HIGH-GRADE INFILL DRILLING BOOSTS CONFIDENCE IN EARLY RISE AND SHINE MINE PLAN

First four holes from 12-hole program confirm continuity of high-grade mineralisation and identify an additional high-grade zone beneath the main ore lens

Santana Minerals Limited (ASX:SMI, NZX:SMI) has reported high-grade gold results from the first four holes of a 12-hole infill drilling program at the Rise and Shine (RAS) deposit, with the campaign aimed at tightening drill spacing in the southern part of the deposit ahead of planned early-stage open pit mining.

The drilling is designed to confirm the position of pre-production mining areas to support consistent ore feed at planned processing rates. According to the company, the latest results reinforce the continuity of the thick high-grade HG1 mineralised domain within the upper Rise and Shine Shear Zone (RSSZ), while also highlighting the potential for additional stacked high-grade mineralisation.

Key drill intercepts include:

MDD504: 15.5m at 7.7g/t Au from 185.0m (true width 12.2m), including 4.2m at 14.5g/t Au from 211.8m (true width 3.3m).
MDD524A: 7.0m at 6.4g/t Au from 181.1m (true width 6.6m).
MDD525: 9.0m at 3.9g/t Au from 184.0m (true width 7.8m), along with 6.7m at 2.0g/t Au from 165.4m and 6.0m at 1.9g/t Au from 175.0m.
MDD523: 4.0m at 0.8g/t Au from 157.0m (true width 4.0m), confirming the southern margin of the high-grade domain.

The company said MDD504 intersected an additional high-grade zone beneath the HG1 domain within an area currently interpreted as the lower-grade LG1 domain. This 4.2m interval grading 14.5g/t gold is interpreted to correlate with a previously drilled high-grade intercept to the east, suggesting the possible presence of a second stacked high-grade lens that will be assessed during future geological modelling.

The latest drilling has also further refined the geological interpretation of the southern RAS high-grade mineralised domain, with results from MDD504 and MDD524A confirming the continuity of HG1.

Santana CEO Damian Spring said:

With permitting and financing progressing, we’re now focused on refining the mine plan ahead of development. These infill results provide increased confidence in the high-grade ore that will underpin the early years of production.