Forrestania Resources Lifts Lady Lyla Gold Resource with Maiden Indicated Category

Lady Lyla Resource Upgrade Highlights Higher Grade and Confidence

Forrestania Resources (ASX:FRS) has announced a meaningful upgrade to its Lady Lyla gold deposit, located within its Forrestania Gold Hub in Western Australia. The updated JORC Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) now stands at 922,000 tonnes grading 1.41 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, equating to 41,700 ounces at a 0.5 g/t cut-off. This marks a 2% increase in contained ounces and a substantial 37% uplift in head grade compared to the previous estimate.

Notably, the update includes a maiden Indicated resource category of 478,000 tonnes at 1.66 g/t Au for 25,500 ounces, representing 61% of the total resource. This classification enhances the project's confidence level and underpins its development potential.

Drilling Campaign Validates Resource Growth and Grade

The resource revision is supported by a recent 63-hole drilling program, comprising 8,379 metres of reverse circulation (RC) and diamond core tail drilling. The campaign focused on infill and step-out drilling to test extensions adjacent to the existing resource envelope, targeting down-dip and along-strike zones.

High-grade intersections from the drilling included 20 metres at 2.35 g/t Au from 26 metres downhole, with a standout 1 metre interval hitting 17.41 g/t Au. Another notable intercept was 14 metres at 1.16 g/t Au from 80 metres. These results reinforce the continuity and robustness of the mineralisation.

Geological Setting and Regional Context Support Resource Potential

Lady Lyla lies on granted Mining Lease M77/1325, approximately 7 kilometres southwest of the historic Bounty Gold Mine, which produced over one million ounces historically. The deposit is hosted within the Archaean Southern Cross - Forrestania Greenstone Belt, a prolific mineral province with complex geology involving mafic-ultramafic metavolcanics and clastic sediments folded into synclinal structures.

The gold mineralisation is associated with steeply dipping quartz stringers within garnetiferous, graphitic pelitic sediments, analogous to the nearby Bounty Gold Mine’s banded iron formation (BIF)-hosted mineralisation. This geological analogy adds weight to the deposit’s prospectivity.

Independent Verification and Economic Assessment

The MRE was independently prepared and verified by Widenbar and Associates, a respected Perth-based consultancy. The resource was classified in line with the 2012 JORC Code, with the Indicated category confined to areas drilled at 25m by 25m or closer spacing.

Reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction have been demonstrated through pit optimisation studies using a gold price of AUD 6,000 per ounce, mining costs of AUD 10 per bank cubic metre, and processing costs of AUD 40 per tonne. Assumptions include a 95% metallurgical recovery and typical dilution and mining recovery factors.

Next Steps Include Further Drilling and Studies

Forrestania plans to continue resource extension drilling along strike and down dip, including diamond core drilling to support upcoming metallurgical test work. Environmental baseline studies and conceptual mining studies are also scheduled to refine project economics and development pathways.

Chairman David Geraghty emphasised that the Lady Lyla resource upgrade aligns with Forrestania’s broader strategy to build scale across its Forrestania Hub, leveraging regional infrastructure and multiple processing options. The maiden Indicated resource category enhances the project’s appeal and supports future development considerations.

This resource upgrade comes amid a busy period for Forrestania, which recently launched a recommended takeover bid for Zenith Minerals, aiming to consolidate assets across key Western Australian gold belts. The company also recently surpassed a one million ounce global gold resource milestone with its MacPhersons deposit upgrade, highlighting its growing footprint in the region.