TSX-listed Endeavour Mining on Monday announced a maiden resource estimate on the Lafigué target, located within the Fetekro greenfield exploration property, in Côte d’Ivoire, and the identification of 14 additional nearby targets.

The maiden Lafigué resource estimate encompasses about two-thirds of the total mineralised area defined to date, which extends over an area 2.5 km long by 600 m wide. The mineralisation remains open at depth and towards the southeast.

Based on the recently completed gold-in-soil geochemical campaign, structural mapping and ground/airborne geophysics campaigns performed, an additional 14 nearby targets have also been identified, the company said.

Endeavour further stated that a 45 000 m drill programme had started and would continue into 2019, with a focus on the Lafigué target and on testing new targets. An updated resource estimate is expected to be published in late 2019.

An infill drilling programme has also been initiated on the Lafigué target, with the aim of testing the extension and the continuity of the mineralisation and converting the inferred resources into the indicated category.

A regional exploration programme is also planned in 2019 to test nearby targets with the goal of delineating a maiden resource in late 2019.

Endeavour president and CEO Sébastien de Montessus said the announcement of the maiden resource brings the company one step closer to attaining its strategic objective of identifying a new project as part of the company’s five-year exploration strategy, set in late 2016. 

“While we have one of the largest exploration tenements in West Africa, our key strength has been the team's ability to prioritise and rank top prospective targets to focus our efforts on those which have the best potential to one day become strategic long-life, low-cost mines within our portfolio,” he commented.

"We are very pleased with the maiden resource as it demonstrates the prospectivity of the Fetekro property. A second exploration campaign at the Lafigué target has been launched quickly with the goal of converting the inferred resources and extending the outlined resource,” Endeavour executive VP for exploration and growth Patrick Bouisset added.

The delineated Lafigué resource encompasses only about two-thirds of the total mineralised area defined to date and it remains open at depth, in multiple directions.

Based on the initial analysis of the ore characteristics and orebody shape, Endeavour believes it could be amenable to openpit mining, as mineralisation starts at surface, while the preliminary metallurgical test work done suggests the potential for high gold recovery rates.

“Looking ahead, we are excited by the 14 additional targets identified to date, which supports our belief that Fetekro has the potential to become a new standalone project,” Bouisset enthused.