Famien Resources Prepares 2,500m RC Drill Push With Four Catalysts Lined Up
Key Takeaways
- An RC drill rig is on site at Kalama Bave ready to commence a 2,500m program testing high-grade AC results including 24m at 3.72 g/t Au, with drilling delayed only by unseasonal heavy rainfall.
- RC drilling at the Bonougbara Trend has confirmed gold mineralisation on all four section lines across the full 5km length of the geochemical anomaly, establishing a persistent mineralising system.
- The newly granted M'Bahiakro Exploration Permit adds 355km² to Famien's Cote d'Ivoire ground position, selected via a proprietary geophysical targeting methodology developed by the Managing Director and a specialist geoscientist.
- Toumodi soil sampling is 75% complete across a 28km² target area located 20km along strike from Montage Gold's Blaffo Guetto deposit, with first assay results expected by early November.
- A test IP geophysical survey at Bonougbara is planned within 1–2 months, designed to locate the thickest sulphide-bearing zones before committing to a further drill program across the 5km trend.
RC drilling imminent as Famien advances across Cote d’Ivoire portfolio
Famien Resources (ASX: FMN) is moving on multiple fronts across its Cote d’Ivoire gold exploration portfolio. An RC drill rig is on site at Kalama Bave ready to commence a 2,500m program, a new 355km² M’Bahiakro Exploration Permit has been formally granted, soil sampling at Toumodi is 75% complete across a 28km² target area, and results from the Bonougbara Trend have confirmed gold mineralisation intersected on all four section lines drilled.
Drill commencement at Kalama Bave has been temporarily delayed by heavy unseasonal rains in northern Cote d’Ivoire, with the rig currently on standby pending access to prepared drill sites.
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Q4 CY2026 field activities across three permit fronts
Kalama Bave, Tougbo Permit — RC rig on site
The RC drill rig has returned to Kalama Bave to test at depth the shallow-dipping gold mineralisation identified in earlier aircore (AC) drilling. Those AC results were notably high-grade, providing a clear rationale for escalating to the deeper and more definitive RC method. Prior AC highlights included:
- TOAC074: 24m @ 3.72 g/t Au from 0m, including 4m at 20.40 g/t Au
- TOAC045: 10m at 4.98 g/t Au from 20m to end-of-hole (EOH), including 4m at 10.80 g/t Au
- TOAC064: 16m at 2.84 g/t Au from 8m, including 4m at 10.30 g/t Au
- TOAC067: 4m at 6.89 g/t Au from 24m
- TOAC030: 8m at 3.36 g/t Au from 0m
The 2,500m RC program is designed with a dual approach: down-dip holes drilled to the south-east to follow the shallow-dipping mineralisation, plus a line of scissor holes on the north-west side testing for possible north-west dipping mineralisation and/or deeper stacked mineralised lenses. This multi-hypothesis design means the program is built to answer more than one geological question in a single campaign.
Bonougbara Trend, Gogo Permit — new RC results confirm persistent system
Results have now been received from the 10 remaining RC drill holes at the Bonougbara Trend. Gold mineralisation was intersected on all four section lines drilled, demonstrating a persistent mineralising system across the full 5km length of the geochemical anomalies defining the Trend.
Better intercepts from the Central Target included:
- GOERC0022: 6m at 1.03 g/t Au from 74m and 4m at 2.11 g/t Au from 94m
- GOERC0025: 4m at 1.23 g/t Au from 48m
- GOERC0026: 4m at 1.66 g/t Au from 66m
It is worth being clear-eyed about what these results do and don’t show. The announcement explicitly states that intercept widths have been modest so far. The significance here lies in the system’s confirmed scale and continuity over 5km, not in individual intercept width. There is meaningful space to find a thicker, more economically significant zone within a structure of this extent.
The table below presents a selection of significant intercepts from the Bonougbara Trend RC program:
| Hole No. | From (m) | Interval (m) | Au g/t | Target Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GOERC0019 | 72 | 4 | 0.88 | Northern |
| GOERC0020 | 132 | 4 | 1.75 | Northern |
| GOERC0021 | 18 | 4 | 0.95 | Central |
| GOERC0021 | 110 | 6 | 0.30 | Central |
| GOERC0022 | 74 | 6 | 1.03 | Central |
| GOERC0022 | 94 | 4 | 2.11 | Central |
| GOERC0023 | 90 | 6 | 0.23 | Central |
| GOERC0023 | 108 | 4 | 0.20 | Central |
| GOERC0024 | 104 | 6 | 0.59 | Central |
| GOERC0025 | 48 | 4 | 1.23 | Central |
| GOERC0026 | 62 | 4 | 1.66 | Central |
| GOERC0026 | 122 | 4 | 0.76 | Central |
| GOERC0027 | 64 | 4 | 0.46 | Central |
| GOERC0027 | 110 | 4 | 0.89 | Central |
Source: Table 1, Famien Resources ASX Announcement, 1 October 2026. Intercepts reported at 0.2 g/t Au cutoff. True widths not known.
The next step is a test induced polarisation (IP) geophysical survey over known mineralisation, planned for within 1–2 months. If the expected geophysical response is recorded, a broader IP and resistivity survey will follow across the entire Bonougbara Trend. The logic is sound: use geophysics to locate the thickest sulphide-bearing zones before committing to another expensive drill program.
Understanding orogenic gold exploration in West Africa
Orogenic gold deposits form when gold-bearing fluids migrate along deep crustal faults during mountain-building events and precipitate gold in structural traps — typically shear zones, fold hinges, and fault intersections. They are among the world’s most important sources of gold, and the Birimian Greenstone Belt of West Africa is one of the most proven hosts for them.
Famien’s Gogo and Tougbo permits sit on the southern extension of the Hounde Belt in Burkina Faso, the same regional trend that hosts major operating mines including Mana, Hounde, and Yaramoko. Being on a proven, productive structural corridor matters for exploration risk.
The staged exploration approach Famien is using follows industry logic. BLEG (Bulk Leach Extractable Gold) stream sediment sampling is a first-pass tool that detects gold washed into waterways from mineralised catchments upstream, helping prioritise areas for closer follow-up. Soil sampling then tightens the target. Aircore drilling gives early, shallow confirmation of mineralisation. RC (Reverse Circulation) drilling goes deeper and provides more definitive geometry on the mineralised zones. IP geophysics then helps identify where sulphide-bearing rock — which often hosts thicker gold zones — is concentrated, before the company commits to a focused follow-up drill program. Each step adds information and reduces the cost of finding what matters.
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Growing ground position and near-term catalysts
M’Bahiakro Permit — 355km² added to portfolio
The formal grant of the M’Bahiakro Exploration Permit adds 355km² to Famien’s Cote d’Ivoire ground position. The permit was selected using the Tier 1 Targeting System, a proprietary geophysical interpretation methodology developed by Managing Director Paul Roberts and Dr Barry Murphy. It involves wavelet analysis of regional gravity and aeromagnetic datasets to map deep crustal structures and structural intersections with an increased probability of hosting large orogenic gold deposits.
The permit straddles the faulted western contact of a large metasedimentary belt in south-east Cote d’Ivoire. As far as the Company is aware, this area has seen little or no modern exploration. A BLEG stream sediment survey is planned to commence before year-end, following normal community consultations.
Toumodi Permit — soil sampling approaching completion
The Toumodi Permit sits 20km along strike from Montage Gold’s Blaffo Guetto gold deposit. Soil sampling across the 28km² target area is now 75% complete, following up significant BLEG gold anomalism identified earlier in 2026. First assay results are expected by early November, making this one of the more immediate near-term catalysts across the portfolio.
Paul Roberts, Managing Director
“Our attention has now switched back to the Tougbo permit and following up on the very encouraging initial AC drill results at Kalama Bave, with RC drilling to start there as soon as the recent, heavy rainfall abates… We are also advancing rapidly on the new Toumodi permit, just 20km along strike from Montage Gold’s Blaffo Guetto gold deposit. We have now completed 75% of the planned 28km2 soil sampling program following-up a large area of gold-anomalous streams, and hope to release first results by early November. The RC drilling on the Bonougbara Trend has confirmed that it covers a large gold mineralised system, persisting over the 5km length of geochemical anomalies which define the Trend. While gold-mineralised intercepts have been modest so far, there is plenty of space here to find a major gold deposit.”
The near-term pipeline of catalysts across the portfolio is as follows:
- RC drilling commences at Kalama Bave once rains abate (2,500m program planned)
- Toumodi soil assay results expected by early November
- Test IP geophysical survey at Bonougbara Trend (within 1–2 months)
- BLEG stream sediment survey at M’Bahiakro (before year-end)
- Full IP and resistivity survey across Bonougbara Trend (if test response confirmed)
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