Estrella lights up Timor-Leste with high-grade manganese hits

Estrella Resources has uncorked its first batch of assays from a maiden drilling blitz at its Ira Miri prospect in Timor-Leste. Results revealed a stunning string of high-grade manganese hits running up to 53 per cent across eight-metre widths.

The standout findings are also the first delivered by a company from modern mineral drilling in the South East Asian nation. Estrella says the numbers have confirmed strong mineralisation just metres from surface and have boosted its confidence in the region’s manganese potential. 

Estrella’s first three diamond holes were spot on, each piercing a shallow blanket of manganese-rich ground just beneath the surface. The trio of hits didn’t disappoint. Standout results included a cracking 8.05m grading at 53.0 per cent manganese from surface, 6.45m running at 51.7 per cent manganese from just 1.35m and 1.5m at 35.8 per cent manganese from 8.3m.

As the grades clock in well above the 40 per cent mark, the material passes the typical threshold for direct shipping ore (DSO) in the manganese game.

Estrella Resources managing director Chris Daws said: “These first assays in particular are significant as they confirm our initial discoveries and demonstrate the potential for Timor-Leste to host high-grade manganese mineralisation.”

So far diamond drilling has zeroed in on the Noni Formation – a Triassic-aged rock unit dishing up both deep-seated primary manganese and shallower, weathering-enriched zones formed over millions of years.

Early vertical drilling set the scene, but follow-up trenching revealed the real prize of steeply dipping manganese beds plunging north at angles between 40 and 70 degrees. These rich layers have been broken down and spread out, forming flatter, near-surface zones that were naturally enriched over time. 

That discovery prompted Estrella to make a tactical pivot. The company drilled the next two holes at an angle to track the deeper primary layers along strike and punch up into the shallow supergene zones.

Although the lab assays from these two holes are still pending, they have already borne fruit. Visual inspection suggests the drill rod picked up thick intercepts of manganese oxides, including zones up to an eye-watering 90 per cent manganese. The company says it is confident the early estimates warrant further drilling along the projected contact zone.

Estrella’s broader exploration campaign includes 3000m of diamond drilling and another 10,000m of reverse circulation work. It has also lined up a long list of prospects, which the company is systematically going through to work up as drill-ready targets. 

A 20,000-tonne to 30,000t sample parcel of supergene manganese has also been earmarked for market appraisal before year’s end. Estrella says this should help fast-track the project’s development.

In a region with almost no history of systematic exploration and no previous minerals drilling, Estrella’s boots-on-ground effort hasn’t gone unnoticed, especially at the highest levels. Jose Manuel Goncalves, president of government-backed Murak Rai Timor and the company’s joint venture partner, hailed the early results “fantastic” and “worth waiting for”.

With rigs still spinning, assays flowing in and a clear game plan in motion, Estrella has the bit between its teeth. Early success at Ira Miri has put Timor-Leste back on the exploration map and set the tone for what could be a significant new manganese discovery. 

Backed by high-grade hits, government support and a rapidly evolving geological model, the company looks well positioned to turn its maiden campaign into a defining chapter.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au