Solara Minerals has identified gold and silver in selective rock-chip samples along a quartz vein extending more than 400 metres at Myrnas Hill. The explorer is also preparing follow-up drilling at Wilgeena, while its $1.642 million cash balance points to a measured exploration runway.
- Myrnas Hill rock chips returned up to 7.05g/t gold and 3.28g/t silver
- Quartz vein extends more than 400m and remains undrilled along its eastern strike
- Wilgeena soil sampling returned coherent gold anomalism up to 39.3ppb
- Kelly West was granted and six Revere licence applications remain pending
- $1.642 million cash at quarter-end, equivalent to 4.19 quarters of reported funding
Myrnas Hill Samples Extend a Gold-Bearing Quartz Target
Solara Minerals Limited (ASX:SLA) has put its Myrnas Hill prospect at the front of its exploration story after reconnaissance rock chips returned up to 7.05g/t gold and 3.28g/t silver. A second sample returned 1.85g/t gold and 1.08g/t silver, with both results taken from an east-west trending quartz vein that can be traced for more than 400 metres.
The significance is not yet established. The samples were selective by nature and may not represent mineralisation across the broader vein or along strike. Historical drilling did return narrower gold intersections, including 3m at 1.51g/t gold from 19m and 12m at 0.33g/t gold from 28m, but the eastern extension of the quartz vein remains undrilled. Solara says it is reviewing the relationship between arsenic and gold anomalism before determining further work.
Wilgeena Moves Towards Follow-Up Air-Core Drilling
Wilgeena remains the more advanced near-term drill target in the Bryah Basin portfolio. Soil sampling identified coherent gold anomalism of up to 39.3ppb across several discrete areas, alongside increasing sericitic alteration and a broader hydrothermal corridor in the eastern part of the tenement.
The company’s planned drilling will focus particularly on areas near the Peak Hill Schist and Karalundi contact, where historic drilling was widely spaced. Two nearby Sandfire air-core holes previously returned 5m at 399ppb gold and 5m at 250ppb gold, although those intersections were not followed up. The planned programme follows Solara’s earlier Wilgeena gold anomalies, which were identified through soil sampling.
Portfolio Expands While Degrussa West Waits
Exploration at Degrussa West is set to resume after the Wilgeena targets are tested. Five of 11 planned reverse-circulation holes were completed in the earlier programme for 1,032 metres, with one deep hole intersecting a carbonate-altered mafic intrusive unit and anomalous copper above 150ppm and nickel above 500ppm. Three western holes also encountered anomalous gold and copper, though Solara said the results did not warrant follow-up drilling.
That work builds on the company’s Degrussa West drilling, which had completed its first stage earlier in the year. Elsewhere, Kelly West was granted during the quarter, while Wandery remains pending after a successful ballot. Six Revere applications covering about 179 square kilometres are also pending, adding acreage but not yet exploration certainty.
Cash Supports Exploration, But Activity Remains Selective
Solara spent $219,000 on exploration and evaluation during the quarter and ended September with $1.642 million in cash and cash equivalents. Reported relevant outgoings were $392,000 for the quarter, giving the company an estimated 4.19 quarters of funding based on its Appendix 5B calculation. The balance was down from $2.034 million at the previous quarter-end, with no financing inflows recorded during the period.
The next evidence will need to come from the ground rather than the map: Wilgeena drilling, any decision to test Myrnas Hill’s eastern vein extension, and planned soil sampling at the largely untested Wagtail tenement. With several additional applications still pending and the company continuing to assess acquisition opportunities, Solara has a broad pipeline but must convert selected targets into drill results without stretching its cash position.
Bottom Line?
Myrnas Hill has produced an eye-catching exploration signal, but Wilgeena drilling is the clearer test of whether Solara can turn surface anomalism into a substantive target.
Questions in the middle?
- Will follow-up drilling at Wilgeena confirm continuity beneath the coherent surface gold anomaly?
- Can drilling establish whether the Myrnas Hill quartz vein hosts continuous mineralisation beyond the selective rock-chip samples?
- How quickly will Solara need to prioritise projects or seek new funding as its exploration pipeline expands?