Forrestania finds more scale at British Hill as resource passes 285,000 ounces

British Hill resource reaches 286,300 ounces

Forrestania Resources Limited (ASX:FRS) has added a sizeable layer of scale and confidence to its British Hill gold project, lifting the deposit’s JORC mineral resource by 35% to 5.64 million tonnes at 1.58 grams per tonne for 286,300 ounces of gold.

The more important number sits inside the headline figure: Indicated resources rose 45% to 3.86 million tonnes at 1.61 g/t for 199,800 ounces. That represents roughly 70% of the contained resource, with the balance classified as Inferred. The update follows the inclusion of results from 19 reverse-circulation holes covering 4,246 metres.

Those assays included 16 metres at 5.77 g/t gold from 12 metres, 11 metres at 4.19 g/t from 210 metres, 9 metres at 5.48 g/t from 202 metres and a narrower 2-metre interval at 13.36 g/t from 231 metres. The company said the drilling confirmed additional mineralisation on British Hill’s eastern limb, while diamond drilling and further work west of the current drilling area are planned.

Growth comes with development assumptions attached

Forrestania’s resource estimate is based on a 0.5 g/t gold reporting cut-off and conceptual open-pit optimisation. The study used a gold price of A$6,000 an ounce, assumptions representative of Western Australian mining and processing operations, and potential treatment through the Edna May processing facility.

Preliminary metallurgical work on two composite samples produced recoveries ranging from 83.9% to 91.4%, with gravity-recoverable gold accounting for about 40% to 42% of total gold in the tests. Further work is under way, while environmental, hydrogeological and regulatory studies would still be required before any mining decision could proceed. The reported drilling intervals are down-hole widths rather than confirmed true widths, and the announcement is not a reserve or feasibility study.

Third-party ore pipeline grows ahead of Edna May restart

Alongside the British Hill update, Forrestania signed a binding ore purchase agreement with Dundas Minerals Limited (ASX:DUN) covering the potential purchase and processing of up to 750,000 tonnes from the Rockland Gold Project over an initial 24-month term. The seller remains responsible for transport, while pricing is linked to ore grade, metallurgical recovery and prevailing gold prices.

The agreement adds to a feed strategy that already includes the Mt Fisher ore agreement, which provided preferential access to up to 400,000 tonnes over 24 months, and the Tumblegum ore agreement, also covering up to 400,000 tonnes. Those agreements do not guarantee that the full volumes will be delivered, but they give Forrestania more potential sources of feed as dry commissioning continues at Edna May and first ore processing remains targeted for December 2026.

Drilling remains the next test

Forrestania is continuing work at British Hill with two reverse-circulation rigs and one diamond rig, targeting extensions along strike and down dip. The stated priorities include converting Inferred resources to Indicated, completing grade-control drilling over early mining areas and testing historic deeper intercepts.

That leaves the central question unresolved: whether the growing resource and strong individual intersections can be translated into a mineable, permitted and economically robust ore source. For now, British Hill is becoming a larger and better-defined deposit, while the company’s near-term operating test lies at Edna May.