Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX:OBM) has discovered a high-grade gold lode at the Sand King underground prospect of the Davyhurst Gold Project in Western Australia, adding to the prospectivity of the Siberian Gold Complex trend that strikes across the Sand King area.
The company drilled a hole to test for high-grade tension vein (090°) structures in the northern Sand King area, along strike from the main Sand King lode (090°) in a previously unexplored area.
This struck gold, producing intervals of 16 metres at 5.6 g/t gold (090° vein), including 14 metres at 6.2 g/t and 2.8 metres at 11.1 g/t; 3 metres at 14.4 g/t (090° vein), including 2.5 metres at 17 g/t; and 1.4 metres at 10.2 g/t (090° vein).
The new gold hits extend mineralisation a further 100 metres to the north and open a notable exploration window, both further to the north of known mineralisation and at depth, as the ultramafic unit the mineralisation sits beneath dips away to the southeast.
“Game-changing” discovery
“Discovering this high-grade lode system under the ultramafic unit is game-changing for the prospects of a potential underground mine at Sand King,” Ora Banda Mining managing director Luke Creagh said.
“Our confidence is growing daily, and it is becoming more apparent that we are only scratching the surface of the Siberia Gold Complex.
“The Sand King Underground drill out is tracking well and we are excited by the potential to deliver a second underground mine to support our Riverina Underground operations.
“If achieved, the business will be in a step change position whereby the 1.2-million-tonnes-per-annum Davyhurst process plant will be full of high-grade ore and our production rate will increase substantially.”
Sand King Underground
Ora Banda also generated promising results from phase 1 drilling at Sand King, which showed width and grades of sufficiently high quality to be suitable for underground mining.
The results included 7.1 metres at 3.5 g/t gold and 3.3 metres at 5.8 g/t, both from a 060° lode.
Ora Banda says the central Sand King area is presenting as a large mineralised system with the main 060° structure continuing for more than 500 metres of strike, boasting widths from 4 metres to more than 8 metres wide, and grades from 2 g/t to more than 10 g/t.
All in all, the company believes this lode presents excellent potential for bulk tonnes at a moderate grade from underground mining.
To add to this, the newly discovered high-grade lode system in the northern area of Sand King combines well with other discrete high-grade lodes previously identified to the south of the prospect, which OBM believes will complement the bulk mining opportunity in the central system.
Phase 2 drilling at the project is ongoing, with nine of 16 holes completed so far, and additional holes already being planned to follow up the northern lode discovery.