Ora Banda's Drilling Blitz Uncovers New Gold Trend in Western Australia
Ora Banda Mining has achieved a significant breakthrough in its gold exploration efforts, unveiling a fresh parallel gold trend at its emerging Little Gem prospect located in Western Australia. This exciting development comes just one day after the company announced a massive resource upgrade at its Round Dam trend, which saw a tenfold increase to 1.33 million ounces.
Discovery of the Sapphire Trend
The newly identified Sapphire trend is situated approximately 200 metres east of the main Little Gem lode, within the northern section of the Davyhurst project near Kalgoorlie. Ora Banda made this discovery while conducting step-out drilling operations at Little Gem, with the trend already yielding a series of promising intercepts. Notable highlights from the drilling include an 18-metre section grading 2.7 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and a higher-grade 10.2-metre hit running at 4.2 g/t.
According to the company, the Sapphire Trend had not been previously identified or targeted by any drilling programs, opening up substantial potential for additional gold ounces. This exploration success adds to the growing excitement around the project's prospects.
Expansion of the Little Gem System
Simultaneously, the Little Gem prospect has expanded significantly, now stretching over 1500 metres in strike length and reaching an impressive depth of 750 metres below the surface. Mineralisation at this site remains wide open in all directions, indicating further growth potential. Recent drilling at the core trend has produced standout intercepts, including a 10-metre hit grading 6.9 g/t gold, a 6-metre section running at a solid 11.3 g/t, and a thick 20.1-metre section grading 2.9 g/t.
These continuous results underscore the substantial scale of the Little Gem system, which is part of a north-south mineralised package hosting multiple sub-parallel gold lodes south of the flagship Riverina underground mine.
Broader Mineralised Corridor
The exploration efforts have also extended to the Sunraysia prospect, located about 3 kilometres south of Little Gem along the same corridor. This area has seen its prospective strike length increase by roughly 800 metres, with encouraging hits such as 9 metres at 4.1 g/t gold, featuring a 2-metre slice grading 14.5 g/t and a 3-metre section running at 9.3 g/t gold.
Together, the Little Gem and Sunraysia prospects now anchor a broader 7.5-kilometre mineralised corridor that runs from the producing Riverina mine down to Sunraysia. The addition of the Sapphire Trend injects a new layer of excitement and potential ounces into this corridor.
- Ora Banda has drilled more than 150 holes across the area, paving the way for a maiden mineral resource estimate at Little Gem in the second half of this year.
- The company is managing director Luke Creagh stated, "The work we've been doing is a reminder of the enormous organic growth potential of our ground, and we very much look forward to delivering a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate for Little Gem in the second half of CY26."
Future Plans and Production Outlook
With a $73 million exploration budget allocated across the broader Davyhurst project, Ora Banda is intensifying its hunt for more gold in this proven corridor. The company remains on track to meet its production guidance of 150,000 ounces from the high-grade underground mines at Sand King and Riverina.
Additionally, Ora Banda is evaluating the feasibility of a potential 3-million-tonne-per-annum processing facility to accommodate its ever-expanding gold inventory. As drilling continues at Little Gem, Sapphire, and beyond, the company is steadily accumulating ounces to support a larger production profile and extend the mine life.
This project is rapidly emerging as one of Australia's most exciting gold ventures, with ongoing exploration efforts poised to unlock further value and solidify its position in the mining sector.
