Santana Minerals (ASX: $SMI) drill results announcement

Santana Minerals Ltd (ASX: $SMI) has released drill results from its Bendigo-Ophir gold project, showcasing successful outcomes from the ongoing resource definition programs at the Rise and Shine (RAS) deposit and the Shreks (SHR) deposit. The drill program aimed to validate sections of the RAS deposit and upgrade the JORC categorisation of the SHR deposit from Inferred to Indicated resources. The results have bolstered the Company's confidence in the uniformity of the core at RAS and confirmed a large, near-surface, lower-grade resource at SHR.

Executive commentary on drill results

All results released to date from the resource definition program at RAS have confirmed the continuity of the high-grade core of the deposit and enhanced the extent of the >200 gold metal unit zone. These results validate the current mine planning being carried out by the study team as part of the Pre-feasibility Study (PFS), which focuses initially on extracting the high-grade core at RAS. The Shreks (SHR) deposit, with its repetition of RAS style mineralisation, offers a low strip-ratio option for complementary mill feed. An update to the Mineral Resource Estimate is underway, and both SHR and SRE Inferred resources are expected to be upgraded to Indicated resource category for a complementary source of mill-feed that may be included in PFS level mine planning.

Summary of drill results and outlook

Santana Minerals Ltd (ASX: $SMI) has reported successful drill results from its Bendigo-Ophir gold project, demonstrating the continuity of the high-grade core at the RAS deposit and the potential for upgrading the SHR deposit resources. The Company's ongoing Pre-feasibility Study (PFS) is expected to benefit from these results, with a focus on extracting the high-grade core at RAS and incorporating the upgraded SHR resources into the mine planning. The forthcoming update to the Mineral Resource Estimate and the expected upgrade of Inferred resources to Indicated resource category indicate a positive outlook for Santana Minerals' corporate strategy and the development of its gold project.