Today Côte d’Ivoire is among the fastest-growing economies in Africa, and one of the most dynamic in West Africa. Côte d’Ivoire introduced a progressive new mining code in 2014, and on-going infrastructure improvements are making the country one of the more investor-friendly countries in Africa.
There is a strong desire to diversify the economy with gold and other mineral products. Exporting electricity is playing an increasing role in this diversification. Underexplored until the last decade it is finally delivering a plethora of exciting new discoveries.
The country has 6 major producing gold mines and a number of near-term development projects including Ity 4.5 Moz and Agbaou 1.2Moz and Fetekro 2.5Moz (Endeavour), Yaoure 3.4 Moz and Sissingue 1.2 Moz (Perseus), Tongon 2.7 Moz (Barrick) and Bonikro/Hire 4 Moz (Allied Gold) and Abujar 3.45 Moz (Tietto).
Other mineral commodities that offer the potential for economic development in Côte d’Ivoire include diamonds, petroleum, natural gas, copper, iron, cobalt, bauxite, tantalum, lithium and silica sand.
The Didievi Project (391km2) is located within the underexplored and emerging Oume-Fetekro Birimian greenstone belt. The belt hosts Allied Gold’s Bonikro/Hire (4 Moz) and Agbaou (1.2 Moz) gold mines to the south and Endeavours 2.5 Moz Fetekro deposit to the north.
This strategic project straddles a major structure in a belt with all the selection criteria required for multiple large gold deposits. Past work on the property has considerably de-risked the discovery process. Historical exploration on the permit has delineated a significant gold system at Blaffo Gueto, a prospect with potential at Pranoi and at least nine untested gold prospects. The project presents both brown- and greenfields opportunities with the potential to deliver more economic deposits.
Work at Blaffo Gueto has delineated a significant structurally controlled gold system characterised by intense alteration and broad, high-grade gold intercepts. Mineralisation is complex, probably long lived and multi episodic, located in different structural settings and hosted by a variety of lithological units. Gold mineralization is typically associated with sericite-albite-carbonate-quartz/silica-pyrite-pyrrhotite ±chlcopyrite ±arsenopyrite ±Fe(Ti) oxide alteration assemblages.
Host rock are typically strongly altered and deformed. Gold mineralized occurs over very wide intervals (+200m across strike in the main zone) and return some spectacular intercepts.
DDD029: 17.4 m at 17.34 g/t Au from 244 m incl. 1.0 m at 216.1g/t Au
DDD001: 83.3 m at 3.3g/t Au from 166.9 m incl. 18.0 m at 12g/t Au
DRC034: 10.0 m at 123.7g/t Au from 66 m incl. 2 m at 613.1g/t Au
DDD013: 80.0 m at 3.0g/t Au from 0 m incl. 23.0 m at 9.5g/t Au
DRC130: 43.0 m at 4.3g/t Au from 57 m incl. 17.0 m at 9.5g/t Au
DRC138: 69.0 m at 2.9g/t Au from 31 m incl. 37.0 m at 4.9g/t Au
DRC208: 37.0 m at 7.7g/t Au from 42 m incl. 24 m at 11.0g/t Au
Geometry, structural controls and gold paragenesis of gold mineralization are still poorly understood. BG Main is essentially open along strike and down dip. Parallel structures have shown to be fertile.
Only a portion of the Blaffo Gueto gold-in-soil and coincident chargeability / resistivity induced polarisation anomalies spatially associated with mineralization appear to have been drill tested to date.
The Pranoi Prospect is located approximately 12km to the north of Blaffo Gueto Main. Wide spaced AC and RC drilling of a robust coherent 1.2km x 0.8km gold-in-soil anomaly with extensive artisanal workings returned significant intercepts over a strike of length of over 800m with best historical results.
12m at 5.60g/t Au from 24m DRA289
32m at 2.14g/t Au from 68m DRC326
1m at 35.38g/t Au from 56m DRC009
8m at 4.35g/t Au from 0m DRA204
12m at 4.48g/t Au from 38m DDD031
On its journey from deep in the Earth’s crust to its exquisite polished form, a diamond travels through many highly skilled hands.