Aurum Resources Limited (ASX: AUE) (Aurum) is pleased to report high-grade gold intercepts from step-back diamond hole at BD Target 1 as part of ongoing diamond drilling at its Boundiali Gold Project in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa.
Highlights
Aurum’s Managing Director Dr. Caigen Wang said: “We are very pleased to see this project best result for BD target 1 with DSDD0051 hitting 1m @ 163.42 g/t Au within an interval of 12.22m @ 14.56 g/t Au from 275m. This interval was 60m down dip from 4m @ 22.35 g/t Au (DSDD0004) and the system remains open as we systematically step out along strike and step back to test down dip.
We will soon have four diamond drill rigs working at Boundiali as we increase our drilling rate to ~6,000m per month. We are in an incredibly target-rich environment as our geology team adds new targets to test at BD within the 13km by 3km gold corridor.
We are leveraging the work completed by previous explorers at Boundiali and thanks to our supportive shareholders are well funded. Our aggressive drilling ensures consistent news flow as we build on the encouraging results to date from known targets on the BD and BM tenements and look forward to testing new targets whilst we aim to deliver inaugural JORC resources for Boundiali by late 2024.”
Figure 1:Section 1054500 (+/-25m) showing previous drilling (white) and latest drill intersection (yellow) – BD Target 1
BD Target 1 - Latest Drill Results
Assay results reported in this release are from DSDD0051, a 355.5m step-back diamond hole drilled at BD Target 1. Aurum has intersected gold mineralisation (12.22m @ 14.56 g/t Au from 275m inc. 1m @ 163.42 g/t Au) in DSDD0051, 60m down dip of 4m @ 22.35 g/t Au from 226m (DSDD0004) and approximately 230m below surface. This target remains open with further drilling planned. Assay results for this hole3 include:
These new results are in addition to diamond holes drilled at BD Target 1 and reported previously on 1 March 2024, 12 March 2024 and 10 May 2024 which include:
These shallow wide high-grade gold intercepts are predominately from the hanging wall lodes at BD target 1 and true widths estimated at around 70% - 80% of reported downhole lengths.
Details of drill collar location and assay results for DSDD0051 from drilling on BD Target 1 can be found in Table 1 and Table 2 respectively. Plans showing location of the Boundiali Gold Project including locating the assay results are presented in (Figure 2 to Figure 6) and a cross section of these latest drill results can be found in Figure 1.
Gold mineralisation remains open along strike and at depth on all prospects, with drilling ongoing and further work being planned. A program of trenching is underway to define additional high priority targets for drill testing within the 13km by 3km gold mineralised corridor sitting outside of the three defined gold prospects.
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Aurum Resources offers a compelling value proposition through its highly prospective gold asset in Côte d'Ivoire, a fast-emerging gold region in West Africa. Its cost-effective exploration strategy of drill rig ownership also distinguishes it from its peers.
Aurum Resources (ASX:AUE) is a mineral exploration company primarily focused on gold through its flagship Boundiali gold project located in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa.
Côte d'Ivoire's gold mining sector is experiencing significant growth and development, with several key projects contributing to the country's economic expansion. The overall gold mining sector in Côte d'Ivoire is supported by substantial investments in infrastructure and exploration.
Geopolitically, Côte d'Ivoire outperforms most developing countries in the world in political, legal, tax and operational risk metrics. Additionally, Côte d'Ivoire continues to make notable strides in its political stability and Absence of Violence and Terrorism Index.
Boundiali Gold Project – BD Target 1 Artisanal Working
Aurum has entered into a Bid Implementation Agreement with Mako Gold for Aurum to acquire 100 percent of the issued shares in Mako. This proposed merger will allow both Aurum and Mako security holders to benefit from the combination of Aurum’s strong balance sheet and exceptional drilling efficiencies with AU$23 million in cash at the end of December 2024 to support work programs targeted at further resource definition across Aurum and Mako’s assets in northern Côte d'Ivoire. Aurum is currently in its final phase of compulsory acquisition of remaining Mako shares after it received over 90% acceptance of MKG shares in late January 2025.
The merger is backed by a highly experienced board and management team with extensive gold experience from grassroots discovery, through to resource drill-out, feasibility studies, project finance, and production.
The Boundiali gold project in Cote d’Ivoire is located within the Boundiali Greenstone Belt, which hosts Resolute’s Syama gold operation (11.5 Moz) and the Tabakoroni deposit (1 Moz) in Mali. Neighbouring assets also include Barrick’s Tongon mine (5 Moz) and Montage Gold’s Kone project (4.5 Moz).
The Boundiali project area covers the underexplored southern extension of the Boundiali belt, where a highly deformed synclinal greenstone horizon traverses finer-grained basin sediments, and to the west, Tarkwaian clastic rocks lie in contact with a granitic margin. The project benefits from year-round road access and excellent infrastructure.
The first stage of drilling at Boundiali occurred from late October 2023 to end of November 2024 for both the BM and BD tenements (BM1 and BM2; BD1, BD2 and BD3 targets) and was designed to test below-gold-in-soil anomalies oriented along NE trending structures, define new gold prospects and define maiden JORC resources. With over 63,000m diamond holes drilled during this period, Maiden JORC gold resources estimate was delivered in late December 2024.
Drilling costs are estimated at US$45 per metre, as Aurum owns all of its eight drilling rigs and employs its operators, representing a significant value proposition relative to peers who use commercial drilling companies that charge upwards of $200 per meter. The company believes there is potential for multi-million ounce gold resources to be defined with hundreds thousands meters of drilling over years within the Boundiali Gold Project’s land holding areas.
The Boundiali gold project comprises four contiguous granted licenses: PR0808 (80 percent interest), PR0893 (80 percent and earning to 88 percent interest), PR414 (100 percent interest), and PR283 (earning to 70 percent interest). Historic exploration at PR0893 includes 93 AC drill holes and four RC holes. Airborne geophysical surveying, geological mapping and extensive soil sampling have also been performed at PR0893, while PR0808 has had 91 RC holes drilled for 6,229 metres along with geochemical analysis and modeling. Detailed geochemical sampling and drilling at PR414 revealed three strong gold anomalies and returned impressive high-grade results.
Following the renewal of its Boundali South (BST) exploration licence in September 2024, drilling at the Nyangboue deposit is planned for H1 2025 and H2 2025. Previous exploration at BST has returned impressive results, including 20 m at 10.45 g/t gold from 38 meters, and 30 m at 8.30 g/t gold from 39 m.
In May 2024, Aurum entered a strategic partnership agreement to earn up to a 70 percent interest in exploration tenement PR283, to be renamed Boundiali North (BN). Aurum, through subsidiary Plusor Global Pty Ltd, has partnered with Ivorian company Geb & Nut Resources Sarl and related party (GNRR) to explore and develop the Boundiali North (BN) tenement which covers 208.87sq km immediately north of Aurum’s BD tenement. Further to this agreement,
Aurum announced it has earned 80 percent project interest after completing more than 20,000 m of diamond core drilling.
Boundiali Project JORC Mineral Resource Estimate
Aurum has announced a maiden independent JORC mineral resource estimate of 1.59 Moz gold for its 1,037 sq. km. The Boundiali Gold Project comprises the BST, BDT1 & BDT2, BMT1 and BMT3 deposits. Drilling is ongoing on these deposits, and Aurum has identified other prospects at Boundiali which have yet to be drilled. Since October 2023, the company has completed an extensive 63,927-metre diamond drilling program. This aggressive exploration campaign has rapidly defined a significant gold resource of 50.9 Mt @ 1.0 g/t gold for 1.6 million ounces.
A 100,000 m of drilling is planned and being carried out at Boundiali using eight self-owned diamond rigs to drive resource growth with two JORC resources updates in 2025.
In 2025, Aurum plans to launch a mining exploitation licence application and complete a PFS and environment study for the Boundiali Gold Project.
Troy Flannery has more than 25 years’ experience in the mining industry, including nine years in corporate and 17 years in senior mining engineering and project development roles. He has a degree in mining engineering, masters in finance, and first class mine managers certificate of competency. Flannery has performed non-executive director roles with numerous ASX listed companies and was the CEO of Abra Mining until October 2021. He has worked at numerous mining companies, mining consultancy and contractors, including BHP, Newcrest, Xstrata, St Barbara Mines and AMC Consultants.
Dr. Caigen Wang founded Tietto Minerals (ASX:TIE), where he led the company as managing director for 13 years through private exploration, ASX listing, gold resource definition, project study and mine building to become one of Africa’s newest gold producers at its Abujar gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire. He holds a bachelor, masters and PhD in mining engineering. He is a fellow of AusIMM and a chartered professional engineer of Institution of Engineer, Australia. Wang has 13 years of mining academic experience in China University of Mining and Technology, Western Australia School of Mine and University of Alberta, and over 20 years of practical experience in mining engineering and mineral exploration in Australia, China and Africa. Other professional experience includes senior technical and management roles in mining houses, including St. Barbara, Sons of Gwalia, BHP Billiton, China Goldmines PLC and others.
Mark Strizek has nearly 30 years’ experience in the resource industry, having worked as a geologist on various gold, base metal and technology metal projects. He brings invaluable geological, technical and development expertise to Aurum, most recently as an executive director at Tietto Minerals’, which progressed from an IPO to gold production at the Abujar gold project in West Africa. Strizek has worked as an executive with management and board responsibilities in exploration, feasibility, finance and development-ready assets across Australia, West Africa, Asia and Europe.
Game-changing gold exploration at prolific Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa.
Gold chart, April 4 to April 11, 2025.
Chart via the Investing News Network.
During the week, Trump reversed course on some of the tariff measures he announced on April 2.
Those measures included a 10 percent tariff on all but a handful of countries, including Canada and Mexico, with more severe reciprocal tariffs to come into effect this week. However, on Wednesday (April 9), Trump announced he would pause the additional tariffs for 90 days, saying more than 70 countries had contacted him to make deals.
Trump may have also been feeling pressure from economic advisors as a surge in treasury yields signaled a potential economic crisis brewing in the US bond market. Normally a safe haven during market volatility, the bond market saw a significant selloff this week as US tariffs and worries about the US economy's stability spooked traders.
Although the pause gave most countries some breathing room, tariffs against China were left on the table. After much back and forth, US tariffs levied against China have now increased to 145 percent.
The net effect of Trump's actions has been political and financial turmoil, sparking selloffs in major stock markets and pushing prices for safe-haven assets like gold to fresh records.
Additionally, China, Japan and South Korea agreed on March 30 to seek deeper free trade ties in response to the threat of tariffs from the US government. The deal marks a significant move by the three countries following decades of US diplomacy to maintain close relationships with Japan and South Korea.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD)(TSX:ABX) will release its Q1 2025 results on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. President and CEO Mark Bristow will host a live presentation of the results that day at 11:00 EDT, with an interactive webinar linked to a conference call. Participants will be able to ask questions.
Q1 RESULTS ANNOUNCEMENT
The webinar will remain on the website for later viewing and the conference call will be available for replay by telephone at 1 855 669 9658 (US and Canada toll-free) and +1 412 317 0088 (international toll), replay access code 2985555.
The Q1 2025 presentation materials will be available on Barrick's website at www.barrick.com .
Enquiries:
Claudia Pitre
Investor Relations and Corporate Access
+1 416 307 5105
Email: investor@barrick.com
Kathy du Plessis
Investor and Media Relations
+44 20 7557 7738
Email: barrick@dpapr.com
Website: www.barrick.com
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