Aurum Resources has identified high-grade gold outside the current Mineral Resource at its BMT2 prospect in Côte d'Ivoire, including 2.38 metres at 22.01 g/t gold. The results arrive as the company moves towards a Boundiali resource update and Definitive Feasibility Study later this year.
- Mineralisation identified beyond the current BMT2 resource boundary
- 2.38m at 22.01 g/t gold, including 1m at 51.38 g/t
- 60 diamond holes returned results across 12,251.55m of drilling
- Boundiali resource update targeted for early Q4 2026
- A$54.6m cash balance and 2028 first-gold target
BMT2 drilling opens a resource-growth avenue
The most consequential result in Aurum Resources Limited’s (ASX:AUE) latest drilling update is not the headline grade at its existing BMT1 deposit, but the fact that gold has been intersected beyond the current Mineral Resource at BMT2, where no resource is currently defined. Hole MBDD404 returned two separate zones, including 14.20 metres at 2.36 g/t gold from 205.80 metres and 2.38 metres at 22.01 g/t from 277 metres, with the narrower interval containing 1 metre at 51.38 g/t.
Other BMT2 results included 1.50 metres at 41.78 g/t from 27 metres, 5.15 metres at 5.85 g/t from 110 metres and 5.40 metres at 4.05 g/t from 128 metres. The company says the gold system remains open, and follow-up drilling is being planned. That is exploration potential rather than an immediate addition to the resource: the results still need to be assessed, modelled and potentially included in the next Mineral Resource Estimate.
BMT1 delivers shallow and deeper high-grade hits
At BMT1, which has an existing resource of 8.8 million tonnes at 1.1 g/t gold for 320,000 ounces, the strongest new shallow result was 1.35 metres at 43.32 g/t from just 17 metres. A separate hole returned 1 metre at 47.56 g/t from 182 metres, while broader intersections included 19 metres at 1.90 g/t from 243 metres and 13.45 metres at 1.31 g/t from 171.80 metres.
The results form part of 60 diamond holes totalling 12,251.55 metres, with 41 holes drilled at BMT1 and 19 at BMT2. Reported intersections are downhole lengths, not true widths. Aurum estimates true widths for the shallow mineralised intercepts at approximately 60% to 85% of the reported lengths, a distinction that matters when judging the eventual scale and mining geometry of the zones.
Resource update sits ahead of the DFS
Drilling at Boundiali is scheduled to continue through a 100,000-metre 2026 programme, with the cut-off for the next resource update set at the end of September. Aurum is targeting the update for early Q4 2026, after which the new drilling will feed into a Boundiali Definitive Feasibility Study expected late in the year.
The company reported A$54.6 million in cash at 30 June 2026 and said its 16 company-owned diamond rigs allow drilling, studies and permitting to proceed concurrently. It has also reported environmental approval, while mining licences and development funding remain among the steps ahead of its stated goal of starting construction in early 2027 and producing first gold in the first half of 2028. Those dates are targets, not established outcomes, and remain subject to approvals, funding and the results of the DFS.
Bottom Line?
BMT2 could become the more important part of this update if follow-up drilling converts high-grade exploration hits into a coherent resource before the DFS.
Questions in the middle?
- How much of the BMT2 mineralisation can be converted into an Inferred or Indicated resource in the next update?
- Will follow-up drilling demonstrate sufficient continuity and true width for mine planning?
- Can Aurum secure mining licences and development funding on the timetable needed for early 2027 construction?