Gold Rush: Tietto is reeling in a ‘large, high-grade gold system’ at Abujar

All today’s most interesting small cap gold news from Tietto Minerals, Apollo Consolidated, Predictive Discovery and Catalyst Metals.

African explorer Tietto Minerals (ASX:TIE) has uncovered more high-grade gold – including 5m at ~14 grams per tonne (g/t) – in step out drilling at its flagship 2.2-million-ounce Abujar project in Côte d’Ivoire.

‘Step out’ drilling is designed to expand the existing mineralised area.

The explorer has now intersected gold another 100m below the existing resource at the Abujar‐Gludehi (AG) deposit down to 460m below surface.

This “large, high-grade gold system” remains open along strike and down dip, Tietto managing director Dr Caigen Wang says.

“Our exploration program continues to systematically test the limits of this large high-grade gold system and we have two diamond drill rigs dedicated to extending the high-grade core at AG,” he says.

“The next steps are simple – drill deeper and along strike to test the depth and strike potential of these high-grade shoots.”

READ: Why Tietto could be in the sights of the growth-hungry gold producers

Market darling Predictive Resources (ASX:PDI) will be back drilling its promising discovery in West Africa within the next few days.

Last month Predictive went from 0.7c to 7c per share — a 900 per cent gain — after initial drilling returned numerous shallow, thick, and high-grade gold intercepts like 10m at 26.52g/t gold at the Kaninko project in Guinea.

Initial results from the first round of diamond drill holes are expected to be reported in mid-June.

The company says the massive 50km, three-rig drilling program will culminate in a maiden resource by mid 2021.

Apollo Consolidated (ASX:AOP) has agreed to sell its 20 per cent interest in a couple of gold projects in Côte d’Ivoire for $7m cash.

The buyer is private Perth-based company Ibaera Capital Fund LP, which successfully launched a hostile takeover of Ghanaian gold explorer Azumah Mining (ASX:AZM) late last year.

The sale is subject to majority project holder Exore Resources (ASX:ERX) not exercising its pre-emptive rights under the terms of the existing joint venture agreement, or waiving those rights during a 30-day pre-emption period.

If the deal goes through Apollo — which is focused on its flagship Lake Rebecca gold project in WA — will have a very handy $20m cash in the bank.

Yesterday, Gina Rinehart-backed Catalyst Metals (ASX:CYL) hit “one of the best gold zones ever recorded” at the Four Eagles project in Victoria — 23m grading 18.34g/t, 99m from surface.

This thick, high-grade intersection at the Boyd’s Dam prospect has now been upgraded to 25m at 23g/t by more detailed ‘fire assay’.

Depending on the ‘cut-off’ used, this broader zone now contains 11m at 48.2g/t, or 3m at 160.6g/t, the company says.

READ: Barry FitzGerald — The juniors vying for some hotly contested gold ground near Fosterville