Aim- and TSX-V-listed Thor Explorations has completed 4 604 m of reverse circulation (RC) drilling during a maiden drilling campaign at its 100%-owned Guitry gold project, in Côte d’Ivoire, with the objective of gaining a better understanding of both the geometry and geological controls on gold mineralisation.

The company notes that additional assay results received to date from this drilling programme since August, include 6 m at 9.63 g/t gold from 89 m at drillhole GURC25-246; 7 m at 1.5 g/t gold from 72 m at drillhole GURC25-240; and 14 m at 1.3 g/t gold from 57 m at drillhole GURC25-247.

Thor Explorations says further exploration activities are planned to advance resource definition and identify new mineralisation.

This includes systematic infill and step-out drilling, testing of untested and partially tested geochemical anomalies, and generative geochemical surveys.

“We are pleased to report continued positive drilling results from Côte d’Ivoire, completing a successful maiden drilling campaign in country. When acquired, the Guitry project featured several gold-in-soil geochemical anomalies that previous explorers had only partially tested with shallow drilling,” says president and CEO Segun Lawson.

He notes that this drilling campaign has intersected and confirmed previously untested deeper bedrock mineralisation, which remains open.

The company has planned further step-out drilling programmes for the final quarter of the year, once the rainy season is over, to grow the potential resource inventory at Guitry.

In addition to this, he says the company will be carrying out a permit-wide auger drilling campaign to test the previously identified soil anomalies.

“Côte d’Ivoire is a leading West African gold mining and exploration region, hosting over 30% of the area’s greenstone belts and emerging as a site for world-class gold discoveries. We are excited to be returning to the field shortly, when we will also be carrying out our maiden drilling campaign on our Marahui permit.”

Thor Explorations notes that two main prospects were defined by soil geochemistry – Krakouadiokro and Gbaloukro.

The company notes that broad gold-in-soil anomaly extends over an 8.5 km north-easterly trending zone with a continuous 5 km long anomaly at Krakouadiokro, adding that follow-up drilling at Krakouadiokro produced several significant drill intersections from a relatively small area of drilling.

However, the company says insufficient information was obtained regarding the geometry and extents of the primary gold mineralisation.

It explains that mineralisation appears to be open along strike to the south-west and north-east and down dip at the two main prospects.

DRILLING RESULTS

Thor Explorations explains that previous drilling primarily intersected gold mineralisation within a near-surface, flat-lying supergene horizon.

In contrast, it notes that only a limited number of drill holes targeted the primary mineralisation at Krakouadiokro.

The current drilling programme was developed following a revised interpretation of the orientation of multiple parallel mineralised lodes.

NEXT STEPS

At the Krakouadiokro prospect, Thor Explorations says, further systematic resource drilling is warranted, noting that this drilling will comprise both infill and step-out drilling.

The company says next steps also include drilling of the numerous geochemical anomalies at both the Krakouadiokro and Gbaloukro prospects that have, to date, been either untested or partially tested.

Next steps also include generative geochemical surveys along the north-east and to the south-west strike extents of the Krakouadiokro and Gbaloukro prospects. The company notes that these areas, which total about 10 km of prospective strike, have either been partially sampled on 800 m spaced lines or not sampled at all.