Theia contains the largest portion of the 42Mt at 1.1g/t for 1.43Moz gold resource at Mandilla 70km south of Kalgoorlie, with drilling on dense 12m by 12m spacing confirming the quality of gold in the project’s high-grade starter pit.

The $330 million capped Astral Resources (ASX:AAR) is working towards a definitive feasibility study on Mandilla, with a June pre-feasibility study suggesting seven open pits feeding a 2.75Mtpa processing facility would churn out 95,000oz a year for 12 years.

At a gold price of $4250/oz, that delivers a discounted NPV of $1.4bn, rising to $2.9bn at spot levels of near-$6250/oz.

The results from the final 17 holes infilling Theia suggest the early years will be very fruitful indeed.

Completing a 99-hole, 11,121m program, best results included:

  • 19m at 1.81g/t Au from 68m, 5m at 1.51g/t from 121m and 4m at 46.8g/t from 130m incl. 1m at 184.7g/t from 132m;
  • 21m at 7.13g/t Au from 40m incl. 2m at 63.8g/t from 50m;
  • 4m at 1.70g/t Au from 23m and 43m at 2.46g/t from 48m incl. 1m at 11.2g/t from 69m, 1m at 10.8g/t from 83m and 1m at 25.2g/t from 89m;
  • 5m at 1.52g/t Au from 93m and 28m at 3.38g/t from 102m incl. 1m at 28.4g/t from 105m and 1m at 35.0g/t from 109m; and
  • 33m at 2.21g/t Au from 44m incl. 1m at 14.3g/t from 67m and 1m at 13g/t from 69m.

The big take away was the presence of continued zones of wide, high-grade gold mineralisation, packing a significant amount of grams per metre.

While grade is often referred to as king, bulk is arguably more important. On that front, Theia appears to pack in serious value following the infill drilling of an 80m by 120m area in the stage 1 open pit.

“The 99-hole in-fill RC program, designed to de-risk the Theia Stage 1 starter pit, has delivered exceptional results, with an average grade of 1.93g/t Au and an average gram x metre result of 52.2,” Astral Resources managing director Marc Ducler said.

“These latest results have continued to confirm wide zones of high-grade mineralisation within the Stage 1 Theia open pit – such as 21m at 7.13g/t Au, 43m at 2.46g/t Au, 28m at 3.38g/t Au and 33m at 2.21g/t Au.

“Bonanza grades were also a feature including 1m at 184.7g/t Au, 2m at 63.8g/t Au, 1m at 35.0g/t Au, 1m at 28.4g/t Au and 1m at 25.2g/t Au.”

Astral has also been testing for new mineralisation at depth and to the east and west at Theia, but Theia wasn’t the only focus of the drilling campaign.

The Kamperman deposit at Feysville, just south of the Super Pit, is being infilled and extended, with close to 3000m of assays to come through.

“Meanwhile, at Feysville, the Kamperman in-fill and extensional program has now been completed with 17 holes for 2,954 metres drilled and with assay results pending,” Ducler said.

“The diamond drill program at Theia – testing for both the presence of the “230 shear” and a new mineralised structure to the east – has also been completed with seven holes drilled for 2,423 metres. Assay results are pending.

“The RC rig has since been re-located from Kamperman to Mandilla to continue testing the recently identified Theia West target.

“Meanwhile, the diamond rig is currently undertaking a program encompassing the drilling of a number of geotechnical holes at Hestia and Eos to support the ongoing Definitive Feasibility Study due for completion next year.

“With the Christmas break approaching, exploration activities will cease for a short time, with drilling scheduled to conclude on 22 December and re-commence the week beginning 5 January 2026.”

That promises plenty of news flow as Astral heads into its key DFS year with the gold market continuing to run at record highs.