Charting out Ora Banda Mining’s December 2019 Quarterly Activities

Gold explorer Ora Banda Mining Limited (ASX: OBM) has released its report on activities undertaken during the three months to 31 December 2019, when the company continued to implement its planned Infill Resource Definition Drilling, Resource Upgrade and Mining Reserve Delineation program.

Resource & Reserve Drilling

Ora Banda continued with Resource and Reserve drilling operations at its Davyhurst Gold Project (DGP) with two RC drill rigs and one diamond drill rig completing 8,173 m of RC drilling and 3,263 m of Diamond drilling respectively during the quarter.

The Company remains focused on validating both the technical and economic viability of mining and processing ore from five advanced prospects, all of which are well-understood geologically, are close to the Davyhurst Processing Plant and, as at 31 December 2019, contain a combined Mineral Resource of 10.4Mt @ 2.8g/t Au for 915,000 oz Au and a Mining Reserve of 2.8Mt @ 2.3g/t Au for 213,000 oz Au.

Resource Definition Drilling Overview: The primary objective of the current resource and reserve definition drilling program is expansion and upgradation of the known resources at the five priority prospects to outline a robust 5-year mine plan that envisages both open pit and underground mining operations.

Besides, Upgraded Mineral Resources and Mining Reserves derived from this drilling program would be the primary inputs into the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS). The Company is working towards establishing a sound business case to return the Davyhurst Gold Project to production.

• Riverina: An advanced target located at just 48 km via an established and certified heavy haulage road from Ora Banda’s 1.2 million tonne per annum processing plant at Davyhurst, presents a significant opportunity for near-term low-strip open pit oxide production.

Read: Phase 1 of The Riverina Infill Drilling Program

Assay results from this drilling program enhanced the robust nature of the gold mineralisation with a combination of narrow high-grade intercepts and broader lower-grade zones intersected across the width of the three lode systems (Main, Murchison and Reggie lodes).

Phase 2 of drilling has been planned at Riverina in the March 2020 quarter with the objective of-

• Tighten drill hole spacing in a number of structurally complex areas;
• Target stepped resource extensions both along strike to the north and south of the current resource boundary limits and below the base of the current resource boundary;
• Obtain samples for metallurgical test work; and
• Obtain samples and geotechnical information to finalise pit wall slope design angles.

• Waihi: This advanced target is located 3 km via an established and certified heavy haulage road from the Davyhurst processing plant and presents a significant opportunity for near-term low-strip open pit production followed by higher grade production from underground areas. Phase 1 of the Waihi resource definition infill drilling program was completed during the December Quarter.

Read: Phase 1 Waihi resource definition infill drilling program

Phase 2 of drilling has been planned at Waihi in the March 2020 quarter to target-

• close drill hole spacing in a number of structurally complex areas;
• target stepped resource extensions both along strike to the north and south of the current resource boundary limits and below the base of the current resource boundary;
• obtain samples for metallurgical test work; and
• obtain samples and geotechnical information to finalise pit wall slope design angles.

Upgraded Mineral Resource and Mining Reserve estimates derived from planned drilling programs at Waihi would be a key input for the Davyhurst DFS.

• Callion: Callion is located 13 km away from the Davyhurst) processing plant and is one of the five high-priority development targets. Phase 1 of the Callion drilling program (46 RC drill holes / pre collars for 6,000 m and 15 diamond tails for 1,750 m) was targeted at closing the spacing between previous drill holes and testing the continuity and grade in both potential open pit and potential underground location.

Read: Maiden Assay Results from Phase 1 Of The Callion Drilling Program

• Siberia: Siberia is located 39 km southeast of the Davyhurst processing plant and incorporates both the Sand King and Missouri open pits. No Resource or Reserve drilling was undertaken at Siberia during the December Quarter. A 16-hole infill drill program (600 m RC and 1,400 m diamond) at Sand King is scheduled to commence in January aimed at closing drill hole spacing in a number of specific structurally complex areas along the lower boundary of the currently designed pit.

Read: Increased Mining Reserves at Siberia

• Golden Eagle: This advanced prospect is located ~2 km west of the processing plant and surface drilling at Golden Eagle commenced in December 2019 to test the northern extension of the mineralised structure. A total of six RC pre-collars were completed across two drill lines for 870m total and 3 diamond tails had been completed for 616 metres during the quarter. Diamond drilling will continue into January 2020.

Resource & Reserve Modelling Update

The Company’s employee ramp-up continued during the three months with additional technical staff engaged to ensure the development of resource models, upgrading of Mineral Resource statements, development of mine plans and Mining Reserve statements progresses in a timely manner.

Regional Exploration

Regional exploration at Ora Banda’s broader project area encompassing Davyhurst, Riverina/Mulline, Siberia and Lady Ida, located within its large gold tenure in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia continued during the quarter. The focus remains development of a coherent exploration program for the coming 12 months and continuation of the ranking and target definition for all prospects within the company’s priority mineralised corridors.

A full clean-up of the Processing Plant area was also completed prior to implementing the care and maintenance program prepared by GR Engineering Services (GRES).

The Company closed the quarter with a strong, well capitalised balance sheet, free of all debt and creditor claims and a cash at bank of $ 22,879,000 as of 31 December 2019.

Stock Performance: Ora Banda has a market capitalisation of ~ $ 111.42m million with ~ 586.42 million shares outstanding. On 31 January 2020, the OBM stock settled the day’s trade at $ 0.185, having delivered 6-motnhs’ return of 18.75% and YTD return of 2.70%.

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