Australian miner Aurum Resources said Thursday it had increased the total mineral resource estimate at its Boundiali gold project in Ivory Coast to 3.22 million ounces, as the company accelerates drilling ahead of a prefeasibility study expected later this year.
The updated estimate represents a 6 percent increase from the previous resource calculation and marks another milestone in the rapid expansion of the project since early 2025.
More significantly for the project’s development prospects, indicated resources — considered more reliable for mine planning because they are supported by denser drilling data — rose 24 percent to 1.70 million ounces, adding 330,000 ounces.
Aurum said the upgrade followed several months of intensive drilling campaigns across the Boundiali project area in northern Ivory Coast.
“The increase in indicated resources provides a stronger foundation for advancing development studies,” the company said in a statement.
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The latest figures continue a sharp upward trajectory for the project’s resource base. Total resources stood at 1.59 million ounces in January 2025 before climbing to 3.03 million ounces in February 2026. Thursday’s update pushed the figure to 3.22 million ounces, meaning the company has nearly doubled the size of the deposit in little more than a year.
Mining companies classify mineral resources according to the confidence level of geological data. Indicated resources carry a higher degree of certainty than inferred resources and are generally viewed as a key step toward eventual mine development and financing.
The Boundiali project has become one of the more closely watched gold exploration assets in West Africa as investors continue to show strong interest in the region’s expanding mining sector.
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Ivory Coast has emerged in recent years as a growing gold producer, attracting international miners seeking new deposits as some mature mining jurisdictions face declining reserves and rising operational costs.
Aurum attributed much of the recent growth at Boundiali to its aggressive drilling strategy and the expansion of its in-house exploration capabilities.
The company said its fleet of 16 diamond drill rigs has enabled it to conduct extensive drilling operations without relying entirely on outside contractors, helping accelerate resource definition work across the project.
Diamond drilling is widely used in mineral exploration to obtain rock core samples that provide detailed geological information and help improve the accuracy of resource estimates.
The upgraded indicated resource estimate will now form part of a prefeasibility study expected by the end of the second quarter of 2026.
A prefeasibility study is an early-stage technical and economic assessment used to evaluate whether a mining project could be commercially viable before companies commit to a more detailed and costly final feasibility study.
The study is expected to assess factors including mining methods, processing options, infrastructure requirements, projected costs and potential production scenarios.
Exploration activity at Boundiali is continuing in parallel with development studies.
Aurum said it plans to complete a 100,000-meter drilling program during 2026, with another resource update scheduled for the third quarter.
The ongoing drilling campaign is aimed at further expanding the project’s resource base and upgrading additional inferred resources into higher-confidence indicated categories.
Gold prices have remained near historically elevated levels in recent months, encouraging mining companies to accelerate exploration and development activities globally.
For Ivory Coast, continued investment in projects such as Boundiali supports the government’s ambitions to strengthen the mining sector as a key driver of economic growth and export revenues.
