A bulked-up mineral resource estimate for Toubani Resources’ (ASX: TRE) Kobada gold project in southern Mali has the company positioning for what it says could be West Africa’s next significant open pit gold development.
The latest figures released today reveal a 44 per cent increase in the indicated oxide resource to 1.4 million ounces, bringing the total indicated resource to 2 million ounces. Management has also outlined a 10 per cent improvement in the overall grade to 0.87 grams a tonne.
The updated estimate was revised using an additional 120 drillholes that have already been plunged into Kobada this year, in addition to data from 39 holes drilled in 2020.
By shifting more than 80 per cent of the inferred oxide resource into the indicated category, the company has now supercharged the project’s total indicated tonnage to 71 million tonnes, leaving it with significant exploration upside – especially at depth and within satellite deposits such as Kobada West and Gosso. More significantly, 40km of at least 50km of regional-scale shear zones still remain undrilled.
Completed by Entech and Toubani’s technical team, the estimate now allows the company to finalise mining studies and pit design optimisation for the definitive feasibility study (DFS) update that is on track for completion by the end of September. The company is also planning targeted exploration drilling to test extensions to the mineralisation and to further upgrade the resource base.
The successful delivery of the 2024 MRE is a fantastic result that exceeded the Company’s expectations in ounces converted and increases in grade - two key drivers of the upcoming DFS - and means that the Kobada Gold Project is now “study ready”. To achieve 2 million ounces of contained gold in Indicated resources is a significant achievement and clearly differentiates Kobada from its development peers on the ASX and globally.”
Toubani Resources CEO Phil Russo
The company’s confidence levels have peaked to the extent that the new resource estimate is expected to significantly lower the technical risk of the Kobada project due to the bulk tonnage mining and processing plan. Importantly, the process flow stream allows less selective mining methods, simpler crushing and grinding circuits and therefore less power usage, significantly increasing operational cashflows.
The DFS, which was launched in July last year and is being conducted by key consultants Lycopodium, Orelogy and Knight Piesold, is well advanced and is likely to improve the financial metrics of the project.
Located within the Birimian greenstone belt – a major source of gold mineralisation extending through Ghana, Côte d`Ivoire, Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso – Toubani’s Kobada project is in good company. With a mining-friendly jurisdiction and as the third-biggest gold producer in Africa, Mali has an enviable record of delivering multiple 5 million-plus gold-ounce discoveries, including AngloGold Ashanti’s 9 million-ounce Siguiri mine and Resolute Resources’ 10 million-ounce Syama mine.
With an update resource that Toubani says has exceeded its expectations in both ounces converted and increases in grade, it will be interesting now to watch just how significant Kobada can become as the company’s DFS for the project looms.
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