Ore Resources builds gold momentum as Kangaroo Hills advances

Coolgardie resource gives Ore a gold platform

Ore Resources Ltd (ASX:OR3) ended the September quarter with its exploration story moving from discovery toward definition: the company reported an initial Coolgardie gold Mineral Resource of 2.8 million tonnes at 1.7 grams per tonne for 153,200 ounces. The resource, declared after quarter-end, includes 53,370 Indicated ounces and is dominated by the Forrest prospect, which accounts for 147,400 ounces.

The resource is shallow, with most contained ounces within 100 metres of surface and the full estimate within 220 metres. That provides a potentially useful starting point for further evaluation, although the estimate remains an in-situ Mineral Resource rather than an Ore Reserve or a development decision. Forrest mineralisation also remains open along strike and at depth, according to the company.

The result builds on the 153,200-ounce Miriam resource, which was reported in earlier coverage as a JORC estimate with further conceptual exploration potential. Ore has put that potential at 4.55 million to 5.8 million tonnes at 1.4 to 2.3 grams per tonne for 200,000 to 400,000 ounces across Forrest extensions, regional Miriam prospects and Avoca. That Exploration Target is conceptual, and the company cautions that further work may not result in a Mineral Resource.

Drilling expands the next wave of gold targets

Regional aircore results from 290 holes added targets beyond the current resource base. At Burbanks Monarch, drilling outlined a gold anomaly extending about 300 metres, while results along the 6.2-kilometre Miriam Shear Zone reinforced the prospectivity of an under-explored system. A standout Burbanks East result was 4 metres at 4.29 grams per tonne gold from 44 metres, although the company said more drilling is needed to establish the scale of that mineralisation.

Ore also completed the consolidation of six Miriam tenements for A$300,000 in cash and A$200,000 in shares, bringing the project into one contiguous landholding. The acquired ground includes the 300-metre Devils Playground mineralised trend, where the company says no modern exploration or drilling has been completed for more than 20 years. The transaction followed the Miriam tenure consolidation reported in September and is intended to support step-out work around Forrest and other regional targets.

At Avoca, a 3,000-metre aircore programme was under way after quarter-end, testing nine surface gold anomalies and 10 litho-structural targets. Ore expects results from mid-November. At Kal East, the company’s gold footprint now exceeds 1,100 square kilometres following the staking of 18 new tenements, with initial Mt Monger drilling planned for November and December and a broader 10,000 to 20,000-metre programme targeted for 2027.

Kangaroo Hills carries a preliminary development case

The lithium portfolio provides a second, more advanced workstream. At Kangaroo Hills, the Big Red and Potoroo pegmatites remain open beyond the current resource boundaries, while a 3.10-million-tonne resource at 1.01% Li2O supports the company’s proposed Direct Shipped Ore pathway. Recent drilling extended Big Red north of the resource and returned higher-grade intersections at Potoroo, including 15 metres at 1.14% Li2O.

The company’s scoping study describes a 16-month operation producing 1.19 million tonnes of DSO, with A$24.9 million of capital costs, A$513.4 million of revenue and a pre-tax NPV8 of A$220.8 million. Those figures are preliminary, depend on assumptions including a lithium DSO price of A$430 per tonne, and do not represent an Ore Reserve. Ore still needs approvals, funding and commercial arrangements, while its mid-2027 final investment decision target remains subject to those conditions and market conditions. The Kangaroo Hills drilling extension previously highlighted mineralisation continuing beyond the existing resource boundaries.

Cash runway becomes the immediate constraint

Ore spent A$2.25 million on exploration and evaluation during the quarter, alongside A$586,000 in staff, administration and corporate costs. It finished September with A$3.81 million in cash, no debt and no unused financing facilities. On the Appendix 5B calculation, that equated to approximately 1.4 quarters of funding at the quarter’s relevant outgoings of A$2.65 million.

Management said it expects current net cash outflows to continue while exploration proceeds and that no immediate capital raising is proposed, subject to ongoing review of the cash position and planned work. The tension is therefore clear: the company is expanding drilling across gold and lithium just as its reported cash cover falls below two quarters. Results from Avoca and Miriam, progress on Kal East access and drilling, and the permitting, offtake and funding work at Kangaroo Hills will determine how quickly that tension comes back into focus.