Mila Resources PLC said drilling will restart at its Kathleen Valley gold project in Western Australia next week with a "small and targeted" programme while talks with a potential farm-in partner are advancing.
Six holes will be drilled with a reverse circulation (RC) rig, with depths from 90-180 metres (m), building on last year's drilling.
This RC programme is designed to extend the known mineralisation along strike to the north-west where it is open and untested, the company said.
It will feed into a report being commissioned to study the deeper mineralisation, with previous drilling identifying 1m of 27.60 grammes per tonne (g/t) of gold and 47.50 g/t from 211m.
Saying it will update the market when the assay results have been returned and analysed, Mila added that its conversations with a farm-in partner relate to the exploration of minerals other than gold and base metals within the licence area.
Mila said it will continue to focus on gold and base metals and retain the rights to those minerals.
Executive chairman Mark Stephenson said the company believes the RC programme will provide useful insights into the wider resource potential at Kathleen Valley.
"We are also continuing to progress JV discussions as previously reported, for the right to explore for high-demand minerals, other than precious metals and base metals, which Mila will retain the rights to. Whilst no guarantees can be provided at this stage, we are hopeful that we can provide full details of a potential transaction in the coming weeks," he said.