Ora Banda Mining Limited (ASX: OBM) has reported further significant diamond drilling results from the resource extension and infill drilling program at the Golden Eagle deposit within the Davyhurst Project in Western Australia.
Standout intersections from Golden Eagle Underground diamond drilling include 19.0m @ 5.4 g/t Au (Including 11.1m @ 8.9 g/t Au); 5.8m @ 15.0 g/t Au (Including 5.5m @ 16.0 g/t Au); and 4.3m @ 5.5 g/t Au. The company said that the mineralisation remains open down plunge and at depth.
The company said that the assay results for 17 diamond drill holes remain outstanding. OBM said that the geological re-modelling of the Southern Mining Area has commenced.
Standout intersections from Golden Eagle Underground diamond drilling include 19.0m @ 5.4 g/t Au
Underground diamond drilling at Golden Eagle
The company had recently completed the underground diamond drilling at Golden Eagle aimed at infilling and extending the declared mineral resource of 393kt @ 3.9g/t Au for 49,000 ounces, which include an Indicated Resource of 247kt @ 4.1 g/t Au for 33,000 ounces. The Golden Eagle Ore Reserve was declared on 30 June 2020 for 130kt @ 3.8 g/t Au for 16,000 ounces.
The Golden Eagle underground diamond drilling program had commenced in late February 2021 and was completed in April 2021. A total of 61 holes were drilled for 8,370 metres. Currently, assay results for 17 holes totalling 2,445 metres remains outstanding.
OBM had previously intersected encouraging drilling results including GEDD21008 – 10.5m @ 7.6 g/t Au, and GEDD21009 – 6.1m @ 4.5 g/t Au & GEDD21003 – 3.4m @ 7.5 g/t Au.
Ora Banda said that the drilling continues to support premining expectations for the North Shoot and provides important geological information into the remodelling of the Southern Mining Area.
High-grade intersections
The company has now reported further encouraging assay results from the diamond drilling at Golden Eagle.
Standout intersections included 19.0m @ 5.4 g/t Au (Including 11.1m @ 8.9 g/t Au); 5.8m @ 15.0 g/t Au (Including 5.5m @ 16.0 g/t Au); 14.6m @ 4.8 g/t Au (Including 14.2m @ 4.9 g/t Au); 7.3m @ 9.4 g/t Au; 13.8m @ 4.1 g/t Au (Including 4.6m @ 9.5 g/t Au); and 4.3m @ 5.5 g/t Au.
Updates and next steps
OBM reported that mining completed to date on the North Shoot met the DFS expectations. The company said that mining in the Southern Mining Area encountered folded ore lodes e.g., an asymmetrical anticline with a flat west limb and a moderately dipping east limb, that require more work to better understand the controls on gold mineralisation.
The company noted that this is a positive result but a better understanding of gold distribution within the folded sequence is needed. Consequently, drilling, mapping, and additional mine development are being undertaken to better understand gold distribution within the folded lodes.
OBM said that currently, it has been traced down-plunge for more than 100 metres and it’s highly likely it proves to be continuous for some distance yet. The grade potential of the folded lodes remains strong with a number of drill holes intersecting what appears to be a high-grade core area.
The company said that the folded sequence presents as a relatively limited drill target due to its orientations to the principal drilling direction. As a result, it may be under-represented in the current drilling data. OBM said that additional long range drilling programs will be developed to test the greater extents and continuations of this folded sequence.
“The Southern Mining Area has also yielded some strong results which our geology team are currently remodelling”
Management statements
Ora Banda Managing Director, David Quinlivan, said: “We are currently developing northwards on the 310 Level towards some of these very strong results (19m @ 5.4g/t Au & 14.0m @ 4.8g/t Au) and are certainly looking forward to mining this high grade area in the near term.
The Southern Mining Area has also yielded some strong results which our geology team are currently remodelling. The flatter folded ore lode geometry in this area is a new and potentially significant development and we are currently looking at ways to better target this flatter ore zone in future mining programs.”
Image Source: Ora Banda Mining Limited