Ora Banda has uncovered the potential for more gold at its Riverina project in Western Australia after drilling extended both the Main and Murchison lodes.
Extensional drilling under the Riverina open pit has extended mineralisation at depth within the Main Lode by 100m after returning high-grade intercepts such as 1.2m grading 29.9 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from a down-hole depth of 358.8m and 2.8m at 6g/t gold from 357.3m.
Meanwhile, drilling has also discovered a high-grade extension of the Murchison Lode which runs parallel to the existing Main Lode.
This is potentially very lucrative for Ora Banda Mining (ASX:OBM) as the Murchison Lode was historically considered to be low-grade near surface despite being located just 80m from the Main Lode.
Initial results
Initial results from the Murchison extension are 0.3m at 171g/t gold from 325m (with abundant visible gold), 1m at 30.8g/t gold from 181m, and 4.9m at 4.4g/t gold from 34m.
“Whilst it is still early days, we are very excited with the continuing width and tenor of the Main lodes at depth and the discovery of the high grade extension of the Murchison lode,” managing director Luke Creagh said.
“What we now know is that this mineralised system is bigger than we first thought, and that in parts, it will host very high grade gold.
“For Ora Banda, this is significant because it now means we can realistically consider starting an underground operation at Riverina which would look to simultaneously exploit a multi-lode system.
“The increased production profile stemming from multiple mining fronts will increase our grade profile to the Davyhurst plant, thus allowing an increase to our current production profile.”
He added that the company currently has two rigs operating at Riverina until the end of December and that further consistent results could enable a final investment decision to be made by the June 2023 quarter.
Riverina drilling
Ora Banda’s current program is the first diamond drilling that is being carried out on the tenement package in more than 12 months.
Phase 1 drilling will consist of 30 holes, of which 12 have been completed to date with the remaining 18 expected to be completed before the end of this year.
Results from this program will be collated and included in a resource update in the March 2023 quarter.
This article was developed in collaboration with Ora Banda Mining, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.