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TOUBANI RESOURCES LTD (TRE) - Advancing the Kobada Gold Project in Southern Mali
Phil Russo, Managing Director of Toubani Resources, returns to ASX Briefs to share the remarkable progress of the company's flagship Kobada Gold Project in Southern Mali. At the heart of this exciting development is a 2.2 million ounce resource with game-changing characteristics that set it apart from typical gold projects.
What makes Kobada truly special is its oxide-dominated profile – "free-dig, free-milling soft rock ore" that permeates every aspect of the project. This distinctive feature dramatically impacts the technical approach, economic projections, and capital requirements, creating what Russo describes as a project that can produce 162,000 ounces annually for nearly a decade at exceptionally competitive costs.
The company is advancing at full speed toward a final investment decision later this year, with multiple workstreams running concurrently. Two drilling rigs are actively exploring fresh and oxide rock to expand the resource, while permitting and government negotiations progress steadily. The project's exploration upside is substantial – with only 11 kilometres of their 50-kilometre shear zone drilled to date, and current drilling averaging just 130 metres deep across a 5-kilometre strike length. As Russo notes, "the more you drill, the more gold you find here."
Financially, Toubani has significantly strengthened its position, securing a $29 million placement that includes strategic investment from A2MP Investments, plus a non-binding debt commitment letter for at least US$160 million. This robust financial backing, combined with the project's favourable economics, puts Toubani "in control of our own destiny" according to Russo.
Subscribe to ASX Briefs for continuing coverage of this developing story and more conversations with leaders of ASX-listed companies.
Andrew Musgrave Host
Welcome back to ASX Briefs, where we bring you insightful conversations with leaders of ASX-listed companies. And today we're joined again by Phil Russo, the Managing Director of Toubani Resources, a gold development company focused on advancing its flagship Kobada Gold Project in Southern Mali. Phil, thanks for joining me again and welcome back to the ASX Briefs podcast.
Phil Russo Guest
Thanks for having me, Andrew.
Andrew Musgrave Host
Now, Phil, it's been a while since we last spoke, so it might just be worthwhile for new listeners if you just provide a brief overview of the company.
Phil Russo Guest
Yeah, we're Toubani Resources. We are in Southern Mali where there's a pretty mature mining industry. We have a 2.2-million-ounce resource that underpins a project that can do 162,000 ounces a year for almost 10 years at quite low costs. And the differentiating factor for our project versus others is we're dominated by this oxide free dig, free milling soft rock ore which permeates through all our technical profile, our economic profile, our Capex profile, which is what makes the project so attractive.
Andrew Musgrave Host
Okay, Phil, and during the quarter you advanced early works engineering and completed the project design criteria for Kobada. So, can you walk us through how these steps position the project for a smooth transition into development?
Phil Russo Guest
Yeah, we're moving as fast as we humanly can to de-risk the project ahead of a final investment decision and we're multitasking here on engineering like you talked about. We've got two rigs now on site drilling the fresh rock and the oxide rock to potentially grow the resource. We're doing our ESHA and RAP survey, so our permitting work is moving. Our government discussions are marching forward as well, so multiple work streams advancing simultaneously here towards that final investment decision later this year.
Andrew Musgrave Host
Okay, and just touching on the drilling, so you have commenced that 5,000 metre diamond drilling program, targeting depth extensions beneath the current 2.2-million-ounce resource. So how do these programs fit into your strategy to grow the resource base and extend the mine life?
Phil Russo Guest
Yeah, so Kobada is quite shallow. It's five kilometres long, but its average depth of drilling is only 130 metres or so. So, the deposit is open at depth there. So, we're putting some deep diamond holes there now. Currently it's an 11-hole program and we're almost a quarter of the way through it and hopefully assays next month, and so, yeah, that's, that's part of our growth. That's one leg to our growth profile, the other leg to it is we've got 50 kilometres of shear zones here. We've only drilled 11 kilometres of it. So, but the more you drill, the more gold you find here, and the easy stuff's the top 100 metres where the oxide is as well. So, it's a multi-pronged attack. I call it.
Andrew Musgrave Host
Okay, and just looking at the site itself, the quarter also saw camp refurbishments, increased power capacity with the new generator and solar solution and plans for a camp expansion. So how important are these infrastructure upgrades in accelerating the project momentum?
Phil Russo Guest
Well, if we're going to unlock value in the camp, in the project, then we've got to invest in infrastructure and that's what those sorts of things are. Like I said, there's a lot of people on our site now between the drill programs, our survey work and early infrastructure investments, so there's a lot of people and you've got to do these investments so that you can accommodate these people. So, yeah, the site is maturing is how I would comment.
Andrew Musgrave Host
Okay, great, and you've completed all ESIA specialist studies and mobilised teams for the resettlement action plan. So, can you update us on the permitting process and how engagement with the Malian government is progressing?
Phil Russo Guest
Absolutely so. The ESIA should be submitted in the next few weeks and our RAP survey will be completed a few months after that, and in parallel, we've been having discussions myself personally with government ministers in recent months and, yeah, we're not far away, I would think to finalising our investment documentation so that the project can move into the next phase.
Andrew Musgrave Host
Now looking at the funding, a major highlight was securing a $20 million placement, including a strategic investment from A2MP Investments, plus a non-binding debt commitment letter for at least US $160 million. So how do these funding developments shape the path to a final investment decision?
Phil Russo Guest
Yeah. So, we're just strengthening the company on the financing side as well. So institutionally, strategically, we've got a lot of support building in the company on that front to really arm ourselves to attack what we see as enormous value in the project. So, our debt work stream is advancing. We've got the strategic partner like A2MP now on our register and they're actively helping us unlock the value, which is great, and our institutions are also. We've got a very strong institutional register. So, we're well capitalised now to do what we need to do in the coming months. And I've always said this project because of that oxide I talked about up front. The funding scenario of this project is entirely executable by this company, which means we're in control of our own destiny.
Andrew Musgrave Host
To wrap things up, what are the key catalysts investors should watch out for in the second half of 2025 and early 2026, as the project advances towards development?
Phil Russo Guest
Yeah, you're going to see new. You're going to see you know, hopefully regular drill flow news over the coming months. You're going to see us deliver permitting and getting those approvals in place. You'll see government agreements; you're going to see appointment of engineering firms and you know things like that. So, lots of news flow in a pretty active period ahead.
Andrew Musgrave Host
Okay, Phil. Well, thanks for your time again. It's been great to catch up and get an update on the company and we look forward to further updates from Toubani Resources in the upcoming months.
Phil Russo Guest
Andrew, thanks for your time.
Andrew Musgrave Host
That concludes this episode of ASX Briefs. Don't forget to subscribe and we look forward to catching you on our next episode.