Newmont-backed Awalé drills new gold discovery at Odienné in Côte d’Ivoire

• •That definitely piques my interest.
• •I've always been a fan of strategic investments by majors in exploration-stage juniors as it often de-risks things a bit and signals potential.
• •I actually hold a bit of Newmont for the dividend and exposure to gold, but I'm always looking for those earlier-stage plays that could really pop.

Hey everyone, just caught this article on Mining.com about Newmont-backed Awalé drilling a new gold discovery in Côte d’Ivoire: https://www.mining.com/newmont-backed-awale-drills-new-gold-discovery-at-odienne-in-cote-divoire/

My first thought was, a Newmont-backed junior hitting a discovery in an "under-explored portion of the Birimian greenstone belt" in West Africa? That definitely piques my interest. I've always been a fan of strategic investments by majors in exploration-stage juniors as it often de-risks things a bit and signals potential. I actually hold a bit of Newmont for the dividend and exposure to gold, but I'm always looking for those earlier-stage plays that could really pop. This "Fremen" discovery at Odienné sounds promising, especially if the ground is as underexplored as they say. For my retirement portfolio, I'm trying to balance stable growth with a few higher-risk, higher-reward plays, and junior gold explorers with major backing can sometimes fit that bill perfectly.

What are your thoughts on this? Does anyone here have any experience with Awalé or Newmont's other exploration ventures? Or perhaps any insights into investing in Côte d’Ivoire specifically? Always value the collective wisdom here!