Many Peaks Minerals has extended the tested depth of its Ouarigue gold system beyond 900 metres, with a post-quarter hole returning 188.9 metres at 3.58g/t gold. The results will feed an updated resource estimate and a combined open-pit and underground assessment, while the company’s A$20.1 million cash balance supports the next phase of work.
- Ouarigue mineralisation tested beyond 900m below surface
- 188.9m at 3.58g/t gold reported after quarter-end
- More than 55,400m of 60,000m annual drilling completed
- Updated resource estimate due in the December 2026 quarter
- A$20.1m cash balance and 2.8 quarters of funding at reported outgoings
Ouarigue depth extension changes the development question
Many Peaks Minerals Limited (ASX:MPK) is no longer assessing the Ouarigue prospect solely as a shallow open-pit story. Deep diamond drilling has pushed the tested vertical extent of mineralisation from about 540 metres to more than 900 metres below surface, with mineralisation still open at depth. The company now plans to assess underground development alongside the open-pit work already under way.
The strongest results reported during the September quarter included 116 metres at 2.78g/t gold in FNDC162, including 42 metres at 5.01g/t, and 116.5 metres at 1.76g/t in FNDC161. The latter included 40.3 metres at 3.89g/t, with a 7.25-metre section grading 20.0g/t. These are exploration results and do not form part of the existing Ouarigue Mineral Resource Estimate.
The latest drilling builds on the 900m depth extension previously reported by Many Peaks, which included a 40.3-metre interval at 3.89g/t. During the quarter, three diamond rigs were operating and the company completed a further 8,895 metres of diamond drilling at Ferké.
Post-quarter drilling delivers the headline intercept
The most eye-catching result arrived after quarter-end. Hole FNDC166 returned 188.9 metres at 3.58g/t gold from 633 metres, with an estimated true width of 95.3 metres. The interval included 46.75 metres at 7.02g/t, itself containing a narrower 1.85-metre section at 109.8g/t.
That result, along with further diamond and reverse-circulation drilling, formed the data cut-off for the planned Ouarigue resource update. The company says geological modelling and resource estimation are under way, with completion scheduled for the December 2026 quarter. The current resource stands at 26.7 million tonnes at 1.54g/t gold for 1.323 million ounces, about 83% of which is classified as Measured and Indicated.
Resource update precedes integrated mine studies
Reverse-circulation drilling also confirmed continuity across more than 800 metres of strike in the Inferred portion of the resource, including 12 metres at 5.50g/t from 109 metres in FNRC268. The results are intended to support future resource modelling and possible upgrading of some material to the Indicated category.
Following the resource update, Many Peaks plans an integrated economic assessment combining pre-feasibility-level open-pit work with a Scoping Study assessment of underground options. The company is targeting a definitive feasibility study in 2027 and a development decision by early 2028, but explicitly cautions that the studies are incomplete and may not demonstrate an economically viable mining operation.
Exploration pipeline expands beyond Ferké
Many Peaks completed more than 55,400 metres of aggregate diamond, reverse-circulation and air-core drilling toward its 60,000-metre calendar-year target. At Odienné, 11,200 metres of air-core drilling across 543 holes was completed, with assays pending and follow-up reverse-circulation drilling planned for the December quarter.
The company also completed its acquisition of 100% of the 644-square-kilometre Baga Gold Project. More than 14,800 metres of auger drilling across 2,700 sites has been completed there, but those results also remain pending. Baga’s earlier soil sampling outlined more than 16 kilometres of gold anomalism across nine coherent zones, although the portable technology used reports relative anomalism rather than conventional gold assay grades.
Cash funds the next round of drilling and studies
Many Peaks ended September with A$20.1 million in cash after spending A$6.6 million on exploration and evaluation, A$734,000 on administration and corporate costs, and A$1.4 million to complete the Baga acquisition. The Appendix 5B indicates estimated funding of 2.8 quarters based on the quarter’s relevant outgoings, a measure that could change as drilling and study activity moves forward.
The immediate test is therefore not whether Ouarigue has produced another impressive intercept. It is whether the pending resource estimate can convert deep exploration success into a materially larger and technically credible inventory, while the subsequent studies establish how much of that mineralisation can be developed within the company’s funding horizon.
Bottom Line?
The December-quarter resource update is the key bridge between impressive drilling and a mine development case, with funding needs likely to become clearer as underground work is added.
Questions in the middle?
- How much of the deep Ouarigue mineralisation will be incorporated into the updated resource estimate?
- Will the integrated open-pit and underground assessment support an economically viable development scenario?
- Can the A$20.1 million cash balance fund the expanded drilling and study program through the next major decision points?