DeSoto Resources (ASX:DES) has begun a 485-hole power auger drilling program targeting 6km of artisanal workings at its Timbakouna Gold Project in Guinea.
The 10,000m program tests priority targets, including an 800m coherent gold-in-soil anomaly in northwest Timbakouna, located along the southern margin of extensive artisanal workings.
This area sits south of historic drilling that returned 18m @ 11.8 grams per tonne gold from 48m, including 1m @ 78.84g/t gold and 3m @ 40.4g/t gold.
An airborne magnetic and radiometric survey commences this week, providing key data for interpreting structure and geology across the target area.
Managing Director Chris Swallow says the drilling represents an “important milestone for the company”.
“This program is designed to test beneath the lateritic cover, generate robust saprolite geochemistry, and, when integrated with airborne magnetic data, refine priority targets for follow-up reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling,” Swallow adds.
The Timbakouna Project covers a structurally prospective gold corridor with more than 6km of semi-continuous artisanal workings along well-defined structural trends in Guinea’s Siguiri Basin.
Historic RC drilling by private Canadian exploration company Search Gold was largely confined to the northern part of the project and tested only to approximately 80m depth, remaining above fresh rock.
DeSoto’s initial rock-chip sampling over northern Timbakouna returned ‘high-grade’ assays including 19.35g/t gold, 16.64g/t gold, 2.70g/t gold, and 2.03g/t gold from quartz vein material associated with artisanal workings.
Regional soil sampling in 2026 on a 200m-by-200m grid identified two priority areas for follow-up work, with Area A comprising the 800m coherent gold-in-soil anomaly and Area B comprising two coherent anomalies up to approximately 950m long.
Since February 2025, DeSoto has acquired approximately 1,300km2 of prospective gold tenure across more than 22 Reconnaissance Authorisations and Exploration Permits in the Siguiri Basin, establishing the company as one of the largest landholders in the region.
Write to JC Villarba at Mining.com.au
Images: DeSoto Resources
