Ora Banda Mining has put more sparkle into its Little Gem prospect near Kalgoorlie, stretching the newly named Sapphire lodes across more than 2.6 kilometres of strike while continuing to punch out high-grade gold from the established Gem lode system.
The company says recent drilling at Little Gem has defined multiple parallel Sapphire lodes to a depth of 200 metres below surface, with the system remaining open at depth and along strike.
The best new hits include three separate intercepts comprising 5m at 18.1 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, including 1m at a shiny 84.8g/t gold; 2m at 44.3g/t gold, including 1m at 86.4g/t gold; and 7m at 10.1g/t, including 1m at 51.7g/t.
The Gem lodes have also kept firing, with intercepts including 18m at 3.4g/t gold; 16.1m at 3.5g/t gold, including 2.1m at 21.6g/t gold; and 1.5m at 34.9g/t gold, including 0.5m at an eye-watering 90.4g/t gold.
Ora Banda says its Gem system is now defined over more than 4.7km of strike and to a depth of 750m below surface.
More than 360 holes have now been drilled between the company’s Little Gem and Sunraysia prospects, with work ongoing and a maiden mineral resource estimate for Little Gem still pencilled in for late calendar 2026.
The project sits close to Ora Banda’s Riverina underground mine and forms part of its 100 per cent-owned Davyhurst gold project in WA’s eastern Goldfields.
Ora Banda Mining managing director Luke Creagh said: “We continue to be excited by the ongoing exploration success across the Little Gem prospect, with the discovery and subsequent expansion of the system along the Sapphire lodes supporting its potential to host substantial, high-grade gold mineralisation.”
The latest results come amid Ora Banda's broader growth story at Davyhurst. Its June quarterly report showed record quarterly production of 39,552 ounces, full-year output of 140,949 ounces, cash of $267.7 million and total available liquidity of $468M.
The company has also lifted group resources 75 per cent to 3.69 million ounces and reserves by a stunning 159 per cent to 610,000 ounces.
Management’s broader “DRIVE to 300” plan is aimed at organically building a 300,000 ounce-a-year gold producer, underpinned by a new 3 million-tonne-per-annum processing plant now under construction, the approved Waihi underground and the pending Round Dam open pit final investment decision, slated for late FY2027.
For now, Little Gem looks to be doing exactly what its name suggests, adding a rich new shine to Ora Banda’s near-mine pipeline. If Ora Banda’s drilling keeps joining the dots across its Gem, Sapphire and Sunraysia prospects, the company could find itself with a lot more glitter to feed its expanding Davyhurst venture.
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By Doug Bright
