The resource totals 87 million tonnes at 0.84 grams per tonne gold for 2.4 million ounces.
The latest highlights from Toubani’s now-completed resource definition drill campaign show a 57m section grading 2.48g/t gold from 85m including a 1m hit at 25.7g/t from 115m and a deeper 9m slice going 5.08g/t from 125m. The program was designed to update Kobada’s resource estimate this quarter.
The campaign tested key areas of near-surface, open-pittable oxide mineralisation within or immediately adjacent to preliminary pit designs.
The latest results add to an already impressive list of assays recorded at Kobada in recent weeks, with a highlight 19m intercept going 20.6g/t gold from 69m containing a bonanza-grade 2m hit at an “eye-watering” 178g/t from 69m.
Mali is the fourth-biggest gold producer in Africa, with output expected to continue to increase as more operations come online. The country is a hotspot for several major miners including Barrick Gold, which has gold mines at its 11 million-ounce Loulo project and the 5.1 million-ounce Gounkoto operation.
The company is intent on delivering its definitive feasibility study (DFS) in a timely manner. It has appointed three new members to its DFS team, all of them experienced in their respective mining fields and with vast working knowledge on mining projects within Africa and they will join the existing technical team of Bill Oliver and Kerry Griffin.
Management says Marc Rowley is an experienced study manager and project director, who will oversee the delivery of the Kobada DFS jointly with Oliver. Dave Clark is a mining engineer with more than 30 years of experience and he will lead the mining study for the DFS, while Dhanu Anandarasa is a corporate development executive and financial analyst, who will head up the financial and economic modelling for the study.
All five team members will work with well-credentialled consulting groups Lycopodium, Orelogy, Entech and Knight Piesold to drive the delivery of the DFS.
With a beefed-up management and DFS team combined with a resource that continues to grow in a renowned gold region, Toubani is well-placed to ride the latest gold wave.
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