Aurum Resources Ltd (ASX:AUE) has delivered another round of high-grade gold results from the BST1 deposit at its 3.22-million-ounce Boundiali Gold Project in Côte d'Ivoire, reinforcing the potential to expand and upgrade the resource ahead of a major mineral resource estimate update.
The latest assays cover 22 diamond holes for 5,774 metres from Aurum’s ongoing 100,000-metre 2026 drilling program at Boundiali, combining infill and extensional drilling at the 100%-owned BST tenement.
Standout results included 5.63 metres at 31.79 g/t gold from 32 metres, including 2.63 metres at 67.60 g/t, along with 3.07 metres at 17.20 g/t from 201.93 metres, including 0.50 metres at 104.13 g/t. Other intersections included 2 metres at 18.71 g/t from 149 metres and 4.50 metres at 6.65 g/t from 222 metres.
High-grade results extend BST1
The drilling has confirmed gold mineralisation down dip beyond the current BST1 mineral resource envelope, with the system remaining open along strike and at depth.
BST1 currently hosts a resource of 22 million tonnes at 0.8 g/t gold for 570,000 ounces, including an indicated component of 6.9 million tonnes at 0.9 g/t for 190,000 ounces. Aurum is targeting a material increase in the indicated resource through the current drilling campaign.
The deposit sits about 19 kilometres south of BDT1 along the Nyangboue shear zone and is hosted within a sedimentary sequence of sandstones and shales. Higher-grade zones are associated with structurally controlled quartz veining, with broad lower-grade mineralised envelopes surrounding the higher-grade material.
Managing director Dr Caigen Wang said the results included shallow, high-grade mineralisation and would contribute directly to the company’s next resource update.
"These 22 holes form part of the ongoing 100,000m CY2026 Boundiali program, targeting resource growth and higher confidence ahead of the next Boundiali MRE update. These holes have intersected shallow, high-grade mineralisation, including 5.63m @ 31.79 g/t Au from 32m (BSDD0097).
"The shear-hosted gold mineralisation at BST1 shows thick, wide zones with multiple intersections downhole, and as demonstrated in our PFS, this style of mineralisation is amenable to open pit mining. We see similar wide zones along the same trend on the BD tenement (BDT1 and BDT2) to the north."
Resource update and DFS ahead
Aurum has 16 company-owned diamond rigs operating across Boundiali, with the next major mineral resource update targeted for early in the fourth quarter of 2026 following a drilling cut-off at the end of September.
Results from the program are also expected to feed into a definitive feasibility study (DFS), scheduled for completion late in 2026.
The company has already secured environmental approval for a proposed 6-million-tonne-per-year open-pit gold mine and completed a pre-feasibility study and maiden ore reserve earlier this year.
Aurum is targeting completion of mining licences and the DFS later in 2026, followed by financing and the start of development work in early 2027, with first production targeted for the first half of 2028.
Beyond the current resource areas, Aurum also plans scout drilling across the BD, BM and BST tenements to test targets generated from soil anomalies and geological mapping along the project’s roughly 75-kilometre north-south mineralised corridor.
"With 16 Aurum-owned diamond rigs active across Boundiali, these results will feed directly into our next major resource update, with drilling cut-off targeted for the end of Q3 CY2026 and results early in Q4 CY2026. Drilling at BST1 is designed to materially increase the Indicated Resource, currently 6.9Mt @ 0.9 g/t Au for 190koz, in the next update, which will in turn feed the DFS due late this year," Wang said.
"Our balance sheet remains strong, with A$54.6M cash, enabling us to advance drilling, studies and permitting in parallel. We have made excellent progress this year: achieved environmental approval for a 6Mtpa open pit gold mine in May, followed by delivery of the PFS and Maiden Ore Reserve in June, followed quickly with the appointment of experienced key professionals to our development team.
"We now have a clear pathway to grant of the Mining Licences and completion of the DFS later this year, in line with our goal of finalising funding and breaking ground early in 2027 to develop a large-scale open pit gold mine in Côte d'Ivoire, targeting first production in H1 2028."
About Aurum Resources
Aurum Resources is a gold explorer and developer focused on Côte d'Ivoire.
Its flagship Boundiali Gold Project hosts a resource of 3.22 million ounces, while the Napié Gold Project contains a further 1.16 million ounces. The company reports combined group gold resources of around 4.4 million ounces.
Aurum plans around 130,000 metres of drilling during 2026, comprising 100,000 metres at Boundiali and a further 30,000 metres at Napié, where drilling is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter.
The company reported cash of A$54.6 million at June 30, 2026, providing funding to continue drilling, feasibility studies and permitting as Boundiali moves toward development.