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Update: Montage Gold Shares Up 9.5% as It Grows Kone Higher-Grade Satellite Resources

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(Adds analyst comment and updates shares.)

Montage Gold (MAU.TO) was last seen up 9.5% after the company on Monday said it 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 before year end..

Among highlights, the company said it grew Kone higher-grade satellite resources to 1.7 million ounces of gold at 1.5 grams per tonne of indicated resources and 0.8-million ounces at 1.3 grams per tonne of inferred resource.

"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 (measured and indicated) 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," chief executive Martino De Ciccio said.

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."

National Bank of Canada maintained its outperform rating and C$20.00 price target on the company's shares, the bank said in a Monday note.

National Bank views the update as positive overall, given the continued increase in higher-grade satellite ounces, stronger satellite grades versus the March 2026 update, and the broader deposit base available to feed into the revised mine plan.

National Bank expects the modeled 10-year life of mine production of 305,000 ounces per year to improve in the initial three years as a result of this update. An updated LOM plan is expected through 2026.

The company's shares were last seen up $1.515 to $17.435 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Price: $17.41, Change: $+1.49, Percent Change: +9.36%

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