Santana Minerals (ASX: SMI) reports further ‘significant’ results following resource extension drilling at the Rise and Shine (RAS) deposit, as part of its 100% owned Bendigo-Ophir Project in New Zealand.
The results, generated by diamond drilling (DD) activities at the RAS deposit, are the first batch of assays received since the 2022 Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) and confirm continuity of ‘strong’ gold mineralisation with key intercepts including:
- Hole MDD051: 42.9m @ 7.3g/t Au from 152.1m, incl. 20m @ 11.8g/t Au (1.5g/t lower cut-off) from 161m
- Hole MDD053: 12.3m @ 2.9g/t Au from 306.7m, incl. 9m @ 3.8g/t Au (1.5g/t lower cut-off) from 308m
- Hole MDD055: 28.4m @ 3.7g/t Au from 311.6m, incl. 19.4m @ 4.6g/t Au (1.5g/t lower cut-off) from 311.6m
Addressing the results, Santana Minerals Executive Director, Dick Keevers, said: “Some very good gold assays as well as new visible gold in drill core, particularly in the SE part of RAS, where a sweet spot occurs near the expected SE margin of the RAS deposit. An excellent result.
“Nearly a kilometre north of this sweet spot, where the RAS down plunge part of the deposit continues, we have achieved some substantial gold intersections”
Nearly a kilometre north of this sweet spot, where the RAS down plunge part of the deposit continues, we have achieved some substantial gold intersections, underpinning our continuing drive to keep pushing NE down the plunge of the deposit with our drilling.
Drilling in these two areas at RAS has complemented our previous drilling at these two widely spaced parts of the deposit, which continues to show that an expected expansion of our most recent MRE will occur in the following months.”
The company also notes that assays returned from drill hole MDD051 are the strongest that the Project Area has returned to date and have eclipsed results reported in June from previous drill hole MDD044 (42.1m @ 5.1g/t Au).
In addition, results from this recent drilling have successfully defined the RAS shoot over 1,500m down plunge with a width of 300-400m and increasing the potential of SHR and other well-defined targets that exist along the RAS Shear Zone (RSSZ).
These results are expected to aid in extending the Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of the RAS deposit, which has already undergone a 6-fold increase in Inferred resources and a 3-fold increase in overall Global RSSZ resources.
The Bendigo-Ophir Project is located about 90km northwest of Oceana Gold’s world-class Macraes gold mine within the Central Otago goldfields of New Zealand, covering a total land tenure of 251km2 and containing a new Inferred MRE of 643K ounces of gold @ 1.0g/t (0.25g/t Au lower cut-off grade, no top-cut).
The project’s four contained RSSZ deposits (CIT, RAS, SHR and SRE) extend 4 kilometres NW-SE along strike and currently boast an Inferred Gold MRE of 1.9Moz @ 1.8g/t Au at a lower cut-off grade of 0.5g/t Au (2.1Moz @ 1.4g/t Au at a 0.25g/t cut-off grade) with all deposits remaining open at depth.
With DD activities continuing to test the eastern margin of the RAS shoot and down plunge extensions of RAS and Shreks deposits, Santana Minerals notes that it remains focused on expanding the resources beyond the project’s new 1.9Moz platform.
Images: Santana Minerals Ltd
