Zodiac Gold Announces Initial Trenching Results at the Ben Ben Target, including 30m at 1.24 g/t Au
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Zodiac Gold Inc. announced initial trenching results from the Ben Ben target, part of its Todi Gold Project in Liberia. The program completed 345.8 meters across four trenches and yielded a headline intercept of 30 meters grading 1.24 g/t Au (trench BBT002, from 50m to 80m). Other notable intercepts from trench BBT001 include 25m at 0.31 g/t Au, and from trench BBT002, 36m at 0.28 g/t Au. The news release also mentions higher-grade sub-intervals, such as 1 meter at 25.1 g/t Au and 1 meter at 6.61 g/t Au, but these are explicitly excluded from the averaged intervals reported under the "parent-only rule" for significant intersections (>0.1 g/t Au, min 2m length).
The CEO, David Kol, expressed excitement, stating that these results are the first step in validating the continuity of gold mineralized zones outside artisanal workings at Ben Ben. He emphasized that this work, following success at the Arthington Discovery, further demonstrates the full potential within the 16km gold-in-soil anomaly. The company plans to immediately follow up with additional trenching to support drill targeting for the first-ever drilling campaign at Ben Ben.
This news provides positive, but routine, exploration results for Zodiac Gold's Ben Ben target. The intercept of 30m at 1.24 g/t Au is a respectable early-stage trenching result, confirming the presence of gold mineralization and suggesting potential for bulk tonnage. The mention of high-grade sub-intervals, while not part of the main reported average, adds an encouraging element for future exploration. This advances the Ben Ben target, which is 1.3km along strike from the Arthington Discovery, towards its maiden drill program.
However, the materiality of this news on the company's overall trajectory and stock price is somewhat diminished by more significant, ongoing corporate developments and the company's critical financial state. Just days before this trenching update, the company released its interim financial statements (September 30, 2025), showing a critically low cash balance of $20,650 CAD. While the $200,000 USD exclusivity payment from Avesoro Resources (announced October 14, 2025, and thus not included in the Sept 30 cash balance) provides temporary relief, it highlights the constant need for capital.
Furthermore, the company is engaged in an exclusivity agreement with Avesoro Resources for a potential strategic transaction involving the transfer of the Todi Gold Project mineral exploration licenses (where Ben Ben is located). This deal, if finalized, could see Zodiac transition to a royalty holder for its primary gold asset, fundamentally altering its operational focus and funding requirements. In this context, while positive for the project's inherent value, these trenching results are not "game-changing" for Zodiac's equity value as an operating entity in the immediate term. They might slightly strengthen Zodiac's negotiation position or the perceived value of the royalty if the Avesoro deal is still under discussion based on asset valuation, but they do not solve the immediate capital needs or shift the company's strategic uncertainty as much as the Avesoro deal itself would. The stock has already seen a significant run-up (from $0.17 to $0.35) following the initial Avesoro announcement in mid-October, and this exploration news is unlikely to generate a similar spike.
Zodiac Gold Inc. is a mineral exploration company focused on gold and iron ore projects in West Africa, primarily in Liberia. Its flagship asset is the Todi Gold Project, spanning over 2,300 square kilometers, located along the Todi shear zone and approximately 13 km from the capital city of Monrovia. The project is situated in a historically significant mining district and benefits from existing infrastructure, power, and year-round accessibility.
The Todi Gold Project hosts multiple priority exploration targets, including Arthington and Ben Ben, with several others like Alasala, Alasala South, Lion Hill, Mandingo Hill, Feh Feh, and Youth Camp. The company has conducted diamond drilling at Arthington, reporting significant gold intercepts and confirming a continuous mineralized system over 400 meters of strike length. Trenching and channel sampling have also identified high-grade gold occurrences at targets like Ben Ben.
In addition to gold, Zodiac Gold also holds interests in iron ore, with licenses for the Bomi South and Bong West exploration areas, which are adjacent to major historical and active iron ore mines.