Iltani Resources Advances Orient Project Growth With RC Drilling Campaign

Iltani Resources (ASX: ILT) completed 67 reverse circulation (RC) drill holes for 12,761 metres at its Orient silver-indium project during the June quarter as a major infill and expansion campaign gathered pace.

The company mobilised two rigs for an initial 115-hole, 16,000m program designed to improve confidence in the existing resource, extend mineralisation, and test additional targets across the Northern Queensland project.

Assays from the first seven holes at Orient West all returned broad zones of high-grade silver-indium mineralisation, while samples from the wider drilling campaign were being progressively submitted for analysis.

Iltani ended the quarter with $7.52 million in cash after spending $1.05m on exploration, geological consulting, drilling, and project study activities.

Building Resource Confidence

The program is infilling the Orient East and Orient West resources to demonstrate mineralisation continuity and support potential upgrades to their classification within the mineral resource estimate (MRE).

Extension drilling is targeting growth along strike, while further holes are testing the Link Zone between the two deposits and assessing Orient North, Vein 1, and previously deferred electromagnetic targets.

Results released during the quarter included 42m at 52 grams per tonne silver, 19g/t indium, 1% lead, and 1% zinc from 26m, containing a higher-grade 11m interval at 130g/t silver.

Other drilling returned peak 1m intervals grading up to 279g/t silver, 626g/t indium, 4.2% lead, and 11.1% zinc, reinforcing the broad mineralised zones and high-grade sulphide veins encountered at Orient West.

Resource Scale Frames Upside

Orient has a current MRE of 62.5 million tonnes at 81.5g/t silver equivalent (Ag Eq) using a 30g/t Ag Eq cut-off, including 38.8Mt in the Indicated category and 23.7Mt in the Inferred category.

A higher-grade resource at a 60g/t Ag Eq cut-off contains 34.2Mt at 110.4g/t Ag Eq, comprising 21.5Mt Indicated and 12.7Mt Inferred.

The project also carries an Exploration Target of 35.9Mt to 43.3Mt at 63.6g/t to 78.1g/t Ag Eq, with an estimated higher-grade component of 15.4Mt to 18.8Mt at 95g/t to 117g/t Ag Eq.

Iltani has been actively targeting projects it has identified as highly prospective within trucking distance of a potential processing plant at the Orient site.

Exploration Permit Applications

Iltani lodged three competitive exploration permit applications during the quarter and was selected as the priority applicant for all three areas, which it expects to progress towards grant within six to 12 months.

The Silver Dollar, Sand Creek, and Cherry Creek areas were selected for their silver, indium, lead, zinc and gold potential, while Sand Creek is also prospective for tungsten.

The company is pursuing further projects through application or acquisition within trucking distance of Orient as it seeks to expand its portfolio around the Herberton tenure.

Iltani’s drilling is supported by an $8.0m Queensland Investment Corporation funding package, while its quarter-end cash position represented an estimated 6.7 quarters of funding at the reported rate of relevant outgoings.