Endeavour Mining PLC (LSE:EDV, TSX:EDV, OTCQX:EDVMF) has hailed as one of the “most significant discoveries made in West Africa over the last decade” a major gold find in Côte d’Ivoire.
It said the Tanda-Iguela property has the potential to become another flagship asset after the company’s geologists compiled a resource estimate for the Assafou target in a super-quick 15 months.
Initial analysis suggests Assafou is host to an "indicated" 14.9mln tonnes of ore at 2.33 grams per tonne (g/t) for 1.1mln ounces. With this, there is an inferred 32.9mln tonnes at 1.80 g/t for a further 1.9mln ounces.
Endeavour believes there is "significant potential" to expand Assafou as its indicated resource only covers around 20% of the three-kilometre system, which remains open along the strike length and at depth.
Indeed, the experts believe Assafou’s structural geological trend is "highly prospective".
Specifically, they reckon it could extend over a 15-kilometre stretch with several identified high-quality gold-in-soil anomalies providing evidence of this.
Away from Assafou, there are at least 10 additional "highly prospective" targets on the Tanda-Iguela property, the company said.
It plans to assess the potential of the project next year with an "aggressive" 70,000-metre drill programme to uncover further resources at Assafou and test these new targets.
Preliminary metallurgical tests, meanwhile, indicated high gold recovery rates of above 95% with a significant portion liberated using a lower-cost gravity separation approach.
Endeavour chief executive Sébastien de Montessus said he was "thrilled" with the maiden resource estimate.
“It ranks as one of the most significant discoveries made in West Africa over the last decade and shows potential to be another flagship asset for the company,” he added.
This was thick mineralisation of up to 100 metres at an average grade of more than 3 g/t. The cost of discovery, meanwhile, was a "low cost" US$10 per indicated ounce.