Santana Minerals Limited announced a significant mineral resource estimate (MRE) update from the 100% owned Bendigo-Ophir Project. Resource extension drilling since September 2021 has focused primarily on the Rise and Shine (RAS) deposit, resulting in a 6-fold increase in RAS inferred resources and consequently a 3-fold increase in overall Global Rise and Shine Shear Zone (RSSZ) resources. 2022 Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE): Inferred Resources occur in 4 deposits along the RSSZ over a strike length of 4 kilometres.

The RSSZ is a major regional structure defined by geology, geochemistry, and geophysics over a strike length of 7 kilometres within the overall 30-kilometre NW-SE length of the Bendigo-Ophir Project. The 2022 Bendigo-Ophir Project MRE update integrates additional RAS DD drilling results from the nine-month period September 2021 to June 2022 as compiled by independent resource estimation consultant GeoModelling Limited (GML) Petone New Zealand. GML has estimated new 2022 RAS inferred resources with top-cuts (to restrict higher grades) and reported at 0.25, 0.50 and 1.5 g/t Au lower cut-off grades constrained to within a pit shell optimised using gravity-leach economics with revenue escalated by 30% to allow for the reasonable prospects test.

The 0.25 g/t cut-off is considered an appropriate grade for open pittable resources at this stage of the project based on earlier scoping studies for a heap leach operation and recent gravity-leach recoverable gold options established from laboratory scale metallurgical testwork. The new 1,680Moz inferred RAS 2022 MRE is a 6-fold increase in contained gold over the RAS 2021 MRE. Since drilling by Santana commenced in late 2020 resources at RAS have been expanded dramatically from the 8Koz inferred resource at the time of acquisition of the Bendigo Ophir project.

The overall global 1.8Moz increase in resources since 2020 has been delivered at a discovery cost of (approximately) AUD 3/oz.2 Significantly, a high-grade gold component has emerged with 73% (1,230Koz) of the total 1,680Koz RAS 2022 MRE averaging 3.6 g/t Au. These higher-grades are predominantly within the upper hanging-wall zone and potentially exploitable by open pit and /or underground mining. The 6 stacked low-angle (~23° dip) tabular domains modelled have an average aggregate thickness of 51 metres.

The upper and most continuous domain with 1,190Koz of gold extends ~1.5km NNE (018°T) down-plunge and coincides with the hanging wall shear (HWS), a geological unit within the RSSZ lying immediately below similarly inclined regional Thomson Gorge Fault (TGF).