Why DeSoto Resources (ASX:DES) Has Restarted Auger Drilling at Its Timbakouna Gold Project in Guinea

Sonal Goyal

23 October 2026 05:42 PM AEDT

Why DeSoto Resources (ASX:DES) Has Restarted Auger Drilling at Its Timbakouna Gold Project in Guinea

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Key Highlights

DeSoto Resources restarted field programs in Guinea after approval to resume in August 2026, following a pause in July.
A 485-hole, 10,000-metre power auger campaign is under way at Timbakouna, with 352 holes for 3,473 metres completed by 8 October and first assays expected in early November 2026.
Cash at 30 September 2026 was A$7.74 million, down from A$9.16 million at 1 July, with no Equity raisings in the quarter.

DeSoto Resources (ASX:DES) released its Quarterly Report for the three months to 30 September 2026 on 22 October. The report covers the restart of field programs in Guinea's Siguiri Basin after a pause in July linked to the government's enforcement campaign against illegal mechanised semi-artisanal mining. The company said it kept in contact with authorities, supported the campaign and received approval to resume in August 2026, along with progress on permit applications.

The restarted program is a 485-hole, 10,000-metre power auger campaign at Timbakouna, on the eastern Margin of the Siguiri Basin. It is designed to test more than six kilometres of semi-continuous artisanal workings and to penetrate lateritic cover to find bedrock-derived gold in the saprolite. Historic drilling by a previous explorer, not followed up by DeSoto, included 18 metres at 11.8 g/t gold from 48 metres in hole NDI-02, within which one metre at 78.84 g/t was reported. These are historical results, not DeSoto's.

After quarter end, the company said 352 holes for 3,473 metres had been completed by 8 October. It added 200 holes to the program following an initial interpretation of airborne data, focused on alluvial cover areas where soil sampling works less well. A batch of 1,769 auger and soil samples was scheduled for dispatch to the laboratory on 12 October, and first assays are expected in early November 2026. Results will be combined with airborne data to rank targets for follow-up drilling.

Regional work and the Fortuna alliance

A helicopter-borne magnetic and radiometric survey covering 6,262 line-kilometres across seven projects has been flown, and processing and interpretation are under way. In the south-west, 143 stream sediment samples covering more than 687 square kilometres identified three priority areas.

DeSoto's alliance with Fortuna Mining operates through the joint venture vehicle High Guinea Gold, which signed a Heads of Agreement on 8 July 2026 with the Wassolon Mining Group for up to seven gold exploration projects covering 591.43 square kilometres. The structure is a staged Acquisition with a three-month Due Diligence period and exclusivity. Total consideration is US$574,682, plus a US$30,000 securing payment, with most of it payable on permit registration, permit grant and exploration milestones. The report says Fortuna funds exploration on the joint venture projects. It does not say whether due diligence has finished or whether definitive agreements have been signed.

Cash and corporate

Cash at 30 September 2026 was A$7.74 million, down from A$9.16 million at 1 July. Net operating cash outflow was A$1.33 million, including A$1.06 million of exploration spending, and there were no equity raisings. The company has no financing facilities, and the report's funding calculation gives an estimated 5.82 quarters at the current operating rate.

DeSoto Resources (ASX:DES) did no work on its Northern Territory tenements, which it is seeking to divest or joint venture. Its Annual General Meeting is scheduled for 23 November 2026 in West Perth.

Risks and next milestones

Several tenure points remain unresolved. Koba and Nerekore Sud are described as revoked or under renewal, while renewals for Alamakono and Moiko are pending. It holds a comfort letter from the Minister of Mines and a ministerial authorisation to continue exploration pending regularisation, but renewal decisions have not been confirmed. The stated tenure area of about 1,300 square kilometres also differs from its tenement table.

Field activity is expected to accelerate after the wet season, subject to a pending submission to local authorities for heavy earth-moving equipment. Milestones listed by the company include first Timbakouna assays in early November 2026, interpretation of the airborne data, conversion of reconnaissance authorisations to exploration permits, a planned regional airborne survey for the joint venture projects and the November annual general meeting.

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