BRITISH miner, Ariana Resources (Ariana) has confirmed further high-grade gold intercepts from its reverse circulation (RC) drill programme at its Dokwe Gold Project in Zimbabwe, concluding this phase of the exploration.
According to Ariana, the 2025-2026 RC drilling programme has now been completed and comprised 5 659m across 31 holes primarily across Dokwe North and Dokwe Central.
In a statement, Ariana said phase two of diamond drilling would now continue at Dokwe North and was now planned for late March as a prelude to potential JORC resource review.
JORC, or the Joint Ore Reserves Committee, is a professional, international code of practice that sets minimum standards for public reporting of mineral exploration results, mineral resources, and ore reserves.
“These results confirm that the Dokwe North mineralised system continues beyond the limits of the current resource model towards the north-east,” Ariana managing director Kerim Sener said.
“It is particularly encouraging that we can report several high‑grade intersections, including 4m at c.17g/t gold, which highlight the strength and continuity of the mineralised shear zone.
“The programme has successfully tested extensions both along strike and down‑dip of the shear zone, and the results reinforce the potential to expand the existing Dokwe Mineral Resource, which currently stands at 1,1Moz @ 1,52g/t.”
He said it was also apparent that such resource expansion potential lay within a zone that was likely to represent oxide mineralisation.
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“Our next planned phase of diamond drilling for later this month in this area aims to confirm the structural interpretation, test further extensions of the system, and support future resource growth at Dokwe,” Sener said.
On November 4, 2025, Ariana announced the initiation of a 26-hole 4 000m RC drilling programme designed to test four target areas within the 100% owned Dokwe Gold Project.
On December 12, the following month, Ariana announced an update on the programme and outlined several geological interpretations of holes drilled within the Dokwe Central area.
On December 23, these interpretations were updated again when the first assay results were announced for Dokwe Central.
“The programme has now been completed, comprising an enlarged programme of 5 659 metres of drilling across 31 holes,” Ariana said.
“Additional holes, beyond the original plan, were drilled at Dokwe Central and Dokwe North based on positive geological indicators, which primarily confirmed the continuation of host lithologies, deformation, silicification and sulphide mineralisation associated with gold mineralisation within the Dokwe North shear zone.”
The mineralisation at Dokwe North is interpreted to represent a northeast-southwest trending shear‑hosted gold system characterised by strong structural control, intense foliation with lesser localised quartz veins.
“Gold mineralisation is associated with silicification and pyrite mineralisation within strongly deformed volcanic and volcaniclastic units,” Ariana said.
“Drill holes were typically oriented toward the northwest to intersect the mineralised shear zone approximately perpendicular to its interpreted strike, providing representative sampling of the mineralised system.”
Ariana said the new 2025 and 2026 RC infill drillholes were primarily designed to test the northwest end of the deposit, where mineralisation remains demonstrably open along strike.
“The strike continuity of mineralisation has now been confirmed as the new drilling has intercepted the continuation of host lithologies, deformation, silicification and pyrite mineralisation,” Ariana said.
“These latest assay results have also confirmed the continuation of the gold mineralisation, with several high-grade zones intercepted.”
Ariana has previously revealed that the Dokwe Gold project’s mineral resource estimate is 1 416 000 ounces of gold, translating to nearly US$7 billion.
