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Strata Minerals Limited (ASX:SMX)

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Announcement
Release
14 Oct 2026 9:47AM
Price at Release
$0.015
Full Release
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Summary
Strata Minerals Limited (ASX: SMX) announced a maiden JORC 2012 Mineral Resource Estimate for its 100%-owned Zelica Gold Project in Western Australia of 814,000 tonnes at 1.61g/t Au for 42,000 ounces at a 0.5g/t Au cut-off, with 525,000 tonnes at 1.69g/t Au for 28,500 ounces classified as Indicated and 289,000 tonnes at 1.46g/t Au for 13,500 ounces as Inferred, with the resource constrained within an optimised open-pit shell using a A$5,500/oz gold price and based on a 90% metallurgical recovery assumption; the estimate incorporates historical drilling and Strata’s 2025 and 2026 RC drilling, supersedes the prior 2004 JORC-era estimate, and confirms mineralisation over roughly 1.1km strike that remains open at depth and along strike, with high-grade mineralisation at the base of the current pit shell supporting further drilling and growth potential across the broader 9.5km Zelica corridor in the Laverton Greenstone Belt; the announcement also highlights the project’s location on granted Mining Lease M39/1101, nearby infrastructure and mills, a Mining Services and Profit Share Agreement with BML Ventures under which BML funds pre-development, development and mining on a non-recourse basis subject to mine plan, budget and tolling agreement, and sets out next steps including resource extension drilling, metallurgical test work, mine planning and optimisation, permitting and regional exploration, while the technical detail summarises geology, drilling, QA/QC, estimation, density, classification and historical metallurgical work supporting reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction by open-pit mining.
Key Points
  • Maiden JORC 2012 Mineral Resource Estimate at Zelica totals 814,000 tonnes at 1.61g/t Au for 42,000 ounces.
  • The resource comprises 28,500 ounces Indicated at 1.69g/t Au and 13,500 ounces Inferred at 1.46g/t Au.
  • About 68% of the resource is classified as Indicated, improving confidence for development studies and mine planning.
  • The estimate is reported above a 0.5g/t Au cut-off and constrained within an optimised pit shell at A$5,500/oz gold.
  • Resource material by type includes oxide, transitional and fresh mineralisation, with fresh rock grading 1.88g/t Au.
  • The Zelica resource supersedes the previous JORC 2004 estimate after Strata drilling campaigns in November 2025 and March 2026.
  • Mineralisation extends ?????????? 1.1km along strike and remains open at depth and along strike.
  • High-grade mineralisation occurs at the base of the pit shell, providing targets for further resource extension drilling.
  • The maiden resource sits within a broader 9.5km Zelica gold corridor that remains largely underexplored.
  • Zelica is located in the Yundamindra District between Leonora and Laverton and is close to infrastructure, gold deposits and processing mills.
  • The deposit is hosted in a shear-related quartz-sericite-carbonate-pyrite schist system within the Laverton Greenstone Belt.
  • The Main Lode contains about 90% of the resource ounces, with additional hanging wall and footwall lodes present.
  • A total of 14,699m of drilling across 300 holes underpins the resource estimate.
  • Strata validated historical drilling with five twin holes and concluded overall cumulative metal accumulation was positive.
  • Aircore drilling was considered suitable for estimation below the pit after review showed no significant material bias versus RC drilling.
  • Gold was estimated using ordinary kriging in Micromine with 20 mineralised domains and top-cuts applied at 12g/t Au.
  • Classification reflects drilling spacing of about 25m by 25m for Indicated and 40m by 40m for Inferred.
  • Bulk density assumptions were 1.95t/m3 for oxide, 2.3t/m3 for transitional and 2.6t/m3 for fresh material.
  • Historical metallurgical work indicated strong gold recoveries, including direct cyanidation and column leach recoveries above 90% in several programs.
  • An average metallurgical recovery of 90% was used in pit optimisation for reasonable prospects of eventual economic extraction.
  • Previous mining at Zelica included a shallow pit and later slot mining, with depleted material removed from the resource model.
  • Strata has a Mining Services and Profit Share Agreement with BML Ventures to support pre-development, development and mining.
  • Under the BML agreement, BML funds qualifying activities on a non-recourse basis and profits are to be shared equally after cost recovery.
  • Next steps include depth and down-plunge drilling, metallurgical test work, mine planning, approvals and broader corridor exploration.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This information is autogenerated and has not been reviewed for accuracy or completeness. You should refer to the full announcement here for further information.