Orbit’s Lewis Ponds story grows with 78% resource lift and Cousin Jack discovery

Orbit Resources Limited (ASX:OBT) has put a much larger Lewis Ponds project at the centre of its investment case, with the polymetallic resource now standing at 17.52 million tonnes containing about 630,000 ounces of gold and 30.1 million ounces of silver. The company’s FY2026 annual report also records a preliminary economic study with a base-case pre-tax NPV of A$481 million, while a new discovery outside the existing resource has given the exploration story another target to chase.

Lewis Ponds resource and study advance

The December 2025 Mineral Resource Estimate was a 78% increase in tonnes from the August update, although average grades fell to 1.12 grams per tonne gold, 53.34 grams per tonne silver, 2.06% zinc, 1.10% lead and 0.14% copper. Orbit attributed the expansion partly to improved metallurgical recoveries and revised assumptions that lowered economic cut-off grades, rather than simply to additional drilling. About 70% of the open-pit resource and 45% of the underground resource is classified as Indicated.

Orbit’s February Scoping Study considered a conceptual 1.25Mtpa processing operation combining an initial four-year open pit with underground mining over a proposed 12-year mine life. On base-case assumptions of US$3,700 an ounce gold and US$55 an ounce silver, the study produced a pre-tax NPV of A$481 million at a 7.5% discount rate, a 24% IRR, A$1.1 billion of pre-tax free cash flow and a six-year payback period. An upside case using higher gold and silver prices lifted the estimated NPV to A$1.088 billion, but these remain preliminary study outcomes, not a feasibility study or production forecast.

Metallurgy and Cousin Jack add upside, uncertainty

Metallurgical work has supplied some of the more tangible technical progress. Gravity recovery testing increased gold recovery from 61.5% to 74.6% in the Disseminated domain and from 62.4% to 83.7% in the Semi-Massive domain. Subsequent mineralogical work identified a possible route to lift lead concentrate grade from about 33% to more than 60% through talc and iron-sulphide rejection. Neither opportunity was included in the February study, and both still require further testing.

Exploration then delivered Cousin Jack, about 350 metres south-east of the existing resource. The discovery hole cut 269 metres of disseminated, semi-massive and massive sulphide mineralisation across three stacked domains, including 79 metres at 1.3% zinc equivalent and 104 metres at 1.3% zinc equivalent. The hole was the first test of a geophysical target extending about 1.6 kilometres along strike and more than 500 metres at depth. Those dimensions make Cousin Jack a substantial follow-up target, but a single discovery hole cannot yet establish continuity, scale or economic significance.

Cash position keeps the development story grounded

The financial statements show the cost of remaining an explorer. Orbit reported a net loss of A$3.486 million for FY2026, compared with A$2.884 million a year earlier, and used A$2.968 million in operating cash. Equity raisings generated A$5.517 million before capital-raising costs, while the Federal Government’s research and development tax incentive contributed about A$498,000. Cash closed at A$3.693 million, and the directors said further funding will be needed to develop the tenements.

The portfolio is also being reshaped around Lewis Ponds. Orbit is pursuing the proposed spin-out of its Narraburra rare earths project into Matrix Critical Minerals, with Orbit shareholders expected to receive a pro-rata in-specie distribution if the transaction proceeds and Orbit retaining a strategic interest. The proposed Matrix IPO and separation remain conditional on due diligence, a prospectus, shareholder and regulatory approvals, tax rulings, ASX admission requirements and market conditions. Meanwhile, partner Great Plains Metals has moved to the second earn-in stage at Yeoval and Goodrich, where drilling later confirmed porphyry-style copper-gold mineralisation.

FY2027 hinges on drilling, funding and execution

Orbit’s next work program is focused on completing Lewis Ponds drilling, extending the Cousin Jack target with electromagnetic and magnetic surveys, improving resource confidence and incorporating any successful metallurgical changes into higher-confidence study work. The company also plans initial programs at Mt Aubrey and Copper Hill East, while advancing the Matrix process. The strategic direction is clearer than it was a year ago; the harder question is whether a company with a A$3.49 million annual loss and limited cash can convert that clarity into development progress without another material capital raise.