In a significant boost for its flagship operation, Ora Banda Mining has intersected spectacular, high-grade gold extensions at its Sand King underground mine in Western Australia's Goldfields. The latest drilling results confirm a growing mineralised corridor north of the current mine plan, which is poised to deliver substantial new ounces to the company's production pipeline.
Stunning Drill Results Reveal Major Potential
The company's exploration campaign has delivered what it describes as "bonanza" grade intercepts, with peak results hitting an impressive 146 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold. The drilling has successfully stretched known mineralisation well beyond the existing resource boundaries, pointing to a much larger system than initially modelled.
Standout results from the programme include a 16.6-metre intersection grading 8.3g/t gold, which included a richer 3-metre slice assaying 44.4g/t. Another high-grade intercept returned 6 metres at 23.3g/t gold, while a separate 6-metre section came in at a hefty 16.9g/t.
Further bonanza hits from underground drilling included 6.7m at 39.3g/t, 7m at 10.7g/t, and a spectacular 1.4m chunk at 50.8g/t gold. To date, the company has received 16 assay results from 43 surface holes drilled along the northern corridor, all located outside the current mine plan. It has also processed 15 results from a further 57 holes drilled by an underground rig focused on the same area.
Expanding the System in Multiple Directions
The success isn't limited to the northern extensions. Ora Banda has also plunged seven surface holes into the southern corridor, where extensional drilling hit 6m at 23.3g/t, 4m at 6.5g/t, and 2m at 10g/t gold.
Managing director Luke Creagh said the results reinforce the scale of the Sand King system. "The drilling at Sand King continues to validate our view that we are only in the early stages of unlocking what is potentially a large mineralised system," Creagh stated. "The widths and tenor of these near mine step-out holes are exciting as they indicate that Sand King has the potential to deliver increased production and mine life, with these northern extensions accessible from existing underground infrastructure."
An underground rig is now operating at the historical Palmerston pit to accelerate resource definition, with six of seven planned holes completed and assays pending. The company notes the intercepts remain widely spaced, clearly highlighting a path for significant resource expansion.
Building Ounces and Optionality Across Davyhurst
On the production front, Ora Banda says it remains firmly on track to meet its annual guidance of 150,000 ounces from its high-grade underground mines at Sand King and Riverina.
The positive results are part of a broader $73 million drilling blitz that is starting to spell out chunky resource upgrades expected across a plethora of deposits in the new year. The campaign is also advancing at the recent Little Gem discovery, where more than 80 holes for nearly 30,000 metres have been completed. A standout hit there in March returned 22.7 metres grading 5.0g/t gold.
With several exploration corridors remaining wide open in every direction, phase four drilling is scheduled to kick off in January. This will target a maiden resource for Little Gem and further upgrades across the board.
Looking at the bigger picture, a feasibility study is underway to scope out a potential doubling of the Davyhurst processing plant's capacity to 3 million tonnes per year. As drilling success stacks up across Sand King, Riverina, and Little Gem, Ora Banda is steadily building the ounce base and operational optionality to underpin higher production, a longer mine life, and a potential step-change in scale for its Davyhurst gold project.
