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Predictive Discovery and Toro Gold have open pit opportunity in Cote D’Ivoire

Last updated: 08:30 22 Feb 2019 AEDT, First published: 16:30 21 Feb 2019 AEDT

Snapshot

The company’s JV with Toro is producing results on the exploration front.

The Predictive-Toro joint venture projects are in the country’s north
  • A discovery at Ferkessedougou North project points to an open pit opportunity for the Toro JV
  • The company has a funded exploration program with additional assay results pending

What does Predictive Discovery do?

Predictive Discovery Ltd (ASX:PDI) specialises in gold exploration in West Africa’s Golden Triangle. It is run by Paul Roberts, a minerals exploration specialist with more than 21 years experience in the mining game, who was a long-time exploration manager for Pasminco in Peru.

What does Predictive Discovery own?

The company has exposure to about 6,000 square kilometres of prospective ground on the West African Birimian greenstone belts of Burkina Faso, Cote D’Ivoire and Guinea.

Predictive runs a prospect generator model to give investors access to a pipeline of early-stage exploration opportunities.

Its portfolio includes wholly-owned and joint venture projects.

The company and its JV partner, privately-held Toro Gold Ltd, have the Ferkessedougou North project (Toro JV) in Cote D’Ivoire together.

The JV started a 10,000-metre drill program this quarter and has completed at least 1,960 metres of trenching this quarter.

A 160-metre long and 90-metre wide elliptical-shaped gold mineralised granitic intrusive body was discovered during the March quarter efforts.

Predictive managing director Paul Roberts told Proactive Investors from West Africa trenching had revealed the potential for an open cut operation at the Toro JV project Ferkessedougou North.

Roberts said the granite was almost continuously mineralised and shaping up to have a “reasonable grade.”

He said mineralisation was broad and its continuity impressive.

The corporate leader, who was an exploration manager for Rio Tinto-founded outfit Pasminco, said the elliptical-shape of the granite body indicated an open pit would have a low strip ratio.

The ore body discovered is expected to yield significant ounces.

Roberts, who was previously a mineral resource discovery team leader for CSIRO, said the ore body’s footprint was small relative to the 200 x 50-metre soil grid.

“We can fit bodies this size on just one soil line or between them so the scope for more discoveries in the 17-kilometre-long zone of anomalies is excellent.”

Intersections from bottle roll assays of channel samples in the Ferkessedougou North trenches included: 34 metres grading 5.29 g/t gold, including 2 metres at 75.70 g/t; and 92 metres grading 1.76 g/t, including 2 metres at 20.60 g/t and 2 metres at 8.04 g/t.

Other results included: 38 metres grading 1.27 g/t, including 2 metres at 7.03 g/t; 78 metres grading 1.3 g/t, including 2 metres at 7.47 g/t; and 22 metres grading 1.6 g/t, including 2 metres at 9.65 g/t.

The trenching was designed to test IP anomalies and help define the geology of mineralised granite intersected in previous reverse circulation drilling in three dimensions.

Additional trench assay results are pending with a follow-up diamond drilling program expected to start in the next three weeks.

The other focus for the Predictive-Toro Gold joint venture is the Boundiali project, also in Cote D’Ivoire’s north.

December quarter results from infill soil sampling over 400m x 100 metres at Boundiali North extended its gold anomalous zone to more than 14 kilometres in length.

Both areas are on the same greenstone belt as the 4.6 million-ounce Tongon and 1 million-ounce Sissingue gold mines.

Predictive also holds ground in Guinea, picking up three reconnaissance authorisations covering 3,000 square kilometres as wholly-owned projects in the December quarter.

The reduced its equity in the Toro JV to 30% from 35% last quarter with a non-contribution of expenditure for the December half.

The cash-saving measure helped Predictive avoid the shareholder dilution of a capital raising and had it end December with $1.5 million cash.

It expects $475,000 of cash outflows in the March quarter, with $285,000 budgeted for exploration.

Inflection points

  • Drilling and exploration success from Cote D’Ivoire, Guinea and Burkina Faso projects

  • Strategic investments and joint venture agreements

  • Divestment and financing activity

  • State of commodity and financial markets and political regimes

Managing director Paul Roberts pleased with Cote D’Ivoire discovery

“The (Ferkessedougou North) granite is almost continuously mineralised and shaping up to have a reasonable grade,” managing director Paul Roberts told Proactive Investors from West Africa last week.

“Continuity also impressive. It is broad and well suited to a deep open pit, depending on final grade of course, while the continuity is also very impressive.”

 

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