GOLD
high-grade mineralisation at G3S and drill testing targets in the south-western half of the permit. In October 2025, Resolute was granted two new exploration permits, Serihio and Okroyou, that are contiguous to the south of the La Debo permit. Resolute plans to commence exploration across these permits in 2026 and sees potential to further expand the resources at the La Debo. “Resolute now has three projects in Côte d’Ivoire – two exploration (La Debo and ABC) and one development (Doropo) – all of which have sizeable gold resources outlined. The country is a key jurisdiction for Resolute.” According to Eger, while the higher gold price supports a stronger case for increased exploration spend, “we proceed with caution, understanding that commodity prices are inherently volatile and can shift rapidly”. “Coupled with our strategy of unlocking synergistic opportunities between our projects, we have established good communication lines in the four countries of operation - Guinea, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal.” Eger says the company has established better lines of communication with key government leaders – including the President of Senegal, the Prime Minister of Mali and Prime Minister of Cote d’Ivoire, having already engaged in several meetings with the ministers. “We work hard to educate the governments in the respective Keeping the lines of communication open countries on our undertakings and have established good working relationships with the key officials. We are making good progress in our endeavour to repair and rebuild relationships in Mali, which has been a challenge since last year.” Although the multi-asset producer is reaping the rewards of a soaring gold price, Resolute’s focus remains on being a lean business, keeping costs low and ensuring that the team is efficient. “We are working to continuously upgrade and upskill the management team. We recently appointed Gavin Harris as the new COO and have made several senior changes in Mali and expanded the team in Cote d’Ivoire,” Eger concludes. n
The gold miner’s growth strategy centres on advancing the Doropo project in Côte d’Ivoire.
in the medium term. The company has an extraordinary portfolio of exploration assets and an exploration team capable of new gold finds. “We spent between $15 million to $20 million annually on exploration from 2022/3 to 2024. In 2025, we increased this to $25 million and, moving forward, it will be between $30 to $35 million given our more extensive exploration footprint. Essentially, we are chasing more greenfield assets and adding a fourth jurisdiction to our portfolio – Guinea.” Resolute is targeting several early- stage exploration initiatives, including the ABC Project, located in northwest Côte d’Ivoire, which has an Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 2.16 moz and three exploration projects in Guinea, including the 100% owned Niagassola and Siguiri- Kouroussa projects and the Kourouba Joint Venture. Discussing the ABC Project, Eger advises that the company is undertaking a 15 000-metre drill programme in the northern area of the project. Although the ABC project is regarded as a low-grade asset, it offers “some really interesting exploration potential”, with the miner keen to better understand the asset and its value before deciding on whether to develop the project further or offer it up for sale. More recently, Resolute announced an initial Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) at the La Debo Project in Côte d’Ivoire – a strategically important jurisdiction for the miner. At the La Debo project the focus is on extending the
produced a DFS in 2024 that outlined a robust, high-margin project producing average annual gold of 167 000 ozat an All-In-Sustaining-Cost (AISC) of $1 047/ oz over a 10-year mine life, Resolute is revising the DFS. “Further to the gold price more than doubling since the DFS was published in 2024, our due diligence has identified areas for further optimisation. The original DFS used a gold price of $1 450 /oz; today, gold is trading at over $4200 /oz. Aside from updating the DFS to reflect today’s cost of building the project, we believe that there is much more gold on the property than was originally quantified. As a result, we are optimising the mine plan to cater for a larger plant that will handle tonnages of around 5 million tons per annum of fresh ore.” Targeting early works project construction in the first quarter of 2026 with gold production in 2028, Eger advises that as a gold miner with multiple producing assets, the company is well placed to finance the Doropo project. “We have in place an experienced project team and consultants both from the region and Australia. Importantly, we have the full support of the government in advancing the project and continue to have meetings with them around project construction.” Taking the exploration pipeline up the value curve To create value for its shareholders, Resolute is taking its exploration assets up the value curve, with an eye to production
24 MODERN MINING www.modernminingmagazine.co.za | February 2026
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