B2Gold Corp. (TSX: BTO) and Aurion Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: AU) have made a significant discovery in an unexplored section of their joint venture property in northern Finland.
The results announced by Aurion on Tuesday come from last year’s drill program. Most notably, they drilled an intercept containing 26.5 grams per tonne gold over 2.5 metres, including a rich 0.5-metre interval with 108.5 g/t Au.
The companies also pulled trench channel samples with up to 12.5 g/t.
Results from an additional 4,000 metres of drilling are currently pending.
108.5 g/t Au over 0.5 metres. Photo credit: Aurion Resources
The joint venture’s current drill program was paused following a purchase offer for B2Gold’s majority stake from Rupert Resources Ltd. (TSX: RUP.TO) (OTCQX: RUPRF). B2Gold, which holds a 70 per cent interest, is still considering the C$102.8 million acquisition proposal.
“A new discovery, greenfield and on a blind target, further highlights the prospectivity of the Aurion-B2Gold 290-square-kilometre joint venture property,” Aurion chief executive Matti Talikka said.
The new core samples were obtained within the Zirkka Shear Zone’s Sore area in the northwest section of the joint venture land package. They indicate that the area hosts substantial quantities of gold mineralization for future extraction.
Results from the Sore area: Aurion Resources
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Gold hits record high at over C$2,975 per ounce
The precious metal’s value has shot up by about 11 per cent since mid-February.
“Gold is still one of our favourite trades for 2024 as an attractive portfolio hedge for equity investors,” the Bank of America said on Wednesday.
This heightened price will add additional incentive for B2Gold and Aurion to discover new deposits at the Finland property. It will also be beneficial for revenue generation throughout B2Gold’s international operations.
B2Gold has mining projects throughout Africa, South America, Canada, the Philippines and more. Moreover, the company holds a 25 per cent interest in the international gold producer Calibre Mining Corp (TSX: CXB) (OTCQX: CXBMF), which has increased its gold reserves more than tenfold since the end of 2019.
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