Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX:OBM, OTC:ESGFF) has delivered a sharp lift in resources at its Round Dam deposit, growing the mineral resource estimate tenfold to 1.33 million ounces and lifting the company’s global resource base by 57% to 3.3 million ounces.
The updated Round Dam mineral resource estimate stands at 25.6 million tonnes at 1.6g/t for 1.33 million ounces, representing a 964% increase on the previous 125,000-ounce resource.
That includes 7.2 million tonnes at 1.8g/t for 408,000 ounces in the Indicated category and 18.2 million tonnes at 1.6g/t for 922,000 ounces in the Inferred category.
The entire Round Dam resource is considered suitable for open pit mining, with the estimate calculated within pit shells that are cash-flow positive at a gold price of A$5,000 per ounce and using a 0.3g/t cut-off grade.
The new estimate incorporates drilling completed to the end of January and marks a major step in the company’s targeted organic growth strategy, which is aimed at rapidly expanding its inventory around the Davyhurst project.
“This fantastic result is testimony to the expertise and hard work of our exploration and resource development teams who continue to deliver outstanding results with our $73 million FY26 exploration budget," Ora Banda managing director, Luke Creagh, said,
“There is no doubt of the scale of the Round Dam system, noting there is significant potential to find more mineralisation along strike and at depth, supporting our belief in the ability to deliver rapid resource upgrades through our ongoing organic growth programs.
“We are incredibly excited by the potential of Round Dam to become a substantial mining operation, as the company continues to advance it’s study work into the construction of a standalone ~3mtpa processing facility at Davyhurst.”
Strong uplift strengthens growth pipeline
Importantly, Round Dam remains open along strike and at depth, with follow-up drilling underway to both extend the resource and convert more tonnes into higher-confidence categories.
The resource increase is a major boost for Ora Banda’s broader growth plans, with the company flagging further mineral resource updates for other deposits in mid-2026.
Ora Banda has budgeted $73 million for exploration in FY26, equivalent to around 330 kilometres of drilling, as it looks to continue building ounces across its tenure.
Round Dam sits on an 18-kilometre north-south mineralised trend stretching from Waihi in the north, about 3.5 kilometres from the Davyhurst mill, to Salmon Gums in the south.
Deposit locations.
The company said exploration along the Round Dam trend remains at an early stage, with its initial drilling focused on a 7.5-kilometre section of the broader corridor.
With Round Dam now emerging as a much larger deposit than previously defined, the updated resource materially strengthens Ora Banda’s production pipeline and adds further weight to its strategy of growing through drilling success around existing infrastructure.
Cashed up after strong H1
Last week, Ora Banda posted record half-year revenue of $336.3 million for the six months to December 31, 2025, an 80% increase on $186.4 million in the previous corresponding period, driven by stronger gold sales and a higher realised gold price.
The company also reported EBITDA of $173.2 million, up 106%, while EBIT rose 170% to $140.7 million and profit before tax increased 176% to $140.1 million.
Net profit after tax came in at $96.3 million, up 89%, and included a $43.8 million non-cash tax expense. Ora Banda said it held $190.8 million in carry-forward tax losses at December 31, 2025, after using $86.7 million during the half.
Operating cash flow climbed 102% to $184.0 million, while cash at bank increased to $155.4 million, compared to $57.8 million a year earlier and $84.2 million at June 30, 2025.