‘A large, high grade gold system’: Sand King could be Ora Banda’s second underground gold mine at Davyhurst

• Ora Banda’s drilling at the Sand King deposit has highlighted its suitability for underground mining
• Recent drilling at the deposit returned up to 9.8g/t gold and expanded the multiple lode system
• 33 hole drilling program planned in December to test underground potential

Ora Banda says high grade intercepts have unveiled the potential for the Sand King deposit to become the second underground gold mine at its Davyhurst gold project in WA.

The company’s 1,100km2 Davyhurst tenements, 100km northwest of Kalgoorlie, boast a current resource base of 1.8Moz at an average grade of 2.7 g/t gold after a resource update last week.

The tenement package is centred on five key, highly prospective project hubs, Mulline, Riverina, Davyhurst, Callion, and Siberia (where Sand King sits) that have historical production estimated at 1.4Moz gold since 1897.

Ora Banda (ASX:OBM) has today announced outstanding intercepts from the first two holes in the current drill program at Sand King demonstrate the deposit is suitable for underground mining – which could be a huge value driver for the company.

A second underground mine for Davyhurst? 

The holes were completed to follow up historical drilling from the 1980’s that demonstrated potential for mineralisation at depth and returned:

• 14.3m at 8.3 g/t including 12m at 9.8 g/t;
• 3m at 7 g/t;
• 4.9m at 3.6 g/t; and
• 2.9m at 9 g/t.

The drilling, coupled with fresh structural modelling conducted during open pit mining, shows that the high-grade lodes are more continuous than historically modelled, with open pit mining in the southern section of the Sand King open pit returning grade control intercepts of:

• 3m at 17.6 g/t;
• 6m at 17.1 g/t;
• 5m at 11.5 g/t;
• 6m at 18.9 g/t;
• 8m at 19.8g/t; and
• 2m at 12.2 g/t.

The multiple lode system at Sand King has now been expanded to over 800 metres of strike and for more than 200 metres below surface – but remains open at depth

“Ora Banda’s historical open pit mines provide tremendous opportunity at depth and the outstanding results of these first two Sand King holes are testament to that,” OBM MD Luke Creagh said.

“The more we learn, the more our optimism grows that we are at the early stages of unlocking what is, potentially, a large, high grade gold system.

“Whilst it is still early days, with these initial holes combined with what we are seeing in the open pit, Sand King has strong potential to become our second underground mine.”

33-hole program to kick off in December

A priority 33-hole drill program targeting the underground potential at Sand King will now commence in the December quarter.

A re-interpretation of the Sand King resource is underway and will incorporate these drill results and an improved understanding of the mineralisation controls.

This model will be also updated with the results from the December drilling, with a new underground resource model update planned in early 2024 which will form the basis for underground mine evaluation.

“We are excited about the upcoming 33-hole drill program and what it could achieve, as it is advancing our strategic plan to deliver a second underground mine – something that will be a huge value driver for the business,” Creagh said.

This article was developed in collaboration with Ora Banda Mining, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

The post ‘A large, high grade gold system’: Sand King could be Ora Banda’s second underground gold mine at Davyhurst appeared first on Stockhead.

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