08:29 AM EDT, 10/28/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Loncor Gold ( LONCF ) on Monday said it began an 11,000-meter exploration drilling program to test the gold resource under the planned Adumbi open-pit mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Adumbi deposit remains open at depth with one drilling rig currently working the program and a second expected to be added within two weeks, the company said.

Adumbi has a current identified resource of 1.88-million indicated ounces of gold and a 1.78-million ounce inferred resource in the planned open-pit shell.

Loncor said it is also scout drilling four exploration targets eight to 13 kilometers southeast of Adumbi using a man-portable drilling rig, completing five shallow holes totaling 1,123 meters. The company has received an assay on one of those holes, showing gold grades of 69.7-grams per tonne over 1.18 meters and a 22.9-gpt over 0.85 meters in two sections of the core.

"After some logistical challenges to get all the drilling equipment to site during the peak of the rainy season, drilling has now commenced on the deep drilling program at Adumbi that has the potential to push the high-grade deposit towards Tier 1 status," Chief Executive John Barker said in a statement. "In addition, scout drilling has commenced on a number of targets along the 14 km structural trend to the southeast of Adumbi and where we are starting to get encouraging results."

The company's shares closed down $0.005 to $0.44 Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.