MetalsGrove Mining Defines First Drill Target at Fifty-Five Prospect

MetalsGrove Mining Locks In First Drill Target at Fifty-Five Prospect, Advancing Côte d'Ivoire Gold Strategy

MetalsGrove Mining Limited (ASX: MGA) has identified its first potential drill target at the Fifty-Five Prospect on the Zuénoula permit in Côte d'Ivoire, marking a meaningful step forward in the company's systematic exploration of its Central West Gold Project. The Metalsgrove Mining first drill target at Fifty-Five Prospect Côte d'Ivoire gold project has been defined through two parallel gold-anomalous trends, each extending more than 2.5 kilometres in length, with values peaking at 583 parts per billion (ppb) gold.

These trends have now been ranked as priority drill targets following soil sampling results, signalling the transition from broad-scale reconnaissance into a more focused, drill-oriented phase of exploration. Infill sampling is currently underway, with auger drilling planned during the upcoming wet season running from June to September 2025.

"Defining our first gold potential drill target at the Fifty-Five Prospect is an important milestone for MetalsGrove and further validates the prospectivity of our Central West Gold Project in Côte d'Ivoire. The identification of two parallel +2.5km-long gold anomalous trends, peaking at 583ppb Au, together with favourable NE-oriented structures, highlights the potential scale of the system emerging from our systematic exploration approach."

— Lijun Yang, Managing Director & CEO, MetalsGrove Mining

What Has Been Found — and Why It Matters

At the Fifty-Five Prospect on the Zuénoula permit, soil sampling conducted on a 200m x 200m grid has returned two distinct, parallel NE-trending clusters of gold-anomalous results. The key metrics from this stage of exploration are summarised below:

Crucially, the NE-orientation of these gold-anomalous trends is consistent with the alignment of major regional fault structures within the Oumé–Fetekro Birimian greenstone belt — a geological setting known for hosting large gold deposits across Côte d'Ivoire. Furthermore, this structural alignment increases geological confidence in the targets and is consistent with the controls on many of the region's significant gold systems.

A Systematic Approach to Exploration — Stage by Stage

MetalsGrove is following a disciplined, staged exploration methodology at Zuénoula. The Fifty-Five Prospect has now progressed to Stage 4 of a six-stage process, placing it closer to drill testing than any other prospect on the permit to date.

1. Stage 1 — Permit-wide broad-spaced sampling on a 1,000m x 1,000m grid
2. Stage 2 — Infill sampling to 400m x 400m at anomalous clusters
3. Stage 3 — Further infill to 200m x 200m at coherent anomalies
4. Stage 4 (current — Fifty-Five) — High-density 200m x 50m infill sampling to sharpen target definition (underway)
5. Stage 5 — Auger drilling and trenching of coherent anomalies (planned)
6. Stage 6 — Reverse Circulation (RC) or Diamond Drilling (DD) to test targets (future)

This staged approach — moving from wide-spaced screening through to drill-ready definition — is consistent with best practice in West African greenfields gold exploration. Consequently, it reflects the company's aim to prioritise capital towards the most promising target areas.

Technical Tools Enhancing Target Confidence

Beyond soil sampling, MetalsGrove has deployed two complementary exploration techniques at the Fifty-Five Prospect that are increasing confidence in the targets and helping plan the next phases of work.

LiDAR Topographic Mapping

High-resolution LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) drone surveying has been completed across the Fifty-Five Prospect, generating detailed topographic maps at 3cm resolution. This technology maps surface elevation, water flow directions, and geochemical dispersion pathways — information that is critical for understanding where soil geochemistry may be obscured by transported cover in low-lying valleys.

Notably, the highest soil sample results at Fifty-Five are reported to be concentrated on topographic highs, consistent with residual soil geochemistry rather than transported material — a positive indicator for the reliability of the anomalism.

Termite Mound Sampling

The company's field team has collected samples from termite mounds located near sites returning greater than 100 ppb Au. Termite mounds can draw soil material from up to 15 metres below surface, offering a low-cost method to sample the deeper soil profile in areas where conventional surface sampling may not fully capture subsurface geochemistry. Assay results from this sampling are currently pending.

Understanding the Exploration Toolkit: What Is Auger Drilling?

Auger drilling is a shallow, cost-effective drilling technique commonly used in early-stage gold exploration, particularly in West Africa. An auger drill uses a rotating helical screw to penetrate soft, unconsolidated material — typically laterite or transported soil cover — extracting material for geochemical sampling from depths that conventional soil pits cannot reach.

Why Does Auger Drilling Matter at Fifty-Five?

At the Fifty-Five Prospect, the LiDAR survey has revealed sub-cover valleys — low-lying areas where transported soil may mask underlying gold mineralisation. Conventional soil sampling on the surface of these valleys may not accurately reflect what lies beneath.

Auger drilling, however, allows MetalsGrove to test geochemistry at greater depth within these valleys, ensuring the full extent of the gold anomaly is captured before the company commits to more expensive Reverse Circulation (RC) or Diamond Drilling (DD) programs.

Key advantage for investors: Auger drilling is significantly cheaper than RC or diamond drilling, meaning MetalsGrove can further refine its targets with relatively modest capital expenditure before advancing to deeper, more definitive drill testing.

Technical Terminology Explained

• ppb Au — Parts per billion of gold; the standard unit for reporting low-level gold in soil samples
• Greenstone belt — An ancient volcanic and sedimentary rock sequence that commonly hosts gold mineralisation
• Birimian — A Proterozoic-age geological sequence in West Africa, renowned globally as a major gold-hosting terrane
• LiDAR — Laser-based aerial mapping technology that generates high-resolution topographic data
• RC drilling — Reverse Circulation drilling; a cost-effective method for obtaining rock chip samples from depth
• DD drilling — Diamond Drilling; extracts solid core samples for detailed geological analysis
• Anomaly — A geochemical result that is significantly elevated above background levels, indicating potential mineralisation

The Central West Gold Project — Scale and Context

The Fifty-Five Prospect sits within MetalsGrove's broader Central West Gold Project, a strategically assembled land package covering 1,315 km² across four permits in central Côte d'Ivoire.

The project is situated along the Abujar–Napié gold trend within the Oumé–Fetekro Birimian greenstone belt — positioned approximately 100 km north of the producing Abujar Gold Mine and 160 km south of the Napié Gold Deposit. Importantly, MetalsGrove reports that no previous systematic gold exploration is known to have been conducted across any of its four permits, meaning the ground is genuinely underexplored.

The Birimian greenstone belt hosts some of West Africa's most significant gold systems. In addition, Côte d'Ivoire alone contains 35% of the region's Birimian Group rocks, which host multiple multi-million-ounce gold ore systems — providing a compelling geological backdrop for the company's exploration activities.

What Comes Next — Exploration Pipeline and Catalysts

MetalsGrove has a well-sequenced pipeline of exploration activities underway across the Central West Gold Project, with several near-term catalysts expected to generate news flow through the coming months.

A particularly notable feature of this timeline is that auger drilling has been assessed as feasible during the wet season (June–September 2025), following access route assessments. This means the company expects to maintain active news flow during a period when many field-based exploration programs are curtailed by weather — a meaningful operational advantage for investor engagement.

Investment Thesis — Why the Fifty-Five Prospect Discovery Matters

The Metalsgrove Mining first drill target at Fifty-Five Prospect Côte d'Ivoire gold project represents a genuine inflection point for the company's exploration narrative. Several elements combine to support the investment case:

• Scale of anomalism: Two parallel trends each exceeding 2.5 km in strike length with peak values of 583 ppb Au represent a system of meaningful size at this early stage of exploration.

• Structural favourability: The NE-orientation of the anomalous trends reportedly mirrors the alignment of major regional structures that control many of Côte d'Ivoire's large gold deposits — a positive geological indicator.

• Systematic methodology: The staged exploration approach ensures capital is deployed progressively and efficiently, with each phase informing the next before more capital-intensive drilling is committed.

• Genuinely greenfields ground: No prior systematic exploration is reported to have been conducted across MetalsGrove's permits, meaning the company is exploring fresh ground in a proven gold province.

• Near-term catalysts: Multiple pending assay results (617 samples) and planned auger drilling during the June–September wet season provide a series of near-term newsflow events.

• Large land position: The 1,315 km² project footprint, situated along a proven gold trend between two known gold deposits, provides substantial exploration upside beyond the Fifty-Five Prospect.

Why Investors Should Keep Watching MetalsGrove

MetalsGrove is at an early but increasingly well-defined stage of exploration across a large, prospective land package in one of West Africa's most active gold jurisdictions. Furthermore, the company has moved efficiently through its staged sampling program to reach its first drill-ready target, while simultaneously advancing reconnaissance sampling across multiple other prospects.

With auger drilling targeted for the wet season, multiple batches of pending assay results due in the near term, and infill sampling actively underway, the company is well-positioned to generate a sustained sequence of exploration updates through the second half of 2025.

Key Takeaway:

MetalsGrove Mining (ASX: MGA) has defined its first potential drill target at the Fifty-Five Prospect — two parallel gold-anomalous trends each exceeding 2.5 km in length, peaking at 583 ppb Au, on genuinely underexplored ground within Côte d'Ivoire's proven Birimian greenstone belt. The Metalsgrove Mining first drill target at Fifty-Five Prospect Côte d'Ivoire gold project, combined with infill sampling underway, auger drilling planned for the upcoming wet season, and 617 soil sample assays pending, gives investors a clear sequence of near-term catalysts to monitor as the company advances toward its first drill holes.

Ready to Follow MetalsGrove's Journey Toward Its First Drill Holes?

MetalsGrove Mining (ASX: MGA) has reached a defining stage in its Côte d'Ivoire exploration programme, with its first drill target defined, infill sampling underway, and auger drilling planned for the upcoming wet season. With 617 soil sample assays pending, multiple prospects advancing in parallel, and a 1,315 km² land package on genuinely underexplored ground, the company is building toward a sustained sequence of near-term catalysts. Investors looking to learn more about the Central West Gold Project and MetalsGrove's exploration pipeline can visit the company's official website at metalsgrove.com.au.