Maritana Minerals has extended gold mineralisation beneath the planned Pit 4 floor at Boorara, with drilling still open at depth. The results could feed a larger resource and revised pit design, although assays, estimation and optimisation work remain ahead of a targeted mid-2027 restart.
- Mineralisation extends below planned Pit 4 and remains open at depth
- 23m at 1.80 g/t gold and 6m at 3.68 g/t gold in BOORD260043
- 17,246m Boorara program completed across 119 drillholes
- Remaining assays expected in the December 2026 quarter
- Updated resource estimate planned for the March 2027 quarter
Drilling extends beyond the Pit 4 shell
Maritana Minerals (ASX:MRT) has found gold mineralisation continuing beneath the planned floor of Boorara’s Pit 4 open pit, strengthening the case for further resource work below the current mine design. The mineralisation remains open at depth, according to results from 67 reverse circulation holes at the Western Australian project.
The standout result came from BOORD260043, which returned 23 metres at 1.80 grams per tonne gold from 177 metres, including one metre at 6.88 g/t. The same hole produced a further six metres at 3.68 g/t from 203 metres, including one metre at 13.87 g/t. Maritana said the mineralised zone is the same sheeted and stockwork quartz-carbonate vein style seen in the mineralisation mined above.
Infill results reinforce planned mining areas
The results were not limited to deeper extensions. Infill drilling below the recently mined Pit 4 returned 19 metres at 2.32 g/t from 142 metres in BOORD260042 and 24 metres at 2.38 g/t from 122 metres in BOORD260058. Other notable intercepts included four metres at 8.52 g/t, including one metre at 29.14 g/t, in BOORD260039; 25 metres at 1.88 g/t in BOORD260045; and a one-metre intercept grading 145.07 g/t in BOORD260024.
Those intervals are reported as downhole lengths, not confirmed true widths. Maritana says some holes intersect the steeply oriented mineralisation obliquely because of the deposit geometry and access restrictions, meaning true widths will be calculated where sufficient information becomes available.
Resource update and pit optimisation still ahead
The full Boorara campaign covered 119 holes for 17,246 metres and is now complete, but assays have been validated for only 67 holes in this release. The remaining results are expected in the December 2026 quarter and will be incorporated into an updated Boorara Mineral Resource Estimate, planned for completion during the March 2027 quarter.
Only then will the company undertake further pit optimisation below the current design. Boorara is one of the proposed ore sources for Maritana’s Black Swan Processing Hub, while the site remains on care and maintenance after mining paused in December 2025. The company continues to target a mining restart at Boorara in mid-2027, with multi-stage grade control drilling planned before production.
Bottom Line?
The drilling has opened a potential second layer of value below Pit 4, but the investment case now turns on the remaining assays, the updated resource and whether optimisation converts depth extensions into mineable tonnes.
Questions in the middle?
- How much additional resource will the remaining Boorara assays add below the current Pit 4 design?
- Will the updated resource support a larger or deeper pit without weakening the planned mining schedule?
- Can grade control drilling and pit optimisation be completed in time for the targeted mid-2027 restart?