Santana Minerals Limited announced further significant results from the 100% owned Bendigo-Ophir Project ("the Project"). Resource extension drilling since September 2021 has resulted in a 6-fold increase in RAS inferred resources and a 3-fold increase in the overall Global Rise and Shine Shear Zone (RSSZ) mineral resource estimate (MRE) to 1.9Moz @ 1.8g/t Au (top-cut, 0.5g/t lower cut-off) at RAS, Come-in-Time (CIT), Shreks (SHR) and Shreks East (SRE) deposits. Drilling is continuing to expand the resource potential beyond this new 1.9Moz MRE platform.

MDD051 drill intercept and assay results from 2 further holes MDD054 and MDD056 at RAS have been received adding to the considerable impetus for potential RAS resource growth. RSSZ Deposits - Extension Drilling: Four RSSZ deposits, CIT, RAS, SHR and SRE extend 4 kilometres NW-SE along strike and contain the current 1.9Moz inferred gold resources. All deposits remain open at depth.

The new global MRE forms a robust platform for additional resources and presently drilling is primarily focusing on expanding the 1.7Moz inferred resource at RAS and testing the down plunge extensions at the CIT and SHR deposits. Three DD rigs are now operating and a total of 12,772 metres have been completed since January 2022. Latest Drill Assay Results from RAS Assays have been received for 2 further drill holes MDD054 and MDD056 within the 2022 MRE envelope in the southern (up-plunge) sector of the RAS shoot.

MDD054 has delivered an exceptional result which was flagged when significant coarse visible gold (VG) was logged resulting in the drillhole intercept being appropriately titled "jewellery box". The MDD054 VG interval from 180 metres depth is one of two adjacent 1 metre samples that reported >100g/t Au which is beyond the reporting limit of the standard fire assay method. Final determination of grade is still pending but in the interim 100g/t Au has been used for composite grade calculations.

Assays are currently expected within two weeks. These are two of nine 1 metre intervals with bonanza grades (>10g/t Au) in MDD054 between 174m and 221m: 14.7, 14.5, >100, >100, 65.5, 14.8, 11.4, 22.6 and 38.1 g/t Au over individual 1-metre intervals At a 1.5g/t Au lower cut-off the MDD054 intercept is: 20.3 metres @ 18.7g/t Au from 165.8 metres (1.5g/t Au lower cut-off) Drillhole MDD054 results of 487 gold MU (metres*Au grams) are the strongest from the Project area to date, eclipsing recent high-grade results reported from MDD051 (80 metres south-south-west) and MDD044 (1 kilometre to the north). MDD051 and MDD044 returned respective results of 42.9 metres @ 7.3 g/t Au from 152.1 metres and 42.1 metres @ 5.07 g/t Au (aggregate) between 356 and 404 metres.

The MDD054 mineralisation occurs over 56.2 metres from 165.8 metres below collar with 110.4 metres of assays pending from the lower section of the drillhole. The most continuous and higher grades occur in the upper section of the RSSZ directly below the low-angle regional Thomson Gorge Fault (TGF), and are associated with flood silica and arsenopyrite laminated veinlet concentrations. MDD056, is on the axis of the RAS shoot 130 metres south-west of MDD051.

The mineralised intercept of 8 metres @ 4.10 g/t Au from 161.0 metres is lower in the RSSZ sequence (33 metres below the TGF). A total of 104.2 metres of assays are yet to be reported for the upper and lower sections. MDD051 and MDD054 are towards the inferred eastern margin of the RAS shoot and appear to lie within a zone of higher-grade mineralisation defined by the 80 m.mg/t (MU) isopach that trends NNW across the axis of the shoot.

The zone, combined with clustering of higher-grade holes down plunge, suggests potential for an en-echelon series of high-grade zones separated by lower grade zones going down the axis of the RAS shoot. This has significant implications for drilling down plunge at Shreks and other exploration targets. Both MDD051 and MDD054 return significantly greater widths and grade of mineralisation than resource modelling in the MRE 2022 would imply which suggests potential upside in future resource estimates with the MRE 2022 resource envelope.

Furthermore, MDD051 remains open to the east. Mineralisation in drillhole MDD056 to the SW also remains open to the east in an area south of the significant MDD051 and MDD054 intercepts. Key Conclusions & Forward Programme: The exceptional MDD054 mineralised intercept together with that of MDD051 are building on a high-grade zone in the south-east sector of the RAS shoot.

These twin results bolster the 2022 MRE domains and grade in this area which have further eastern extension possibilities. Similar excellent recent results encountered in MDD044 (1 kilometre to the north) have raised the profile of RAS further with mineralisation extending 1,500m down-plunge from outcrop and remaining open to the north. Extension diamond drilling is continuing at RAS deposit with reconnaissance holes also in progress to test the down plunge extensions of SHR deposit.

Recent drilling results have added continued weight to the impressive RSSZ multi-million-ounce system.