director Dr Caigen Wang said: “Aurum is pleased to announce the maiden JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate for its Boundiali gold project, just 12 months after acquiring the permits and establishing JV partnerships. Since October 2023, our team has completed an extensive 63,927m diamond drilling program.”
The company’s Boundiali gold project is in solid company, sitting in the same north-south trending greenstone belt as Resolute’s 11.5m ounce Syama gold mine.
Adding to the encouraging nearology, Perseus’ 1.4m ounce Sissingue gold mine lies to the north, Montage Gold’s 4.5m ounce Koné gold project sits to the south and Barrick’s 5m ounce Tongon gold mine is about 70km north-east of Boundiali.
The dominantly north-south trending greenstone belt is massively endowed with gold, reflected in the many artisanal mining open pits in the area. Some of the pits are remarkably big considering the limited tools available over their histories.
The principal geological setting for the mineralisation features a contact between volcanic and sedimentary rocks, with mineralisation hosted within a large quartz-rich shear zone carrying abundant pyrite, chalcopyrite and arsenopyrite (iron, copper and arsenic sulphides) showing extensive alteration, including haematite, carbonate and tourmaline in sedimentary rocks.
Gold mineralisation may be spatially related to intrusive rocks, with frequently observed free gold in quartz vein stockworks and zones of silicification, associated with pyrite and chalcopyrite.
Aurum says gold is typically found in linear zones along contacts showing evidence of shearing, while alteration can vary from weak to strong, depending on a system’s development.
The company has undertaken very systematic exploration at Boundiali, including geochemical sampling and sampling of surface pits and trenches and has accumulated a trove of high-quality data that it is constantly re-assessing in light of more recent information.
Extensive air-core, reverse-circulation and diamond drilling has also been undertaken across the project, with more than 63,927m of diamond drilling alone being put into Boundiali since drilling kicked off in October 2023. Geophysical survey data is available over the BST and BM tenement blocks.
Exploration has been undertaken periodically since 2016, principally involving Predictive Discovery, Toro Gold and Turaco Gold on the BST and BD ground, with work ending around 2022.
Since Aurum took over management of the tenements, all drilling has been carried out by the company’s fully owned diamond rigs.
Aurum expects further resource growth in 2025 through continued exploration focused on expanding its existing deposits and testing new targets within the Boundiali project area.
It sees potential for the project to become a hub-and-spoke operation, where multiple deposits would feed a centralised processing and gold production plant.
Preliminary metallurgical tests have indicated excellent gold recoveries exceeding 95 per cent using conventional gravity and carbon-in-leach technologies.
Aurum is poised for an ambitious 100,000m drilling program in the new year using its diamond rigs to maintain the current impressive rate of resource growth at its existing and yet-to-be discovered deposits and to support a pre-feasibility study expected before the end of 2025.
With a 50mt and a 1.59m ounce head-start in little more than a year of exploration, the company could have its advanced stockpiling well-placed ahead of a likely healthy feasibility study and any production launch.
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By Doug Bright
