Gold Co. Starts Drilling at Claim Block in West Africa

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Sanu Gold Corp. (SANU:CSE; SNGCF:OTCQB; L73:FRA) commenced inaugural phase one drilling, to comprise about 19 holes for up to 2,000 meters (2,000m), at its Diguifara project in Guinea, as announced in a news release. Diguifara is one of this Canadian mineral explorer's three claim blocks totaling 280 square kilometers in the country's Siguiri Basin, a prolific gold district in West Africa. The other two assets are Daina and Bantabaye.

The company plans to drill test three priority targets, Dig 1, Dig 2, and Dig 3, which cover a cumulative strike length of 3.2 kilometers (3.2 km). Auger-in-saprolite samples from these targets showed gold grades up to 4.8 grams per ton (4.8 g/t). Along with auger sampling of bedrock, Sanu previously completed extensive and systematic surface geochemistry and ground geophysical surveys at Diguifara.

Capital Ltd. will complete the drilling, using a large multipurpose rig to drill air core and reverse circulation holes. This company is experienced in drilling large deposits in Guinea, and its investment arm, Capital DI, is a Sanu shareholder. Capital will collect samples on-site and submit them to MSALABS in Bamako, Mali, for analysis.

Sanu Gold is excited to drill at Diguifara because it contains kilometer-scale geochemical and geophysical gold trends and strong gold mineralization in the weathered bedrock and is located within trucking distance to a large operating gold mine, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Martin Pawlitschek told Streetwise Reports in an interview. He said the company could potentially monetize even a modest discovery of about 200,000–300,000 ounces (200–300 Koz) on the block due to this proximity to a major mine. Although it is important to point out that our target here is to make multi-million-ounce discoveries, our targets are large enough to potentially deliver this.

Diguifara is close to AngloGold Ashanti Plc.'s (AU:NYSE; ANG:JSE; AGG:ASX; AGD:LSE) Siguiri mine and mill, which produced gold since the mid-1990s, specifically 214 Koz last year. This South African gold miner owns 14% of Sanu.

"[AngloGold Ashanti has] a very hungry mill that will welcome additional ore feed from satellite deposits, and we're right in the range," said Pawlitschek.

In other news, Sanu announced separately that it added a new prospective gold target, Salat East, at its Daina claim block in the southeastern corner. There, artisanal miners started extracting mineralized material along a 500m-long, northeast-trending line of workings from a 5–8m wide structure dipping to the west. Daina already has an impressive pipeline of large footprint targets that will see drilling once the rig finishes at Diguifara.

"Salat East represents a new target with possible significant gold ounce potential," Pawlitschek said in the release.

Sanu intends to evaluate this target, with rock chip sampling, geological mapping and geophysics, prior to deciding whether or not to drill it.

Working to Discover Deposits

At Diguifara, Daina and Bantabaye, Sanu Gold is looking to discover multimillion-ounce gold deposits. The trio, in the Siguiri Basin, is surrounded by world-class operating mines and major new discoveries. Société Minière de Dinguiraye SA's Lefa, Hummingbird Resources Plc's (HUM:AIM) Kouroussa and Robex Resources Inc.'s (RBX:TSX.V) Kiniero and Predictive Discovery (PDI:ASX) with its 5.4million ounce Bankan project  are some.

"We believe there is definitely that big potential on all three blocks," Pawlitschek told Streetwise.

Guinea and West Africa are pro-mining and looking to expand the industry, noted Sanu's CEO. Since the mid-1990s gold has been mined in Guinea. Last year, gold output there was 10% higher than in 2022, making Guinea the world's 23rd largest producer of the metal, according to GlobalData.

With contributions from operations in Guinea, and Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali, West Africa has become a key gold mining region, reports the data analytics firm. It forecasts total gold production in West Africa this year will be 11,830,000 ounces.

Gold Continues Historic Climb

The gold price broke through the US$2,800 per ounce (US$2,800/oz) Wednesday, marking its fourth consecutive monthly gain, Reuters reported on Oct. 31. After, gold retreated, to end today at US$2756/oz.

"You're going to see a bit more consolidation," David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures, told Reuters. "We have a lot of major impactful news next week, the U.S. election on Tuesday, Fed meeting on Wednesday. So it's really not surprising to see some traders take profits."

As for gold equities, the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (SPCDNX) confirmed a multidecade bull run for junior, intermediate, and senior mining stocks when it closed above 1,000 recently, Stewart Thomson with 321Gold wrote. The index is a key indicator of the health of the general gold, silver, and mining stocks market.

A reversal of outflows from gold exchange-traded funds occurred during Q3/24, and inflows during the quarter amounted to 95 tons, as reported by the World Gold Council, reported Ron Struthers of Struthers Resource Stock Report on Oct. 30. Positive inflows during the quarter came from all geographical regions, for holdings of 3,200 tons.

"All regions saw positive inflows during the quarter, which ended with collective holdings of 3,200 tons," the newsletter writer added. "Next year, we should be back to levels of 2020 and 2021. This will be fuel for a continued bull market."

Experts predict the gold price will continue its historic climb. Recently polled London Bullion Market Association members indicated they believe the gold price could reach US$2,940/oz during 2025, reported Stockhead.

Also, for 2025, InvestingHaven predicts US$3,100/oz gold. This is based on leading gold price indicators, including heightened inflation and increasing central bank demand, and from patterns on long-term gold charts, it noted.

The Catalysts: Drill Results

With drilling underway at Diguifara, results from the program could catalyze Sanu's stock, said Pawlitschek. They will be released when ready in about six to eight weeks.

Meanwhile, the gold company will tackle preparations for drilling untested targets at Daina, which will start soon. The scope of the campaign planned for Daina matches that is being carried out at Diguifara.

"We have multiple targets that are going for 3, 4, up to 9 km strike lengths, some of them," the CEO said, referring to Diguifara and Daina.

When the initial phase at Daina is complete and results from Diguifara are back, we will likely go back to Difuifara for follow up drilling.

Ownership and Share Structure

According to the company's latest presentation, the largest share holders include strategic investors Anglo Gold Ashanti at 14 % and Capital at 10%.

Institutional investors include Scotia Global Asset Management, US Global Investors, Lowell Resources Funds Management, and Palos Management, which collectively make up 17% of the shareholders.

Management, founders and insider own around 22% with another 22% being held by high net worth individuals. 15% is held by retail investors. 

The market cap for Sanu Gold is CA$17-18million with 238.5 million common shares. The 52-week range for the stock is CA$0.03 and CA$0.15.