WIDE GOLD ZONES HIT AT THEIA DEEPS BY ASTRAL RESOURCES

Drill results from the Mandilla Gold Project show strong mineralisation, supporting resource upgrade potential.

Astral Resources Limited (ASX:AAR) has reported assay results from the first two holes of a four-hole, 1,762-metre in-fill diamond drilling program at the Theia Deposit, part of its 100%-owned 1.3Moz Mandilla Gold Project near Kalgoorlie. Both holes ended in gold mineralisation and are expected to support an upgrade of the Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) to the higher-confidence Indicated category.

Key Drill Results:

Hole MDRCD919A:

28 metres at 2.63g/t gold (Au) from 149 metres, including 0.5 metres at 115.7g/t Au from 152.3 metres and 0.3 metres at 20.3g/t Au from 173 metres.
12.3 metres at 1.77g/t Au from 279.7 metres, including 0.4 metres at 37.9g/t Au from 289.6 metres.
56.7 metres at 0.64g/t Au from 403 metres, including 0.53 metres at 14.4g/t Au from 406.62 metres and 0.3 metres at 13.0g/t Au from 447.85 metres.

Hole MDRCD920A:

15.3 metres at 0.78g/t Au from 99.3 metres, including 0.4 metres at 20.9g/t Au from 113.2 metres.
39.1 metres at 1.04g/t Au from 213.1 metres, including 0.3 metres at 59.9g/t Au from 233.15 metres.
15 metres at 1.26g/t Au from 341 metres, including 0.3 metres at 36.2g/t Au from 348.85 metres.

Both holes have demonstrated a strong correlation with existing MRE mineralisation wireframes, further confirming the resource’s continuity and depth potential. Results from the final two holes of the program (MDRCD917 and MDRCD918) are expected later this month.

Additionally, results from reverse circulation (RC) drilling at the nearby Eos Deposit have identified shallow mineralisation, including:

14 metres at 2.50g/t Au from 46 metres in hole MDRC966.
2 metres at 4.09g/t Au from 154 metres in hole MDRC965.

Astral also commenced drilling in early January 2025 to support the Mandilla Gold Project’s Pre-Feasibility Study, with activities planned at the Feysville and Kamperman deposits in the coming months.

Managing Director Marc Ducler commented:

The four-hole diamond drill program completed in December aimed to convert the deeper Inferred Mineral Resources at Theia to the higher confidence Indicated category.

The drill holes were designed to intersect the mineralising quartz vein sets at Theia on a slightly oblique angle, with this orientation allowing us to test a larger portion of the deposit with each hole, making for a cost-effective drilling approach. Given this orientation, we were expecting to see several intersections down the length of each drill-hole which, when aggregated, the mineralised sections have returned 172 gram-metres¹ and 199 gram-metres in holes MDRCD919A and MDRCD920A respectively.

Pleasingly, the intersections appear to conform well to the current MRE, giving us belief that we will see increases in the higher confidence Indicated category when the MRE is updated during the March Quarter.

Assay results for the final two diamond drill holes are expected to be received shortly. Based on observations from drill-hole logging, we are confident similar results will be achieved.

The RC drilling at Eos, designed to test for extensions to the fresh rock mineralisation to the north-east of the Eos Palaeochannel, also delivered several mineralised gold intercepts which indicate significant further potential to the north in an area not previously drilled.

We commenced hydrogeological drilling for our PFS at Mandilla on 5 January 2025, while diamond drilling at Kamperman is planned from January and air-core drilling on regional targets at Feysville is expected to commence shortly afterwards. RC drilling at Feysville is currently planned to recommence at the start of February 2025.

All in all, the Astral team is ramping up to deliver a big 2025!