Kobo Resources on the fast lane to unlocking more gold in Cote d’Ivoire

Source : proactiveinvestors.com

Canadian-based, Africa-focused junior gold company Kobo Resources Inc. (TSX-V:KRI) has been on a fast track since its public debut in late March 2023.  

Bolstered by a successful reverse takeover and a financing round that raised close to $5 million, the firm’s prime focus has been on their flagship project, the Kossou gold project, situated in the heart of West Africa, Cote d'Ivoire.

Proactive first spoke to Kobo president and COO Paul Sarjeant around six months ago, when the company was getting set to kick off the maiden drill program on the 147-square kilometre project, strategically located within 22 kilometres of Yamoussoukro, the country’s capital. Since our initial conversation, Kobo has completed a 6,000-meter reverse circulation (RC) drill program on three promising targets, with incredibly promising results.

The unexplored gold prospect in Cote d'Ivoire

Cote d'Ivoire is known to have significant gold reserves, although historically, it was less explored compared to neighboring countries like Ghana and Mali. The country is part of the Birimian Greenstone Belt, which is known to host several gold deposits. Several mining companies are active in gold exploration and production in Cote d'Ivoire, including major companies like Centamin and its Doropo discovery, Endeavour Mining with its Ity mine and the close to production Lafigué mine, and Perseus Mining with its Yaouré gold mine and Sissingué gold mine. Other big names like Fortuna Silver Mines with the Séguela mine (formerly Roxgold) and Randgold Resources (now part of Barrick Gold) with its Tongon mine have also been involved in gold mining projects in the country.

Kossou’s close proximity to the operational Yaouré gold mine enhances development prospects due to existing infrastructure and potential operational synergies. Interestingly, the project has never been drilled before, despite its lofty neighbor in Perseus.

Sarjeant first visited the project area in 2015 and was “shocked” at what he saw.

“There was a soon-to-be operational mine nearby, and right at the doorstep of that mine lay this project.”

Initially, Kobo staked semi-industrial permits—a classification in Cote d'Ivoire for early-stage, non-drilling mining activities like soil washing, but with no capability for drilling or blasting. The permits were fine for more alluvial-type mining, and allowed them to explore the Road Cut target. But something wasn’t adding up.

“When we realized what we had at our initial discovery, the Road Cut Zone, it was clear to me that this was not an alluvial target – it was a hard rock target, the kind where you could build a million-plus ounce deposit.”

So Sarjeant and Kobo’s CEO Édouard (Ted) Gosselin went ahead and petitioned the Ivorian government, urging them to lift the designation restricting activity to semi-industrial permits. After three years of persistent effort, negotiations, and discussions, the pair succeeded in convincing the government to allow them to stake the concession, which is how Kobo wound up with such a promising, unexplored land package.

Promising gold zones

Now, the team is eager to explore and uncover the true potential of the property. To that end, Kobo recently completed an extensive 6,000-meter drill program with remarkable efficiency. The drill program successfully confirmed significant gold mineralization at the original Road Cut Zone and the more recently discovered Jagger Zone. Jagger, boasting a north-south major shear zone, showcased structure parallel high-grade breccia quartz zones which assayed over an ounce per ton in certain intercepts.

At Jagger, the primary target, drilling and trenching have revealed significant north-south trending major shear zone spanning up to 60 to 80 [AG1] meters wide in places, over a strike extent in excess of 1.4 kilometers. Within this zone, the team is finding both foliation or structure parallel high-grade quartz breccia zones, and northwest to east-west or southwest trending quartz veins, which are additional shear zones that are cross-cutting and yielding exceptionally high grades.

“In some cases, we're seeing a meter with greater than an ounce per ton in trench intercepts and up to half an ounces per tonne in drill intercepts,” Sarjeant told Proactive.

“The north-south shear zone itself is mineralized, averaging around one to two grams. However, we believe the key lies in these high-grade cross-cutting zones through the Jagger shear zone.”

Over at the Road Cut Zone, initial trenching revealed 18 meters of over four and a half grams per ton. Further trenches showed similar promising results, around 11 meters at four grams. A recent RC drill program confirmed this zone at depth and along the entire strike length.

If that isn’t enough, the group has been completing recent trenching at a newer target, Kadie, located just west of the Jagger zone. The target appears to be parallel shear zones with strong results like 10 metres at 2.27 grams per tonne. Geological observations have revealed that the structural and lithological characteristics at Kadie are similar to those found at the prospective Jagger gold bearing shear zone.

Path to resource estimation

There is still work to be done before a resource estimation will give the markets more confidence in the potential of the project. To that end, Kobo’s focus in the coming year will be to conduct diamond drilling to outline and estimate resources for all three targets. Sarjeant is eager to get started on a diamond drill program to refine the understanding of the high-grade zones within the shear zones, specifically at the Jagger and Kadie zones. With nearly $2 million in funds at the beginning of October 2023, Kobo is well prepared for future initiatives, including subsequent drill programs.

Kobo’s extensive trenching and drilling efforts have unearthed encouraging grades, setting the stage for further exploration and potential resource estimation. By leveraging their geological insights and expertise, gained in part from neighboring projects like Yaouré, Kobo aims to accelerate their drilling program and move closer to resource estimation, further solidifying their place in the burgeoning West African gold sector.

“It's truly a unique story, filled with hard work and moments of frustration throughout the journey,” Sarjeant said. “However, considering what we've uncovered so far, we are immensely pleased. It stands as a testament to the power of persistence, showing that it pays off in the end."