Ore Resources Ltd has unveiled promising assay results from 290 aircore drill holes at its Coolgardie Gold Projects, reinforcing the Miriam Shear Zone as a fertile gold system and highlighting new prospects at Burbanks East. The company plans an aggressive follow-up drilling campaign in Q4 2026 alongside ongoing lithium exploration.
- 290 aircore holes reveal multiple gold zones at Miriam and Burbanks East
- Notable intercepts include 8m @ 1.90 g/t Au and 4m @ 4.29 g/t Au
- 6.2km Miriam Shear Zone confirmed as a significant gold corridor
- Q4 2026 drilling planned for Forrest extensions, Miriam prospects, and Avoca debut
- Lithium RC drilling continues with results expected late August
Aircore Drilling Uncovers Multiple Gold Targets Across Coolgardie
Ore Resources Ltd (ASX:OR3) has delivered a substantial boost to its Coolgardie Gold Projects with initial assay results from 290 regional aircore drill holes, confirming significant gold mineralisation at both the Miriam and Burbanks East prospects. The results underline the 6.2-kilometre Miriam Shear Zone as a fertile, underexplored gold system, while also revealing new targets demanding further attention.
Key intercepts include an 8-metre interval grading 1.90 g/t gold from 20 metres and a 4-metre interval at 2.70 g/t from 40 metres at Miriam's Burbanks Monarch prospect. At Burbanks East, the standout hit was 4 metres at 4.29 g/t gold from 44 metres, marking one of the highest-grade first-pass results in the programme. These shallow regolith hits provide compelling evidence of gold mineralisation close to surface, enhancing the prospects for cost-effective resource expansion.
Extending the Forrest Deposit and Defining Regional Footprints
The aircore programme also flagged a 12-metre intercept at 0.92 g/t gold approximately 250 metres south of the known Forrest deposit, suggesting potential strike extensions to Ore's flagship gold system. This discovery adds to the growing narrative of Forrest as a sizeable and expanding deposit, reinforcing its central role in Ore's Coolgardie portfolio.
At the Burbanks Monarch prospect, the drilling has delineated a gold anomalous footprint extending roughly 300 metres northeast-southwest, opening a broad follow-up drilling opportunity. Meanwhile, the Jungle prospect showed a large but low-grade gold anomaly over a 650-metre strike, hinting at further upside in structural targets identified through geological and geophysical assessments.
Burbanks East Emerges as a New Exploration Frontier
Burbanks East, a relatively new target area within Ore’s tenure, returned encouraging first-pass results validating historical drilling. The high-grade 4m @ 4.29 g/t Au intercept sits within an interpreted intrusion-related target, analogous to the nearby MacPhersons Reward gold mine, and remains open to the north. These findings justify a systematic follow-up exploration programme to define the continuity and scale of mineralisation in this promising area.
Upcoming Drilling and Exploration Plans
Ore Resources is gearing up for an intensive Q4 2026 drilling campaign focusing on infill and extension drilling at Forrest, follow-up testing of priority Miriam regional targets, and initial aircore drilling at the recently acquired Avoca Project. The Avoca area, acquired earlier this year, has historical intercepts including a thick, high-grade 4m @ 14.04 g/t Au, underscoring its potential as a complementary gold exploration opportunity.
Alongside gold exploration, the company’s lithium-focused reverse circulation drilling continues at the Kangaroo Hills and Miriam Lithium Projects, with assay results expected from late August 2026. This dual focus on gold and lithium reflects Ore’s strategy to leverage its extensive Coolgardie tenure in a mining-friendly region with strong infrastructure and proximity to established hubs like Kalgoorlie.
Financial Position Supports Aggressive Exploration
Ore Resources enters this next phase well-funded, reporting A$6.8 million in cash and zero debt as of 30 June 2026. This financial strength provides the runway to aggressively pursue the Phase 4 drilling programme and associated exploration activities, including a soil sampling campaign at Avoca employing CSIRO’s Ultrafine+™ technology to refine target definitions.
Managing Director Nick Rathjen highlighted the encouraging nature of these initial results, stating that the company’s expanding gold footprint at Coolgardie offers considerable discovery upside. The confirmation of multiple gold zones and the identification of new targets collectively enhance Ore’s exploration narrative, setting the stage for potentially material resource growth in the months ahead.
Bottom Line?
Ore Resources’ latest drilling results validate key gold targets and set a clear path for aggressive exploration through late 2026, with lithium results poised to add further dimension to the Coolgardie projects.
Questions in the middle?
- Will follow-up drilling at Forrest and Miriam convert these early anomalies into defined resources?
- How significant could Burbanks East become given its geological similarity to established mines?
- What insights will the upcoming lithium assay results provide for Ore’s dual-commodity strategy?