Aurum fleshes out potential giant West African open-pit gold deposit

Aurum Resources’ Boundiali gold project in Côte d'Ivoire keeps on keeping on, with its latest results including a 66-metre run assaying 1.07 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 33m at the company’s BDT1 deposit on the key gold trend in its BD ground. 

The intercept includes 21.73m assaying 1.01g/t gold from 39m and 29m going 1.46g/t gold from 69m. The intercept includes 4.16m at nil grade after the core could not be retrieved due to bad ground.

A second 325m deep diamond drill hole put into BDT1 cored out 71.72m assaying 0.72 g/t gold from 187m, including 6.50m running 1.72g/t gold.

A third 337m deep hole, also in the BDT1 deposit, revealed a more complex gold distribution with three separate runs, including 3m at 1.78g/t gold from 95m, with 1m at 5.11g/t gold; a further 32m assaying 0.76g/t gold from 107m, including 3m at 3.73g/t gold; and a third run of 24m going 0.78 g/t gold from 143m, including 4m at 3.02g/t gold. 

The latest assays relate to 23 diamond drill holes for 6112.43m of drilling, divided between eight holes for 2665.95m at Aurum’s BDT1 deposit and 15 holes for 3446.48m at the company’s BDT3 prospect. Both targets lie within the Boundiali project’s BD tenement.

The best grade picked up in the latest results comes from a diamond drill hole in BDT1, which gave up 4.59m assaying 3.26g/t gold from 34m, including 0.59m at 21.38 g/t gold. 

The best primary grade reported from the BDT3 prospect’s current batch of results is 5m going 1.24g/t gold from 264m, including 4.1m going 1.4g/t gold.

The longest primary intercept from the BDT3 prospect is 9m assaying 0.95g/t gold from 138m, including 4m at 1.84g/t gold.

While some of the latest grades may be lower than expected at Boundiali, they are identified in some exceptionally long runs showing persistent gold values.

Additionally, almost all holes exhibit encouraging shallow, wide gold intercepts, with the mineralisation remaining open along strike and at depth.

The extensive gold distribution points to strong potential for massive open-pit bulk-mineability, with the upper 50m or so of the mineralisation in an oxide zone and likely softer weathered rock. 

This potential is highlighted by one of Aurum’s drill sections from its BDT1 deposit, which depicts its latest best 66-metre run at 1.07g/t gold.

The section portrays a giant near-vertical body of gold mineralisation that is about 48m true thickness at surface, where it was previously exploited by artisanal miners. The mineralisation blows out to a maximum 102m true thickness at about 290m depth.

Thereafter, it averages 70m to 85m true thickness all the way down to the lower limit of drilling at about 500m vertical depth, where it remains open vertically and laterally. 

Aurum’s BDT3 prospect looks like a steeply east-dipping, multi-lode system comprising three lodes each up to about 8m true thickness, spaced equidistantly about 10m to 11m apart. So far, the lodes have been drilled to about 140m vertical depth and are still open laterally and to depth.

Aurum Resources managing director Dr Caigen Wang said: “These results are from drilling designed to upgrade inferred resources to indicated, test the limits of known gold mineralisation, and incorporate previously unclassified mineralisation into the next MRE update. These and other results will feed into two MRE updates; the first one expected in July 2025, which will incorporate these recent high-grade intercepts, building on the current 1.59-million-ounce Boundiali MRE. The second update, due in late CY2025, will include results from ongoing drilling at the BD, BM, and BST deposits, and numerous untested gold-in-soil anomalies.” 

The encouraging results will see Aurum continue its drilling campaign at both BDT1 and BDT3, with more analytical results already sitting in the wings. 

The BDT1 deposit currently contains an inferred resource of 11.9 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.9g/t gold for a total 340,000 ounces. The BDT3 target has not yet been subject to a resource evaluation.     

Aurum plans to deliver two mineral resource updates this year to expand its inaugural 1.59-million-ounce gold resource. The company is working on a Boundiali pre-feasibility study, slated for completion by the end of the year.

It also plans to kick off 30,000m of drilling this month at its newly acquired Napié deposit, as it looks to expand the existing mineral resource of 0.87 million ounces of gold. 

The program is scheduled to begin by the end of June and will be rounded off shortly afterwards by an updated mineral resource estimate for Napié by the end of the year.

The company recently expanded its owned drill rig fleet to 10 machines to support its goal of achieving significant growth at Boundiali in 2025. The new drilling muscle will help it complete a planned 100,000m diamond drilling program at Boundiali for the year. 

Aurum remains well-funded for its ongoing exploration programs, having completed a $35.6 million private placement in May 2025.

With a combined 2.5 million ounces of gold across its Boundiali and Napié ground and substantial drilling underway at multiple targets, Aurum is in the box seat to deliver significant resource growth throughout the year and beyond.

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