Salanie Drilling Yields Multiple Gold Intercepts up to 19.9g/t Au in Phase 2

Phase 2 Drilling Wraps Up at Salanie

Apollo Minerals Limited (ASX, AON) has announced the completion of its 2025 Phase 2 diamond drilling program at the Salanie Gold Project in Gabon, delivering final assay results for all 14 holes drilled. This latest campaign builds on the encouraging 2024 Phase 1 program, which marked the first modern drilling in the region in 70 years and uncovered shallow, high-grade gold mineralisation.

Key Prospects Show Promising Gold Intercepts

The drilling targeted key prospects including A1, A3, and P6, historically known for small-scale mining in the 1950s. At the A1 prospect, the program confirmed gold mineralisation associated with quartz veining, with notable intercepts such as 3.8 meters at 1.3 grams per tonne gold from 17.5 meters depth, and 1 meter at 0.8 grams per tonne from 75 meters. These results extend the known mineralised zones and suggest the controlling Salanie Fault structure remains open along strike.

At the P6 prospect, previously reported high-grade intercepts of up to 19.9 grams per tonne gold were complemented by new results including 3 meters at 1.0 grams per tonne from 74 meters and other narrower zones of mineralisation. The presence of a felsic intrusive unit and a quartz-sulphide enriched trend over 180 meters indicates a robust mineralising system that remains largely untested to the east.

Geological Context and Exploration Potential

The Salanie Project is situated within a 12-kilometre-long greenstone belt, a geological setting known to host significant gold deposits. The project area features Archaean migmatites and granitic intrusions, with gold mineralisation primarily hosted in quartz-sulphide veins aligned with major fault structures. Historical mining produced over 20,000 ounces of gold at high grades, but modern exploration has only recently begun to unlock the region's potential.

Apollo Minerals is now integrating the 2025 drilling data with recent mapping and structural analysis to refine exploration targets. The company notes that mineralisation remains open both along strike and at depth, highlighting the opportunity for further discoveries. Additional surface geochemical sampling and structural studies are underway to guide the next phase of drilling.

Navigating Regulatory and Operational Landscape

While the exploration results are encouraging, Apollo Minerals is also monitoring evolving regulatory conditions in Gabon, particularly regarding sovereign participation rights in mining projects. The company is seeking clarity on recent decrees that could affect ownership structures and project economics. Nonetheless, the secure tenure of the Keri Permit and the proximity to infrastructure such as the sealed N1 highway support the project's development prospects.

Managing Director Neil Inwood emphasised the significance of the findings, stating that the results reaffirm the strong potential for shallow gold mineralisation and that the Salanie structure remains open for expansion. The company is poised to advance its exploration strategy based on these insights.