Ora Banda gold drilling extends Riverina mine life, makes new Little Gem discovery

Ora Banda Mining’s gold drilling has defined a multi-year extension to the Riverina Underground mine life and made the Little Gem greenfields discovery.

Ora Banda Mining’s successful drilling has likely extended the Riverina Underground mine life and intersected gold at Little Gem. Pic: Getty Images

• Ora Banda deep drilling extends Riverina high-grade gold mineralisation over 300m below current mine plan

• Results such as 2.9m at 36g/t gold expected to add years to the current mine plan

• Drilling has also intersected gold in three distinct lodes at the greenfields Little Gem target

Special Report: Successful deep drilling at Ora Banda Mining’s Riverina Underground has added years to its mine life after confirming the continuity of high-grade gold mineralisation over 300m below the current plan.

The ongoing drilling on near-mine extensions of the mineralised system that have minimal data identified the high-grade shoot that is over 600m below current workings and 300m below the current mine plan after returning intersections including 2.9m grading 36g/t gold and 2.9m at 18.9g/t on the main lode.

Significantly for Ora Banda Mining (ASX:OBM), the results demonstrate the continuity of the mineralised structures which remain open and display strong tenor and grade in the deepest holes.

The high-grade shoot style of the mineralisation is consistent with what is observed in the current underground workings.

This is excellent news for the company, which is progressing its Drive to 150 project that will deliver annual production of 140,000-160,000oz gold from FY2026 from Riverina Underground and Sand King underground mine, which is part of its Davyhurst project.

Drilling at Riverina is about 50% complete and is continuing with two surface and two underground diamond rigs dedicated to resource extension and definition drilling.

Long section of Riverina Underground showing exploration search space. Pic: Ora Banda Mining

Greenfields discovery

OBM has also made a potential greenfields discovery at the Little Gem target about 2.5km south along strike from Riverina with the first hole, which targeted stratigraphy 150-200m below surface, intersecting three parallel lodes that returned assays of 4.6m at 7.4g/t gold, 5.3m at 3.3g/t and 4.4m at 3.4g/t.

The host rocks for these structures have been identified as the metasediment units that form part of the hanging wall sequence in the Riverina Underground.

Adding further interest, the same sequence also hosts the Murchison, Reggies and Durham lode systems while the actual basalt sequence that hosts Riverina sits to the immediate west of Little Gem and has yet to be tested in this location.

Drilling of Little Gem was carried out as part of the WA state government’s long-running Exploration Incentive Scheme, which provides co-funding for exploration drilling.

Assays are pending for a further four holes drilled at Little Gem where the company’s geologists are developing and evolving their exploration model.

Further holes are also being planned to test the regional extent of this mineralisation.

“Remarkable” results

"The significant results that are flowing from deeper drilling at Riverina Underground are nothing short of remarkable and point to a future step change for the business as we can now see through to a multi-year expansion in mine life,” managing director Luke Creagh said.

"Equally as exciting has been the first hole, a potential greenfields discovery, at Little Gem. The tenor of Little Gem's mineralisation and its multi-lode structure exemplifies the highly prospective nature of the Riverina trend. We will be following up the discovery hole and other prospects to the south as a priority.

“With the potential value creation that extending and expanding Riverina presents, the additional exploration and capital spend approved by the Board sets Ora Banda on the path of rapidly realising further value from the drill bit.”

The company’s board has approved the additional spend of $45m in FY2025 to rapidly advance drill programs and infrastructure to support further growth.

This includes spending a further $16m – to $41m – on exploration and resource development drilling at Riverina and an additional $29m on capital expenditure to enhance and set infrastructure up for growth.

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.

Originally published as Ora Banda gold drilling extends Riverina mine life, makes new Little Gem discovery