Scout sampling leads Dalaroo to high-grade gold in West Africa

Fresh from lacing up its boots for on-ground fieldwork in Côte d’Ivoire a week ago, Dalaroo Metals has wasted no time delivering the sort of early signals that can turn a new gold project from “interesting” to “get me a drill rig” in a heartbeat.

The company’s due diligence scout rock-chip sampling at the Bondoukou gold project has produced high-grade results up to 17.95 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, confirming punchy mineralisation in a belt that has already proven it can host serious deposits.

While the sampling comprised early-stage reconnaissance, the company is quick to point out it was selective, with six samples grabbed from quartz veins and quartz-rich material exposed in artisanal workings. 

Four of the six samples returned standout values of 17.95g/t, 8.01, 4.95 and 3.59g/t gold. The two remaining samples ran grades of 0.5g/t and 0.68g/t gold. 

In anyone’s language, that’s an impressive outcome from a “first look” at a project that has yet to be systematically drilled by Dalaroo and is exactly the sort of early footprint that can flash like a neon sign for gold explorers. 

Dalaroo says artisanal workings extend for about 600 metres along strike in the northern part of the project area, supporting the view that the results may not be just a one-off outcome but could represent a broader system with possible strike and depth continuity.

Notably, the company pointed to the Bondoukou project’s address within West Africa’s globally recognised Birimian greenstone belt, one of the planet’s most fertile gold provinces. The vast belt extends across five African nations and is known for its many Tier-1 gold discoveries. 

Bondoukou lies 35 kilometres northwest of Endeavour Mining’s Tanda-Iguela gold project. The major greenfield gold discovery, with a 4.6-million-ounce resource at 1.95g/t gold and a 14.5-year mine life, is a resounding imprimatur of the broader region’s prospectivity.

The company believes the quartz veins in its patch of ground run along interpreted structural corridors. Multiple small-scale workings are scattered across the zone, hinting at structurally controlled gold mineralisation - a style that can deliver good continuity when the plumbing is right.

This latest news hasn’t come as a complete surprise. Only last week, Dalaroo reported it had kicked off systematic geological field mapping in the Bondoukou region, after completing initial stakeholder engagement and mobilisation. 

The field program is sweeping across nine kilometres of prospective strike and is mainly focused on priority structural corridors and local near-surface mining activity.

Dalaroo Metals chief executive officer John Morgan said: “These initial sampling results provide encouraging confirmation of high-grade gold mineralisation within quartz reef material exposed in the extensive artisanal workings at Bondoukou. While the sampling is selective in nature, the presence of multiple high-grade results within a well-endowed Birimian gold belt highlights the exploration potential of the project.” 

With mapping and geochemical programs now underway, the company’s near-term focus is on sharpening its understanding of the structural controls and getting to grips with the system's scale. 

The early exploration campaign is using detailed mapping, surface sampling and drone-assisted interpretation to help prioritise the first round of drill targets.

If Bondoukou keeps serving up grades like these early responses as Dalaroo expands its sampling and tightens its targeting, punters may not have to wait long before the company accelerates its exploration.

It’s early days, but 17.95g/t gold from surface rock-chip sampling is a cracking first sign. Now it’s over to the mapping and geochemistry to turn that surface sparkle into tight drill targets.

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