Further High-Grade Assay Results Boosting Ora Banda Mining’s Hopes

Perth-based Australian gold exploration and development company, Ora Banda Mining Limited (ASX:OBM) is a uniquely positioned gold exploration and development company in the metals and mining sector engaged in exploration and development of gold deposits. OBM 100% owns the Davyhurst Gold Projects.

The company holds 100% interest in around six projects including 112 tenements (1,336 km²), namely,

• Davyhurst,
• Riverina,
• Mulline,
• Siberia,
• Mt Ida and
• Lady Ida Projects

The Company’s Davyhurst Project is located in the highly prospective Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia which is a host to multiple gold deposits.

Ora Banda’s predecessor Monarch Gold Mining Ltd consolidated the fractured tenement holding during 2002 and 2006, but no exploration was carried out, which served as an opportunity to establish a sustainable mining operation for Ora Banda.

To get a drone’s view of Ora Banda Mining’s activities during the last year, follow: Looking back on Gold explorer, Ora Banda Mining’s performance in 2019

The Company recently received further results from its Waihi resource definition and metallurgical drilling programs that were centred on:

• delineating and upgrading an optimal open pit Mineral Resource and
• testing the potential for further open pit and underground resource extensions at depth.

The completion of the Phase 1 drilling comprising of a total of 65 RC holes (6 313 m) and 15 diamond drill holes (3 656 m) of the Waihi resource definition drilling program, all assay results that were returned are as follows:

• 0m @ 3.79 g/t from 30m, including 22.0m @ 5.0 g/t
• 0m @ 3.44 g/t from 75m
• 0m @ 5.25 g/t from 64m, including 6.0m @ 9.0g/t & 10.0m @ 5.3g/t
• 0m @ 4.31 g/t from 17m
• 0m @ 1.47 g/t from 50m
• 0m @ 11.18 g/t from 79m
• 0m @ 10.65 g/t from 80m

David Quinlivan, Ora Banda Managing Director said:

Among the assay results, hole WHDD026 is of specific significance and returned results of 2.0m @ 7.9g/t from 205.0 metres. The down plunge continuation of the high grade Homeward Bound shoot which remains open beyond this point was targeted and successfully intersected by the hole.

Moreover, the plunge continuation continues to be a focus for forthcoming exploration activities. OBM is fast forwarding towards production at its expansive gold tenure in Western Australia through its 100%-owned Davyhurst Project.

Post relisting of its securities on 28 June 2019 with the completion of its $30 million recapitalisation process, OBM had emerged into a new phase and focussed on unlocking value from its strategic landholding through high impact exploration, resource definition and detailed mine planning.

Currently, OBM is engaged in finalising the updating of the Waihi resource model and Mineral Resource estimate with the full suite of information obtained from Phase 1 of the resource upgrade program with completion targeted for the end of January.

Figure Homeward Bound Long Section (Source: Company's Report)

Previously during December 2019, significant high-grade results were returned by the Waihi metallurgical and exploration samples gathered from the drilling programs with 80 holes completed for 9,507 metres.

Let’s get to know about OBM’s Waihi Deposit:

• Comprises the historical Waihi, Homeward Bound and Golden Pole deposits with a published mineral resource (2007) of 914,000 tonnes @ 2.4g/t for 71,000 ounces;
• The Waihi South and Golden Pole were initially mined in the early 1900s as high grade underground mines to a maximum depth of 190 metres, targeting steeply dipping, north plunging shoots, where
• Golden Pole Mine produced approximately 81,000 tonnes @ 29.6g/t for 77,000 ounces;
• Around 740,000 tonnes @ 2.40g/t Au for 56,000 ounces was extracted via open pit methods at the Waihi deposit with mining reaching a maximum depth of 90 metres in the late 1990s;

OBM has recovered all the available historical mining records for the Golden Pole underground mine and the survey plans and stoping records have been utilised to reconstruct the historical mine in a three-dimensional model while the open pit survey records were retained by the Company.

A detailed review of the Waihi deposit was recently undertaken by a consultant structural geologist which included examining the newly collected core samples. This has greatly assisted OBM in the ongoing development and advancement of a structurally dominated mineralisation model and remains the ongoing focus for the Company’s geologists involved at Waihi.

The Company looks forward to exploration opportunities for this deposit that continue to be promoted and considered.

The OBM stock was noted trading at a price of $0.165, with a market capitalisation of $99.69 million. The stock has delivered 13.33% returns during the period of last six month till 20 January 2020.