Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX:OBM, OTC:ESGFF) has delivered another round of high-grade gold results from the Golden Pole lode at its Waihi Project in Western Australia, continuing to expand the mineralisation envelope and reinforcing the project’s potential as the company’s third underground mine.
Ora Banda Mining said targeted follow-up drilling at Golden Pole has returned thick, high-grade intercepts, with standout results including 7 metres at 27.4 grams per tonne gold, featuring a bonanza-grade 2m interval at 87.5 g/t.
Additional highlights from the latest drilling include 2.2m at 56.3 g/t, 2.2m at 36.9 g/t, 5m at 13.2 g/t and 3.2m at 13.9 g/t, all pointing to strong grade continuity and depth extensions beneath historical workings.
Long Section Golden Pole and New Lode looking west.
Golden Pole mineralisation continues to grow
The Golden Pole lode is part of the broader Waihi Project, located just 3 kilometres west of Ora Banda’s Davyhurst processing plant. Waihi is being advanced as a potential third underground operation, with a mineral resource estimate update scheduled for early in the June 2026 quarter. Notably, this update will include Golden Pole for the first time.
Overview showing Waihi location compared to Davyhurst processing hub.
Ora Banda originally kicked off a 45-hole drilling campaign at Waihi in July 2025, targeting depth extensions and new discoveries. Continued success — particularly at Golden Pole — saw the program expanded to 97 holes, with a further 20 holes now designed specifically to infill and extend the Golden Pole lode.
Historically, Golden Pole was a high-grade producer, yielding around 77,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 29.6 g/t between 1900 and 1939. The system was only lightly drill tested by previous operators, leaving considerable scope for modern exploration.
Ora Banda’s initial drilling confirmed a previously unrecognised hanging wall lode, returning intercepts such as 13.5m at 6.1 g/t and 8m at 8.7 g/t. Subsequent drilling around these zones has now delivered significantly higher grades and widths, underscoring the scale of the opportunity.
Waihi and Golden Pole location plan.
New lodes and broader Waihi upside
Beyond Golden Pole, drilling across the wider Waihi Project continues to deliver encouraging results. Recent highlights include 2m at 24.3 g/t from Waihi East and 3.9m at 6.8 g/t from depth at the Homeward Bound prospect.
Importantly, Ora Banda has also intersected what appears to be a new lode west of Golden Pole, returning 1.1m at 3.4 g/t. While early-stage, the intercept highlights the broader mineralised potential across the Waihi package.
“These outstanding results continue to support the case for Waihi to be Ora Banda’s third underground mine, with drilling right across the Waihi package returning high grades, excellent widths and the potential for further extensions of the mineralised system, all within 3km of the Davyhurst processing plant,” managing director Luke Creagh said.
He added that the identification of a new lode west of Golden Pole opened up “another exciting zone for exploration” within the project area.
Drilling momentum into 2026
Follow-up drilling to test down-plunge extensions beneath the historic Golden Pole workings is scheduled to begin this month, while assays are still pending from parts of the broader Waihi program.
With high-grade results continuing to stack up and an updated resource on the horizon, Waihi is shaping as a key growth lever for Ora Banda as it looks to leverage its existing processing infrastructure and underground mining expertise.