Awalé logs strong results at Newmont-backed project

Drilling at Awalé Resources’ (TSXV: ARIC) Odienné copper-gold project in Côte d’Ivoire has returned results as high as 26 metres grading 12 grams gold per tonne, the company reported Thursday.

That result, from 146 metres depth in hole OEDD-120 at the Charger target, included 11.4 grams silver and 0.10% copper; with another interval booking 42 grams gold, 47.1 grams silver and 0.41% copper.

Odienné is a joint venture with Newmont (TSX: NGT; NYSE, ASX: NEM).

“Today’s results from Charger (…) confirm the northeastern mineralization corridor and reinforce our confidence in the continuity, geometry, and scalability of the Charger system,” Awalé CEO Andrew Chubb said in a release.

Hole OEDD-137 — which cut 26 metres at 2 grams gold from 134 metres depth, including 14.8 grams silver and 0.19% copper — intersected a second breccia about 50 metres west of the northeast corridor, Chubb noted. That highlights “the potential for parallel zones of mineralization similar to what has been defined,” he said.

Awalé shares gained 1.9% to 52¢ apiece on Thursday morning in Toronto, for a market capitalization of $45.5 million. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of 39¢ to 79¢.

Gold surges again

The Vancouver-based company’s results come a day after gold hit $3,357.40 per oz., another historic high amid the metal’s surge over the past 18 months.

All of the exploration at Odienné is funded by Newmont, which holds an 11.2% equity stake in Awalé. The project is located in northwest Côte d’Ivoire near Mali and Guinea,

Another noteworthy hole, OEDD-118, returned 95 metres at 1.8 grams gold from 170 metres depth; including 44 metres at 2.8 grams gold, 0.7 gram silver and 0.01% copper; and 4 metres at 10.3 grams gold and 1.1 grams silver.

Thursday’s results, from 1,730 metres across nine holes confirm Charger as a high-priority discovery, Awalé said. Assays are pending for another four holes.