Astral Resources NL (ASX:AAR) earlier this week outlined further high-grade results from drilling at its Mandilla Gold Project in Western Australia.
The company said the latest assays from the Theia deposit included 18.00 metres at 6.70 grams per tonne of gold, as part of its ongoing infill program aimed at de-risking stage one open-pit development. Other reported intercepts included 39.00 metres at 3.00 grams per tonne and 19.00 metres at 3.80 grams per tonne.
Astral Resources said the program supported its case for a low strip ratio operation in a strong gold price environment. The company said it expects significant cash flow upon commencement of operations.
A new exploration target known as Theia West has also returned promising early results. Initial RC drilling intersected 1.00 metre at 24.00 grams per tonne and 3.00 metres at 4.00 grams per tonne, including 1.00 metre at 10.00 grams per tonne. The company told investors that these holes are spaced 120.00 metres apart and appear to define a steeply dipping mineralised structure.
It added that this structure may align with a broader controlling feature across more than two kilometres of strike length, marking a potential new exploration corridor.
Astral Resources also reported parallel drilling activity at its Kamperman deposit and within Theia itself. The RC campaign at Kamperman is targeting high-grade zones, while diamond drilling at Theia has intersected the known 230 shear and a separate high-grade lode on the eastern flank, where visible gold was logged.
The company said remaining infill results and initial diamond assays are expected before the end of the year, supported by turnaround times of two to three weeks at its assay labs.
Proactive:
Astral Resources has delivered another round of high-grade gold results from the Theia deposit. All the details are with the company’s managing director, Marc Ducler. Marc, it's good to see you again. How are you?
Marc Ducler:
Yeah, good, thank you. Thanks very much for having us on.
Proactive:
Marc, the Theia deposit continues to bear fruit. We're talking 18 metres at 6.7 grams per tonne of gold. This is obviously at Mandilla we're talking about here. What other standout hits can you report back to us?
Marc Ducler:
This infill program has been ongoing. We've been really focused on de-risking that stage one open pit. While that 18 metres at 6.7g/t is a cracking result, we've also got 39m at 3g/t, 25m at 3g/t, 27m at 3g/t, 19m at 3.5g/t and another 19m at 3.8g/t. This is really coming together nicely.
That startup is effectively a 4-to-1 strip ratio hit in a plus $6,000 gold environment. We're demonstrating how quickly we're going to make a tremendous amount of cash when we start up this Mandilla Gold Project. Tonight's been a fantastic result.
Proactive:
You've also identified a promising new target immediately to the west, at Theia West in particular. What did you find there?
Marc Ducler:
We did quite a bit of work and hypothesised that a controlling structure to the west could be responsible for introducing the mineralisation into Mandilla.
We drilled a single line of RC holes, spaced 120 metres apart, to try and intersect that structure. We got two good hits: 1 metre at 24g/t and 3 metres at 4g/t, which included 1 metre at 10g/t.
The first hit was at 95m from surface, the second at 220m. This suggests a potential steeply dipping mineralised lode. If this lines up with that controlling structure, we know the depressed magnetic signature stretches over two kilometres of strike. It could be a significant exploration opportunity. We’re keen to get the assays back, likely within the next week or two.
Proactive:
You’ve got an RC program and a diamond program running in parallel. What are you betting on from both?
Marc Ducler:
The RC program is at Kamperman. Once that finishes, the rig returns to Theia West. The drilling at Kamperman is aimed at understanding a high-grade zone. We’re confident we’ll demonstrate additional high-grade mineralisation there.
The diamond program is at Theia. It’s our best deposit — 1.2 million ounces and growing. We did three holes testing the high-grade 230 shear with diamond core, which helps us interpret the structure better.
We hit the shear where we expected and saw sulphide mineralisation and quartz — typical indicators.
Next, we tested a repeat high-grade structure on the eastern flank. Only one hole so far, but we hit quartz, sulphides, and visible gold. We're confident that this structure will come up as well.
Proactive:
Do you reckon we’ll have another standout hit of results before Christmas?
Marc Ducler:
We expect the remaining infill holes from Theia to be in before Christmas. The diamond results on the 230 shear should be out before then too. Lab turnaround times are currently 2 to 3 weeks. So yes, we expect to release more results before Christmas.
Proactive:
Fantastic insights as always. It's been great having you. This was Astral Resources' managing director, Marc Ducler. Thank you for your time.
Marc Ducler:
Cheers. Thank you.