Solstice Finds More Room for Nanadie Copper-Gold Growth
Solstice Minerals has extended the Nanadie copper-gold system to at least 1.5km of strike, with deep diamond drilling returning broad mineralisation beyond the current resource boundary. The results include a 169.3m intercept at 0.87% copper and 0.29g/t gold, while more than 40 holes remain awaiting assays.
- 169.3m at 0.87% copper and 0.29g/t gold in NANRCD001
- 73.3m at 1.07% copper, including higher-grade zones
- Shallow 27m intercept at 1.23% copper in NANRC063
- Nanadie strike extended to at least 1.5km
- More than 40 completed holes awaiting assays
Solstice Minerals Limited (ASX:SLS) has given its Nanadie copper-gold story another sizeable extension, with step-out drilling pushing the mineralised system to at least 1.5km of strike and deep drilling continuing more than 300m beyond the current Mineral Resource Estimate boundary.
Deep drilling adds volume beyond the resource
The headline result came from combined RC and diamond hole NANRCD001, which returned 169.3m at 0.87% copper and 0.29g/t gold. Within that interval was a higher-grade 73.3m section at 1.07% copper and 0.26g/t gold, including 8m at 2.12% copper and 6.3m at 2.65% copper.
The hole also intersected mineralisation farther east than expected, returning 4.6m at 1.65% copper and 24.9m at 0.56% copper. Solstice said that mineralisation may connect with a previously reported intercept in NANRCD009, pointing to a possible emerging eastern zone. That interpretation remains an exploration target rather than a defined resource.
On the same section, NANRCD002 produced several broad mineralised intervals, including 23.9m at 0.76% copper and 23m at 0.46% copper. Its strongest gold result was a 5.8m end-of-hole interval at 1.00% copper and 2.43g/t gold, including 1m at 12.71g/t gold. The hole has since been extended to 729.1m as NANRCD002A, with assays pending.
Shallow zones strengthen the northern target
The deeper results are being matched by a shallower mineralised position north of a local cross-fault. NANRC063 returned 27m at 1.23% copper and 0.15g/t gold from 135m, including 3m at 5.78% copper, while NANRC062 delivered multiple broad intervals, including 47m at 0.66% copper in the oxide profile and 40m at 0.52% copper at depth.
A reconnaissance traverse then extended drilling 160m beyond the previous northern limit. NANRC065 returned 28m at 0.52% copper and 0.17g/t gold from 67m, taking the reported strike length to at least 1.5km. The system remains open to the north, south and at depth, according to Solstice.
Current resource remains unchanged
Nanadie still carries an inferred resource of 40.4 million tonnes at 0.4% copper and 0.1g/t gold, containing 162,000 tonnes of copper and 130,000 ounces of gold. The new drilling has not yet been incorporated into an updated estimate, and the reported intervals are downhole lengths rather than confirmed true widths.
Solstice has three rigs operating and expects drilling to continue through the rest of 2026. Assays are pending from 14 completed diamond holes and more than 20 RC holes, while the company says it has $45 million in cash and no debt. The next test is whether the accumulating intervals translate into coherent resource domains rather than simply a longer catalogue of promising holes.
Bottom Line?
The exploration footprint is expanding faster than the formal resource, but the investment case still depends on pending assays, true widths, metallurgy and an eventual resource update.
Questions in the middle?
- Will NANRCD002A and the other pending holes confirm continuity across the emerging eastern zone?
- How much of the new shallow mineralisation can be incorporated into a future pit or resource model?
- Will subsequent resource and metallurgical work support an economically meaningful development pathway?
