ASX-listed Estrella Resources has wasted little time making its mark in Timor-Leste, after the company revealed a high-impact 7.76-metre manganese oxide hit from just 30 centimetres below surface at its Ira Miri project in the country’s northwest.
The discovery came from a diamond drill hole using an upgraded rig, which twinned the project’s first hole. The maiden hole pulled up short in mineralisation earlier this month.
Drilling is now being powered by a repurposed Boart Longyear Deltabase 525 rig, which has been modified for exploration and fitted with an appropriate drill bit capable of churning through the harder material.
The company says it significantly boosted core recovery at the project by switching the drill bit and improving the drilling fluids. The updated equipment is likely to be vital for generating results that meet the rigorous standards needed to define a resource under the JORC code.
While assays for the first hole are still a few weeks away, the new hit is already shaping up as a significant moment for Estrella and Timor-Leste’s emerging minerals.
Initial visual estimates from the core show thick, continuous zones of manganese mineralisation, with some sections appearing to contain up to 100 per cent manganese oxide.
Estrella says the material appears to be in-situ supergene enrichment from the Noni Formation and looks extremely well preserved beneath ancient overburden.
Estrella Resources managing director Chris Daws said: “Estrella continues to build serious momentum as our maiden drilling campaign unfolds in the virtually unexplored region of Timor-Leste. The depth is particularly impressive and, while it is only one hole, if replicated at scale, would place the project in a pretty special tier, globally.”
Daws added the latest results, which twin the company’s first hole, are strategically important, and provide Estrella with complete core for geological analysis and data on the depth of its initial manganese discovery.
While Estrella is keen to point out that visual estimates aren't a stand-in for lab assays, the geology on show looks the real deal. Notably, the thickness of the manganese hit stacks up against Australia’s legendary Groote Eylandt deposit, which averages just 3 metres.
Estrella says drilling at Ira Miri will continue with step-out diamond holes designed to test the continuity and scale of the mineralised horizon.
At the same time, reconnaissance mapping of the company’s southern Lautém manganese grounds has continued. Environmental approvals - in conjunction with community input - are also being worked up at its Werumata site. It plans to drill a large 3.9 square kilometre target area at Werumata when the permits are secured.
Estrella’s boots-on-the-ground efforts are earning widespread recognition. Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão met with the company’s management, offering strong support for the project and for Estrella’s broader exploration activities across the country.
Estrella also organised a full site visit for more than 50 investors, national media representatives and senior government officials. The party toured the Ira Miri manganese site and its Werumata limestone project in Baucau.
Attendees witnessed drilling in action and inspected a trench dug into a new discovery of massive manganese oxides 350m northwest of the current drilling, hinting at the project’s potential scale.
Backed by community support, government enthusiasm and early geological success, Estrella appears to be on track to cut out a new mineral province. With assays imminent and more drilling on the cards, punters are likely to keep a close eye on what comes next out of Timor-Leste.
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By James Pearson
