Santa Fe Minerals Confirms 2.5km Gold Zone at Satama Prospect

Gold Mineralisation Confirmed Over Significant Strike Length

Santa Fe Minerals (ASX:SFM) has delivered a solid update from its Satama Gold Prospect within the Eburnea Gold Project in Côte d’Ivoire, confirming continuous gold mineralisation over at least 2.5 kilometres of strike and into fresh bedrock. The company completed 16 drill holes totalling 3,705.5 metres, with assays returned from both diamond and reverse circulation (RC) drilling. Fourteen of the 16 holes intercepted gold mineralisation, underscoring the prospect’s potential as a Birimian orogenic gold system hosted in folded meta-sandstone and shale.

Drilling Program Disrupted but Diamond Core Provides Depth Insights

The original plan envisaged 33 RC holes alongside 10 diamond holes to delineate the mineralised lodes. However, an early failure of the RC drill rig forced a pivot to diamond drilling only, slowing progress due to the need to core through a thick weathered regolith zone with larger diameter PQ and HQ core. This adjustment meant only the southernmost three sections out of ten planned were drilled with both RC and diamond holes; the remainder saw just one diamond hole per section. The program confirmed gold mineralisation extends well below surface, with notable intercepts such as 11 metres at 1.18 grams per tonne (g/t) from 153 metres and 15 metres at 0.97 g/t from 143 metres depth.

Geological Setting and Mineralisation Style

The Satama prospect lies within the Oume-Fetekro greenstone belt and adjacent to the Birimian Comoé basin, featuring stacked, steeply dipping quartz vein lodes with associated sulphides including pyrite, arsenopyrite, and chalcopyrite. These veins are hosted within a folded meta-sedimentary sequence, consistent with orogenic gold systems typical of West Africa. The drilling results validate previous shallow RC and aircore drilling, extending the known mineralised zone vertically into fresh rock and confirming continuity along strike.

Next Steps Focus on Resuming RC Drilling and Step-Out Targets

Santa Fe Minerals is now assessing options to recommence the RC drilling program to complete the un-drilled holes and expand the campaign to test step-out targets along strike and at depth. The company emphasises that access and rig availability are key considerations before resuming the RC component. The broader Eburnea Gold Project includes the 100% owned Satama Permit and the Bouake North application, with exploration continuing to target parallel mineralised zones identified by geophysics and geochemistry.

Strategic Implications for Santa Fe Minerals’ West African Portfolio

This drilling update builds on Santa Fe Minerals’ recent acquisition of Côte d’Ivoire gold projects and aligns with its strategy to advance high-potential targets in a prolific West African gold province. The confirmation of significant mineralisation at Satama supports the company’s medium-term objective to define a JORC-compliant resource, pending further drilling and evaluation. The rig failure and subsequent program adjustments highlight operational challenges common in frontier exploration but do not diminish the prospect’s geological promise.