Nelson prepares next drill test of high-grade Orleans gold-silver system

Orleans drilling targets extensions beyond historic workings

Nelson Resources Limited (ASX:NES) is moving to the next test of its Nevada gold-silver story, with a specialised Bazooka rig mobilised for up to 15 underground diamond holes at the Orleans Mine. The program is designed to probe the Orleans vein up to approximately 40 metres beyond existing workings, as well as remnant and unmined positions beside historic stopes.

Drilling is scheduled to begin in the week after the 29 October announcement, following rehabilitation of the upper mine levels, construction of underground drill platforms and completion of an initial short-hole program. The company says underground drilling should provide shorter holes, improved angles and more precise targeting at lower cost than surface drilling, while producing core for geological modelling and metallurgical characterisation.

High-grade sampling sets the test for the rig

The program is being directed by a run of striking channel samples, including 113.5 grams per tonne gold and 119g/t silver over 1.83 metres on the 400-foot level. Other results included 77.3g/t gold and 102g/t silver over 3 metres, and 10.3g/t gold with 3,840g/t silver over 3 metres on the 300-foot level.

Those figures are exploration results, not a mineral resource or evidence of economic viability. They have nevertheless been incorporated into Nelson’s three-dimensional geological model, which is being used to target an approximately 70-metre untested up-dip section between the mine’s upper levels. The company’s stated objective is to determine whether the sampled high-grade structures continue beyond the historic stopes rather than simply represent isolated pockets.

Metallurgy adds a second test to Orleans

Metallurgical testwork is running alongside the drilling at Kappes, Cassiday & Associates in Reno. Nelson has also lodged a Notice of Intent for a proposed 1,000-ton bulk sample of remnant mineralised material, with approval still required. The earlier Orleans bulk sample proposal was described as a test of whether laboratory recovery results could translate to commercial-mill conditions, rather than a decision to begin mining.

The broader Gold Point strategy is built around more than 5 kilometres of historic underground workings across five mines. Nelson is also rehabilitating the Great Western Mine, where surface sampling returned grades of up to 32.2g/t gold and 31.7g/t gold, but the immediate market-sensitive catalyst remains the Orleans drilling assays.

Nevada focus sharpened as funding window narrows

Nelson spent A$670,000 on exploration and evaluation during the quarter and A$167,000 on administration and corporate costs. It finished September with A$1.285 million in cash, down from A$2.088 million at the previous quarter, and reported estimated funding of 1.6 quarters based on relevant quarterly outgoings of A$826,000.

The company says the underground drilling will be funded from existing cash and points to the agreed divestment of Woodline and Fortnum as a source of additional support. The Woodline and Fortnum divestments were previously described as carrying up to A$1.09 million in total consideration, although part of the Woodline proceeds is deferred and contingent on future JORC resource milestones. Nelson also said it could pursue an equity placement if additional working capital is required.

Alongside Gold Point, the company has defined four priority targets at its Cinnamon tungsten property and completed a 386-line-kilometre airborne magnetic and radiometric survey. A separate update on copper oxide mineralisation at the southern Gold Point licence area identified multiple soil-sampling targets, while the Yarri project’s initial approximately 3,000-metre drilling campaign has slipped to a target start in December, subject to contractor scheduling.