Aurum Resources has scored another big hit from its Boundiali project in Côte d'Ivoire, intercepting 9 metres at 24.61 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 221m, including 4m at 54.64g/t from 222m. The 4m hit also includes 1.3m going 156.61g/t gold.
The discovery was made in one diamond hole put into the company’s BM Target 3. A second hole intercepted 2.68m assaying 10.94g/t gold from 45.7m, including a 1.68m hit running 16.88g/t.
BM Target 3 threw up a third intercept close to the second one with a handy 10.03m going 2.75g/t gold from 81m, including 9.03m at 2.97g/t.
Significantly, all three holes lie outside the three separate BM Target 3 inferred resource blocks.
The best hit is south of the northernmost BM Target 3 resource block, while the second and third hits lie to its north. This is in line with a developing impression of Boundiali as a gift that keeps on giving and pointing to the potential for resource expansion.
The three holes are part of Aurum’s current exploration diamond drilling campaign targeting multiple prospects in its 75-kilometre easternmost BM tenement, which aligns north-south to enclose the dominant strike of prospective greenstones and key structures.
At the company’s BM Target 6, one hole bagged 1m at 12.93g/t gold from 107m and 4m at 1.89g/t gold from 141m, including 1m going 7/22 g/t.
Aurum Resources managing director Dr Caigen Wang said: “It is my pleasure to announce further shallow high-grade gold intercepts at the Boundiali project, including 4m at 54.64g/t gold from 222m in hole MBDD174 at BM Target 3. This intercept extends the known mineralisation and is outside the current BM Target 3 MRE. Our drilling is extending the limits of known mineralisation down-dip as well as bringing the line spacing to 100m along strike and we expect to see an uplift in the mineral resources for BM Target 3 in the next MRE update.”
The BM tenement is remarkable for the broad extent of its +100 parts per billion (ppb) soil gold geochemical anomalism, which runs along more than two-thirds of the licence’s length.
The current areas of active exploration at six priority BM geochemical targets and the initial resource definition areas at BM Targets 1 and 3 all enclose the areas of most dense +100ppb gold anomalism, where they coincide with major linear structures.
The two BM resource targets comprise an inferred 300,000 ounces of gold at BM Target 1 at 1.2g/t gold and 150,000 ounces at BM Target 3 averaging 1.1g/t gold.
The two resource targets at BM contribute 450,000 inferred ounces of gold to the overall current mineral resource estimate for the Boundiali tenements, amounting to 1.59 million ounces of gold.
At this stage, only the non-contiguous southern BST licence area has had gold defined in the indicated category with 130,000 ounces and an additional 220,000 ounces in the inferred classification.
Eight of the company’s diamond rigs are drilling at Boundiali with 100,000m slated for this year. So far, Aurum has drilled 19 diamond holes on the Boundiali BM tenement for a total of 3712m.
Results from the company’s multiple programs across the overall Boundiali project will be incorporated into its resource updates. The first update is anticipated to be completed in the first half of the year and will include recent high-grade intercepts to build on the current 1.59-million-ounce Boundiali resource estimate.
A second update planned for later in the year will incorporate results from Aurum’s upcoming exploration and scout drilling at its BD, BM and BST deposits to test new targets and as yet untested soil gold anomalies to expand the current pipeline of new discoveries.
Aurum is working towards completing a pre-feasibility study for Boundiali by the end of the year that will scope out the project's economics and technical feasibility.
At the company’s separate recently acquired Napié project, about 100km southeast of the centre of the Boundiali tenement group, the company has a 30,000m diamond drilling program in the pipeline for this year.
The work will target expansion of the project’s current 870,000-ounce gold resource once the licence has been renewed, aiming to produce a resource update by the end of the year.
With its strong financial position and an ascendant share price, no doubt helped by its seemingly endless deluge of solid gold hits, Aurum is well-funded to press ahead with its exploration and development plans.
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By Doug Bright
