Ora Banda Mining has ignited exploration near Menzies with a breakthrough at its Round Dam trend after uncovering bonanza grades during a 62,000m drilling blitz in Western Australia’s Goldfields.
Early results unearthed from the latest drill program have uncovered a potentially transformative gold system along Round Dam just 3.5 kilometres from the company’s 1.2 million tonne per annum Davyhurst mill.
The drilling has unlocked some early bonanza results that highlight the high-grade prize on offer. Highlights from the initial 50 returned holes are led by results beneath its Federal Flag pit, which struck 8.0m of gold grading a whopping 20.6 grams per tonne (g/t) from 132m, including a 3.0m section running 41.7g/t.
Other standout hits include a 2.0m section grading 32.4g/t gold, a thicker 5.0m section at 11g/t and a 3m section running 12g/t.
The company says its high-grade intercepts across multiple deposits with multiple lodes signals a significant open pit and underground resource potential at the trend. These latest results will feed into some priority targets for future production at the project as Ora Banda moves to expand its mill and production profile.
Spanning some 7.5km of Zuleika shear zone, from Federal Flag in the north to Salmon Gums in the south, the Round Dam Trend is a cornerstone of Ora Banda’s massive $73 million exploration push to expand its resource base across 140km of prospective greenstone belts.
With 9500m of drilling to date, the company will now look to rapidly test its latest gold horizon with a 330-hole assault for a total of 62,000m of drilling to thoroughly test the seven prospects in waiting.
Ora Banda’s geology team says it has redefined the Round Dam Trend, identifying up to six subparallel gold lodes where historical exploration targeted only one or two in isolation. This new multi-lode model, combined with the trend’s proximity to the Zuleika shear opens a vast new search window.
With mineralisation open at depth and along strike, the company is prioritising the corridor for its potential to feed the nearby Davyhurst mill, enhancing operational efficiency and reducing processing costs.
Ora Banda Mining Managing Director Luke Creagh said: “This is an outstanding start to a large exploration program focussed on expanding the current open pit and future underground mining potential of the Round Dam Trend. Credit goes to our geology team who reinterpreted the mineralisation system and identified that multiple, subparallel and proximal gold lodes exist over significant strike.”
Ora Banda’s phase 1 program is supported by two reverse circulation rigs and one diamond rig with a focus on refining high-grade shoot orientations and exploring underexplored zones that could churn out yet more deposits for the company.
The trend’s geological setting mirrors the successful structures at Ora Banda’s high-grade Riverina and Sand King underground mines. With the mill’s current capacity under review, a feasibility study is underway to expand it to a 3Mtpa capacity mill, which would accommodate increased ore flow from Round Dam and a move back to a low-cost open-pit mining capacity.
Currently the company’s Sand King, Riverina and emerging Little Gem discovery are all optimal for high-grade underground mining, promising an impressive ounce production profile from a relatively modest 1.2Mtpa mill.
Ora Banda recently boasted increased production to 92,400 ounces during the FY25 which has directly fed into the company’s cash reserves, now up to $57 million. Ora Banda’s current bank balance highlights the incredible performance posted by the company over these last two years.
That cash is now being directed to the drill bit. And with only 15 per cent of the drilling complete at Round Dam and the drills spinning, Ora Banda’s history of continued discoveries has led to the expectancy, rather than the possibility of future success.
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By Andrew Todd
