The playbook — gold · October 7, 2026
Awalé extends BBM at depth and near surface as stock lags peers
Seven of 79 holes reported at the BBM gold-copper deposit: thick hits below the pit and ~200m beyond the known resource, with 65 assays still pending.
Awalé Resources reported the first seven of 79 holes drilled at its BBM gold-copper deposit in Côte d’Ivoire. Two results anchor the release. Hole BBDD-33 cut 47 metres grading 2.15 grams per tonne gold-equivalent — a mix of gold plus copper credits — sitting approximately 400 metres below surface, roughly 200 metres along strike to the northwest of the known resource, and still open in that direction. Closer to surface, hole BBDD-47 cut 44 metres at 3.11 g/t gold-equivalent from around 154 metres down the hole, inside the outline of the planned open pit. A third hole, BBDD-39, returned 67 metres at 1.96 g/t below the pit.
Here is why the gram-meters matter. A thick-times-grade product in the 100-to-137 range is what tells you an intercept has heft, not just a flashy number over a sliver of rock. BBDD-33 scores 101, BBDD-47 scores 137, BBDD-39 scores 131 — three solid hits that build scale on an inferred resource of 1.71 million ounces gold-equivalent. BBDD-33 is the one geologists will study: it shows the high-grade core carrying on well beyond and below the current pit, with a 3-metre slice running 10.31 g/t. BBDD-47 adds grade where mining is cheapest — near surface — at 3.2 g/t gold plus 0.83% copper. CEO Andrew Chubb, an economic geologist who guided the Mkuju uranium project to a AUD1.02 billion takeover, is also the Qualified Person signing the technical disclosure, so one person holds both roles. Newmont funds the separate JV ground; this 100%-owned program is self-funded.
Now the honest part. These are gold-equivalent grades, inflated by copper credits at assumed prices of US$3,000 an ounce gold and US$4.34 a pound copper — strip the copper and the gold grades fall meaningfully. True widths are given as a blanket 70% to 80% of downhole length, not modeled hole by hole, so the 47m, 44m and 67m cores likely represent roughly 33 to 54 metres of real thickness. And this is only 7 of 79 holes; 65 assays are still pending, so consistency across strike and depth is not yet demonstrated. Watch for those remaining assays — 8 deep holes to about 600 metres and 57 pit-conversion holes — plus the Odienné PEA, which the company previously targeted for Q3 2026. The stock slid 9.1% over three months while the junior gold index rose 9.4%; the market is not pricing this story the way the sector moved.