Tietto rings the till again in West Africa

West African gold explorer Tietto Minerals has pumped out another pulse quickening set of high-grade gold drill hits at its Abujar project in Côte d’Ivoire. The company’s latest probe of its West African ground saw it strike a 1 metre section going 152.26 grams per tonne gold from 37m within a 10m section at 16.53 g/t gold at its AG Core deposit.

The company says the project already lays claim to over three million ounces of gold and the high-grade mineralisation at AG Core has been extended 150m beyond previous drilling.

Other notable results from drilling at the projects nearby the AG South deposit are 7m grading 9.78 g/t gold from 181m including a 5m section at 13.50 g/t gold and 10m going 3.04 g/t gold from 105m which includes a 3m section running over 8 g/t gold.

Tietto is now awaiting the assay results for over 60 additional holes totalling 9,465m. The pending results could potentially throw up even more high-grade gold, adding to the company’s budding inventory.

According to management, the company’s latest batch of infill drilling was designed to elevate its Abujar “indicated” resources up to the higher “measured” category ahead of a maiden gold pour earmarked for later this year. The explorer’s indicated resources currently weigh in at a hefty 35 million tonnes and grades around 1.5 g/t gold for 1.65 million ounces of gold.

Down‐dip drilling below AG Core has confirmed the extension of high‐grade shoots 150m below the previous resource drilling. These new results will be incorporated into the upcoming mineral resource update. AG Core remains open at depth and further holes are planned to test the limits of this growing gold system.

With the latest drilling campaign wrapped up now Tietto is planning to continue peppering its fruitful West African ground with its legion of company-owned diamond drill rigs enroute to a looming resource update. It has used its own rigs to great effect over the last year or so, pumping out 10,000m a month and with a meagre cost of just US$35 per metre, the company is unlikely to slow down its feverish exploration pace anytime soon.

Tietto is well positioned to bankroll its Abujar play too, having not long ago tied down an $85 million dollar placement that, along with its debt strategy, will be used to fund the US$200 million project.

The company’s West African masterpiece is showing no signs of abating and its latest round of drilling has added yet another rousing set of high-grade gold intercepts to what appears to be an endless supply of similar results. With a looming maiden gold pour and an enviable fleet of company-owned drill rigs on its books, Tietto looks to living large in this most lucrative of mineral provinces.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au