56-Meter Mineralized Interval Intersected at Bido Gold Mine in Burkina Faso; Exploration Target of 1.6 Million Ounces Proposed
en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 8, UK mining company Panthera Resources announced the latest reverse circulation drilling results from the Bido gold project in Burkina Faso. Hole KWD26-RC-035 in the Kwademen prospect intersected a 56-meter gold mineralized interval from 76 meters depth, averaging 1.16 g/t gold, including a 28-meter interval grading 2.04 g/t. The company also for the first time proposed a conceptual exploration target of 700,000 to 1.6 million ounces of contained gold for the prospect; no formal mineral resource estimate compliant with JORC standards has yet been established.
Panthera Resources' drilling program in the second half of 2026 completed a total of 34 reverse circulation holes for 4,086 meters. In addition to the main mineralized hole, hole KWD26-RC-018 returned a 40-meter mineralized interval from 10 meters depth, averaging 0.59 g/t gold, including an 18-meter interval grading 1.02 g/t. Hole KWD26-RC-035 also intersected a 20-meter low-grade mineralized interval from 164 meters depth, averaging 0.27 g/t gold.
Another 22 holes in the western Kwademen mineralized zone returned wider low-grade gold mineralized intercepts. Combined with previous drilling results, the company identified a mineralized system in the western area with a strike length of approximately 1,400 meters and a width of approximately 100–330 meters, with some holes still containing gold mineralization at the end of hole.
Panthera Resources established an exploration model using historical drilling, soil geochemical surveys and induced polarization geophysical data, and verified the scale of mineralization using 3D wireframe modeling. The model used a simulated mineralized rock mass of approximately 79.73 million tonnes, yielding simulated contained gold results of approximately 820,000 to 1,846,000 ounces under different grade calculation conditions. The company ultimately announced a conceptual exploration target range of 700,000 to 1.6 million ounces, which has not yet reached the exploration density required for a mineral resource estimate.
The Bido mining permit is located in the Boromo greenstone belt, approximately 125 kilometers west-southwest of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. Panthera Resources currently holds an 80% interest in the project and has completed the early-stage interest acquisition obligations under the agreement. Under the original agreement, the company can acquire the remaining 20% interest by investing an additional US$1 million in exploration and development funding, but this arrangement remains subject to the original permit seller's buyback right and net smelter return royalty provisions.
In the next phase, the company plans to conduct infill drilling in the higher-grade mineralized core area of western Kwademen, with the goal of converting part of the conceptual exploration target into a maiden mineral resource estimate compliant with JORC 2012. Existing soil geochemical anomalies and geophysical anomalies also indicate other potential extension areas, which have not yet been drill-tested.
