Estrella widens Timor-Leste manganese search with new rich hits

Estrella Resources has hit more high-grade manganese in Timor-Leste, this time from field reconnaissance at two new prospects, Leuro and Sica, unearthing rock-chip assays grading up to a stellar 57.8 per cent manganese.

The results support the company’s view that its flagship Ira Miri discovery could be the start of a much larger, district-scale opportunity.

Estrella’s latest sampling campaign at the Leuro prospect returned an impressive peak grade of 57.8 per cent manganese from outcrops, with an average grade of 34.6 per cent. At the Sica prospect, samples collected from two separate locations assayed up to 55.7 per cent manganese, at an average of 47.5 per cent.

Notably, the company says the mineralisation at both new prospects appears to be similar to the material it has already extracted as part of a 27,371-tonne bulk sample at the nearby Ira Miri.

The results provide further evidence that the manganese-bearing Noni Formation, which hosts the mineralisation at Ira Miri, is potentially more widespread than first thought and could hold the key to unlocking multiple manganese discoveries across Estrella’s concessions.

Progress at Ira Miri has been swift. The company only kicked off its maiden drilling at the project in May last year, transitioning from a greenfields discovery to a significant bulk extraction operation in just 12 months.

That first large-scale sample program, completed seven weeks ago, built a substantial stockpile for market appraisal, including a premium high-grade parcel of 4984 tonnes grading an impressive 49.38 per cent manganese. Direct sampling of the pit floor and walls during extraction was even more eye-catching, confirming in situ material grading up to a spectacular 60.22 per cent manganese.

Notably, Estrella is one of only a handful of explorers to have been given the green light to explore in Timor-Leste since the government adopted a modern mining code in 2021.

Estrella Resources managing director Robert Mencel said: “Leuro and Sica have emerged as areas of significant geological interest, so we are particularly pleased to generate new, high-grade results from these areas. The assay results suggest the mineralisation possesses similar characteristics to the material extracted at the Ira Miri bulk sample pit.”

With new prospects now on the radar, the company is preparing to launch a fresh round of geophysical surveys to dial in priority drill targets. Resistivity and induced-polarisation surveys are set to kick off mid-July at Ira Miri before moving across to nearby Leuro and Sica.

Estrella’s next moves come after recently completing a high-tech drone survey at Ira Mir, which used a passive electromagnetic system to map subsurface features down to an impressive 800m. The highly anticipated results are expected to land by the end of this month.

Whilst the exploration story continues to build, the commercial wheels are already in motion. The company says a pleasing nine separate parties have expressed interest in purchasing all or some of its trial manganese parcel, with discussions expected to wrap up this month.

With high-grade results now coming in from multiple prospects, Estrella looks to be systematically piecing together a potentially significant new manganese province. 

As geophysics gets underway to pinpoint the next round of drill targets and potential buyers lining up for its first shipment, the company looks to have a solid pipeline of news flow on the horizon, waiting to land.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting?

Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au