Saturn Metals Advances Apollo Hill PFS Amid Tragic Site Fatality

Apollo Hill Project Development Progress

Saturn Metals Limited (ASX: STN) reported a productive December 2024 quarter at its 100%-owned Apollo Hill Gold Project in Western Australia, advancing key components of its Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS). The company focused on resource drilling, metallurgical test work, hydrogeological studies, geotechnical evaluations, and environmental assessments, all critical to underpinning the project's development strategy.

The ongoing 50,000-metre drilling campaign, the largest ever undertaken by Saturn at Apollo Hill, has delivered encouraging results. Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling highlighted the lateral continuity and depth extension of mineralisation, with multiple high-grade intersections such as 12m at 2.98 g/t Au and 9m at 3.49 g/t Au. These results support the potential to grow the current 1.84 million ounce gold resource ahead of an updated Mineral Resource estimate expected in early Q1 2025.

Environmental and Water Supply Advances

Environmental stewardship remains a priority, with Saturn submitting a detailed hydrogeological assessment to the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) to secure sustainable groundwater extraction. This step is vital for ensuring the project's long-term water needs are met responsibly. Concurrently, surface hydrology and ecological studies around Lake Raeside continue to inform environmental planning and permitting processes.

Regional Exploration and New Gold Trends

Beyond Apollo Hill, Saturn completed a first-pass 10,552-metre aircore drilling program across previously inaccessible greenfields terrain north and south of the project. This regional exploration identified new interpreted extensional gold trends in lake-covered areas, with initial bedrock results showing promising gold intersections. Follow-up in-fill drilling is planned to further delineate these targets, potentially adding to Saturn’s resource base.

Corporate and Financial Position

Despite the quarter being overshadowed by the tragic passing of a Challenge Drilling employee on-site, Saturn Metals maintained operational momentum. The company ended the quarter with a cash balance of $9.5 million, providing a solid financial foundation to continue advancing Apollo Hill and other exploration initiatives. Saturn also progressed permit applications for bulk sampling and pilot heap leach testing, key steps towards project development.

Looking Ahead

In the March 2025 quarter, Saturn plans to appoint the lead engineering firm for the PFS, continue resource drilling and geotechnical investigations, and advance metallurgical testing. Environmental and hydrogeological surveys will also continue, alongside permit submissions for bulk sampling. An updated Mineral Resource estimate is anticipated early in the quarter, which will be a critical milestone for the project’s development trajectory.