First Development Resources plc (AIM: FDR) is preparing to begin a second stage of reverse-circulation drilling at its Lander West Gold Project in the Northern Territory, following the discovery of bedrock gold mineralisation at Red Handed.
Contractor Bullion Drilling Co is mobilising to site, with drilling expected to commence in the coming days.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Contractor ready: Bullion Drilling is preparing to commence follow-up RC drilling, with access and drill pads established.
• Focused programme: approximately 12 holes for 1,920 metres are planned for Stage II, funded from existing cash resources, with the final hole positions subject to refinement in the field.
• Stage I discovery: hole 26LWR08 intersected 7m @ 0.40 g/t gold from 50m downhole, including 2m @ 0.98 g/t gold.
• Clear objective: test for higher grades, greater mineralised thickness and continuity along strike and down dip, while examining other priority targets.
• Soil sampling complete: samples are being prepared for dispatch to ALS Laboratory for analysis.
The Stage II programme is expected to comprise around 12 holes for 1,920 metres, funded from FDR’s existing cash resources.
The immediate focus is follow-up drilling around hole 26LWR08, which returned 7 metres at 0.40 grams per tonne gold from 50 metres downhole, including 2 metres at 0.98g/t.
FDR will test the mineralisation along strike and down dip, looking for higher grades, greater thickness and geological continuity.
Further drilling will target the area around historical hole RHB108, which returned 16 metres at 0.30g/t gold from 12 metres, including 2 metres at 1.93g/t.
Importantly, RHB108 lies around 834 metres from 26LWR08, and FDR said the two intersections should currently be treated as separate targets because continuity between them has not been established.
Other holes will test selected Red Handed targets generated from geological and geophysical data, with final positions and depths potentially adjusted as drilling improves the company’s understanding of the system. Stage I comprised eight RC holes totalling 1,593 metres.
The mineralised interval in 26LWR08 was associated with altered dolerite, sulphides and quartz veining, which, together with historical drilling and geophysical information, has been used to design the follow-up programme.
Separately, FDR has completed its priority soil-sampling programme at Lander West.
Those samples are being prepared for dispatch to ALS Laboratory in Adelaide, with the programme designed to fill gaps in historic coverage and help rank additional exploration targets.
The soil results are not required before Stage II drilling begins, with both programmes running independently and funded from existing resources.
For investors, the next major catalyst is whether the follow-up drilling can turn the initial low-grade bedrock intersection into a wider, higher-grade and more continuous mineralised system.
Until that is demonstrated, Red Handed remains an early-stage exploration target rather than a defined gold resource.
Investor takeaway: First Development Resources is returning to its Red Handed target in Australia’s Northern Territory with approximately 1,920 metres of follow-up RC drilling after Stage I confirmed gold mineralisation in bedrock. The programme is fully funded from existing cash and will test whether the initial intersections improve in grade, thickness and continuity.
