Resource Growth Hinges on Upcoming Assays from Sua Drilling Extension

Strong Historic Foundation and Recent Success

Far East Gold Limited (ASX – FEG) has announced an extension to its diamond drilling program at the Sua Prospect, part of the broader Idenburg Gold Project in Papua Province, Indonesia. This decision follows the receipt of high-grade assay results from the initial four holes of a 10-hole program, which confirmed the presence of bonanza-grade gold mineralisation within a stacked quartz vein system.

The Sua Prospect benefits from a robust historic drilling dataset, with previous campaigns in 2005 and 2006 intersecting gold mineralisation in 19 of 22 holes. Notable historic intercepts include 7.5 meters at 13.6 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and a remarkable 1 meter at 105 g/t gold from surface, underscoring the prospect’s high-grade potential.

Extension Targets High-Grade Continuity

Building on these foundations, Far East Gold has approved a focused extension comprising five additional step-out diamond holes totaling approximately 1,360 meters. These holes are strategically designed to test down-dip and along-strike extensions of the high-grade zones identified in recent drilling, aiming to better define the geometry and plunge of the mineralised shoots within the stacked vein system.

The extension program is expected to provide critical data to support potential resource growth and classification upgrades at Sua, which currently hosts an inferred mineral resource of around 296,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 3.7 g/t. The broader Idenburg Project holds approximately 540,000 ounces at 4.1 g/t, highlighting the significance of this prospect within the portfolio.

Encouraging Metallurgical Profile and Next Steps

Preliminary metallurgical test work conducted on drill core composites indicates that 50–60% of the gold is recoverable by gravity methods, with overall recoveries exceeding 90% using conventional carbon-in-leach or resin-in-leach processing. This suggests the mineralisation is amenable to standard processing techniques, an important consideration for future development.

Far East Gold plans to report assay results for the remaining six holes from the initial program shortly, while drilling of the extension holes is set to commence pending operational approvals. Concurrently, the company will continue detailed geological mapping and structural interpretation to refine additional targets along the Sua–Afley shear zone.

These efforts will be integrated into the existing resource model, with updates expected to shed light on the potential for resource expansion and improved confidence levels. Investors will be watching closely as these developments unfold, given the high-grade nature of the mineralisation and the strategic importance of the Idenburg Project.