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FINWIRES

Montage Gold Grows Kone Higher Grade Satellite Resources; Shares Jumped 11.8% on Friday

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FINWIRES Analysis

Exceeding its higher-grade satellite resource target ahead of schedule strengthens Kone's production profile and de-risks the late-2026 first-pour timeline that underpins the equity re-rating. Higher-grade ounces improve early-mine economics and cash payback, which the prior Friday rally already began pricing. Continued drill results and on-budget construction are the catalysts to watch through year-end.

Key Takeaways

  • Higher-grade satellite resource target already exceeded
  • Kone first gold pour targeted late Q4 2026
  • Construction on-budget, ahead of schedule

Montage Gold Corp. (MAU.TO), which jumped 11.8% last Friday, reported earlier Monday that it has continued to make higher grade satellite discoveries at its Kone project, in Cote d'Ivoire, where construction "remains on-budget and ahead of schedule" with first gold pour targeted in late Q4 2026.

Among highlights, the company said it grew Kone higher grade satellite resources to 1.7Moz at 1.5 g/t Au Indicated and 0.8Moz at 1.3 g/t Au Inferred.

CEO Martino De Ciccio in a statement said: "Since the publication of the 2024 Updated Feasibility Study, a total of approximately 330,000 metres has been drilled in addition to the 118,525 metres completed prior, focused on discovering higher-grade satellite deposits with the objective of enhancing the production profile of the operation from the commencement of production. In support of this objective, in October 2024 we published a target of delineating more than 1Moz of M&I Resources at a grade at least 50% higher than that of the Kone deposit, and we are very pleased to have already significantly exceeded this target.

De Ciccio added: "We look forward to unlocking additional exploration value across the Kone project and our broader exploration portfolio as we continue on our journey of creating a premier multi-asset African gold producer and unlocking value for all stakeholders."

Silvia Bottero, EVP Exploration of Montage, added: "To maximize the efficiency of the exploration programme, we have adopted a systematic approach whereby we initially drill test the highest-priority targets to confirm their potential and define starter resources to validate grade profiles before undertaking larger infill and step-out drilling campaigns. As such, our ongoing exploration programme continues to focus on three parallel workstreams: infill and step-out drilling of previously delineated deposits, advancing targets towards maiden resource status, and testing new targets through regional scout drilling.

"We look forward to continuing to aggressively advance exploration across the Kone project through the ongoing 90,000-meter drill programme, which we expect will support further resource updates throughout the year. Looking ahead, we are also excited by the ongoing exploration programmes across our broader Cote d'Ivoire portfolio, including at Didievi and Wende."

MAU was up $1.68 or 11.8% to $15.92 on Friday.

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