• Avanti Gold started its 2026 exploration campaign at the Misisi gold project in DR Congo.

• The program includes 42,000 meters of drilling targeting a resource base estimated at 3.1 million ounces.

• The company aims to expand resources amid sustained high gold prices supporting sector investment.

Avanti Gold announced on Thursday, April 23 the launch of its 2026 exploration campaign at the Misisi gold project. The company did not disclose the investment amount. However, it described the initiative as a key step toward expanding the asset’s resource base.

At this stage, the Misisi project holds an estimated 3.1 million ounces of inferred mineral resources. These resources are delineated at the Akyanga deposit, which will remain central to the exploration campaign.

The company will also target several other priority zones within a broader program totaling 42,000 meters of drilling. The campaign will run until December and will mobilize two additional drilling rigs alongside those already operating on site.

“Misisi is one of the most promising undeveloped gold systems in the DRC, located on a highly prospective and largely unexplored 55-kilometer belt […]. With four rigs operational in the coming weeks and 42,000 meters planned across two phases, this campaign represents the largest exploration program in the company’s history and the first step toward defining the full extent of the Misisi system,” said Mohamed Cisse.

Avanti Gold plans to publish drilling results progressively as the program advances. Therefore, the outcome of this campaign will play a decisive role in assessing the project’s potential transition into an industrial-scale gold mine.

At the same time, strong gold prices, which have approached record levels in recent months, are reinforcing the project’s economic outlook and investment rationale.

These exploration investments also carry strategic importance for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The country’s mining sector remains dominated by copper and cobalt production. Therefore, authorities are seeking to further develop the gold industry.

Currently, the Kibali Gold Mine drives most of the country’s gold output. In addition to Misisi, the country hosts the Adumbi project, which also holds more than 3 million ounces in resources and attracted interest last year from Chengtun Mining.

This article was initially published in French by Aurel Sèdjro Houenou

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum