Dalaroo lines up drill targets for West African gold play

Dalaroo Metals has ramped up its West African gold push, kicking off field mapping and drill targeting programs at its Bongouanoa project in southeast Côte d’Ivoire.

The in-country geological team is now boots on the ground, advancing detailed structural mapping along key shear corridors, while early stakeholder engagement is building a solid foundation for operations. 

Dalaroo says it is fast-tracking Bongouanoa toward drill-ready mode, blending historical high-grade hits with fresh data integration to zero in on priority targets for upcoming aircore and diamond programs. 

Historical drilling has outlined broad mineralised envelopes and sharp high-grade zones that remain open for expansion in all directions. 

Standout intercepts from diamond drilling include a large 17 metres at 6.79 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 113m, including 3m at a bonanza grade of 34.29g/t gold, and in another hole, 2m at 60.47g/t gold from 39m. 

Thicker hits include an 18m intercept running 1.28g/t gold from 70m alongside 30m at 0.61g/t gold from 33m. 

The company says its diamond hits intersected structurally controlled mineralisation consistent with Birimian-style orogenic systems, highlighting both widespread moderate-grade areas and focused high-grade shoots for quick expansion. 

Dalaroo Metals chief executive officer John Morgan said: “Having our team active on the ground in Cote d’Ivoire readying themselves to hit the ground Bongouanoa is an important milestone for the Company and clearly demonstrates our focus on execution. The combination of extensive gold anomalism, favourable structural setting and encouraging historical drilling results provides a strong technical foundation for disciplined follow-up exploration.” 

Bongouanoa spans some 400 square kilometres in the Sefwi–Comé Basin of the gold-rich Birimian greenstone belt – prime terrain for multi-million-ounce gold deposits that litter West Africa. 

The project straddles major regional structures, such as the northeast Sefwi–Comé Shear Zone and the northwest N’Guessan Shear Zone, which guide gold placement in surrounding operational gold neighbours.

The company says artisanal workings dot the area, signalling near-surface potential for shallow gold mineralisation that awaits all-important modern drilling to test their extents. 

Recent desktop reviews by Dalaroo are weaving its on-the-ground datasets with regional structures and artisanal insights to rank targets ahead of the drilling programs later in the year. 

The Côte d’Ivoire thrust complements Dalaroo’s multi-commodity drive, evolving the junior from its WA roots in nickel-copper-PGE to a diversified player spanning gold in West Africa and rare earths in Greenland. 

The company’s critical minerals are now front and centre in Western industrial and defence policy as Greenland firmly steals the geopolitical spotlight amid US President Trump’s continued ambitions in the country. 

Dalaroo’s Blue Lagoon project appears to be shaping up as a strategically located, technically simple and potentially scalable source of rare-earth minerals for the Western world and an increasingly desperate US market.

In the meantime, as gold prices bounce back to near-record highs, the boots-on-the-ground targeting studies ahead of drilling in Côte d’Ivoire are all geared toward outlining a JORC-compliant resource in rapid succession.

In a market hungry for fresh gold stories from stable West African jurisdictions, Dalaroo’s systematic advance at Bongouanoa sets the stage for potential breakthroughs as the global gold frenzy continues.

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