Strata Minerals Limited (ASX: SMX) has begun a maiden reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at its 100%-owned Zelica Gold Project in Western Australia’s Goldfields, testing shallow high-grade gold targets along a 1-kilometre mineralised corridor.
The program, comprising about 20–25 RC holes for roughly 2,000 metres, is focused on infill and step-out drilling to validate and extend historical near-surface oxide mineralisation on the granted mining lease M39/1101. No exploration has been carried out at Zelica for more than a decade.
Historic work returned a suite of strong shallow intercepts that were never systematically followed up. Notable results include 9 metres at 8.8 g/t gold from 27 metres (hole Z292), 7 metres at 4.9 g/t from 26 metres (ZERC0037), 13 metres at 3.2 g/t from 22 metres (Z072), 5 metres at 5.87 g/t from 10 metres (ZAC342) and 8 metres at 3.19 g/t from 10 metres (ZAC363), among others.
Managing director Peter Woods said the start of drilling underlined the company’s intention to move quickly at Zelica. He said the campaign is designed to provide the first modern test of the mineralisation at depth, verify key historical intersections and assess the project’s potential for near-term gold extraction while prices remain strong.
“We are delighted to have our maiden drilling program underway at Zelica, demonstrating our intent to move fast and add value through drilling. The drilling will provide first insight to the extent of mineralisation at depth and verify some of the outstanding historical results.
"Historical drill results defined high-grade, near-surface oxide gold mineralisation along a 1km strike that remains open and untested for over a decade. Located on a granted mining licence and with gold price at record levels, our immediate focus is to validate and expand this mineralisation and assess the potential for near-term gold extraction opportunities.
"Given the Zelica Project is located in a world-class gold mining district with multi-million-ounce deposits and processing mills within trucking distance, we believe it offers outstanding potential to deliver near-term value for shareholders. We look forward to delivering the first batch of results from this program expected early Q1 2026.”
About Zelica
Zelica is in the Yundamindra District between Leonora and Laverton, giving Strata access to established roads, services and nearby processing options. The project sits within about 50 kilometres of several multi-million-ounce gold deposits and existing mills, including AngloGold Ashanti’s Sunrise Dam and Gold Fields’ Wallaby and Granny Smith operations.
Existing infrastructure at Zelica includes a pre-stripped trial open pit about 300 metres long and 10–25 metres deep and pre-constructed vat leach ponds, providing a potential platform for future development scenarios should the drilling deliver sufficient results.
The current program will target the known 1-kilometre mineralised trend and test for possible extensions along strike. A larger follow-up program is being considered for 2026, subject to outcomes from the maiden campaign. First assay results from the present drilling are expected in early Q1 2026.