(Ecofin Agency) - Several mining firms acquired projects in Côte d’Ivoire in recent years. WIA Gold is among them. The Australian mining junior has been looking for an economically viable gold deposit in the country. 

WIA Gold has launched a 10,000-meter reverse circulation drilling program at its Bouaflé gold project in Côte d'Ivoire. The investment aims to test ten high-grade gold mineralized trends over more than one kilometer.

Our RC drilling program has commenced at the Bouaflé #Gold Project in Côte d'Ivoire! Targeting 10 mineralised trends, each with +1km of high-grade gold potential. Up to 10,000m of drilling planned. Stay tuned for updates.

Read the announcement➡️https://t.co/7Zl7zDNuv2$WIA pic.twitter.com/ViwYYNvcv9

— WIA Gold Ltd (@WIA_Gold) May 27, 2024

“We are delighted to launch this RC program at Bouaflé as a logical and systematic follow-up on the exploration work previously completed there. Bouaflé is an exciting exploration project in Côte d’Ivoire, which has already demonstrated a strong mineralised gold footprint at significant scale,” commented Josef El-Raghy, Executive Chairman of WIA.

This project shows foreign investors’ growing interest in Côte d'Ivoire's mining industry, especially gold. WIA Gold has not disclosed the investment’s amount.

The country's gold production has increased from less than 10 tonnes in the early 2010s to 50 tonnes in 2023, making it one of the largest producers in a decade. New projects like Bouaflé could help keep this up.

WIA Gold also holds the Bocanda and Mankono gold projects in Côte d'Ivoire and the Kokoseb project in Namibia.