Ore Resources kicks off Coolgardie lithium projects exploration program

• 3,000m RC program underway at the Kangaroo Hills
• Testing extensions of emerging mineralised system
• RC drilling to test strike extensions of pegmatite system at Big Red
• Infill drilling to support project advancement across broader Coolgardie projects

Ore Resources (ASX: OR3) has commenced exploration activities at its Coolgardie lithium projects in the Goldfields region of Western Australia.

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The RC drilling program is focused on further expanding the scale of the existing mineralised footprint at Kangaroo Hills and to further extend the Big Red pegmatite system.

MD and CEO, Nick Rathjen, said drilling at Kangaroo Hills comes at a time when lithium is having a resurgence and will complement Ore’s primary gold focus at its Coolgardie gold projects.

“The global lithium market is showing clear signs of entering a renewed growth phase. Supply conditions across major economies continue to tighten as a result of production curtailments, operational delays and recent geopolitical restrictions, while global demand continues to increase, driven by the growth in electric vehicles, renewable energy and battery storage applications,” he said.

“The combination of these factors has supported a sharp uplift in spodumene prices over the past year, with current spot prices of up to circa US$2,700 tonne cost, insurance, and freight (CIF).

“With lithium prices rebounding from the cyclical lows of 2024-2025, the current market environment increasingly favours the disciplined restart and development of high-quality, low-cost and readily-scalable assets, particularly those with downstream integration and conversion optionality.”

Mr Rathjen told shareholders, Ore’s Coolgardie lithium projects are well positioned from both a development and timing perspective.

“Our projects are strategically located within trucking distance of several operating lithium mines and processing mills.

“In line with this market outlook, we have elected to recommence exploration drilling with a 3,000m RC program at Kangaroo Hills. This programme picks up where we left off with the Phase 4 drilling programme completed in 2024 and has been designed to further test strike and depth extensions of the Big Red and Potoroo mineralised pegmatites.”

Previous drilling over 2023-2024 expanded the mineralised system at Kangaroo Hills to extend over approximately 900m of strike, remaining open in multiple directions, and particularly to the north.

Drilling to date has been limited to relatively shallow vertical depths of approximately 100m, with the northernmost drill lines returning consistently strong mineralisation.

“These results highlight significant potential for further scale expansion through targeted follow-up drilling.

“The continued assessment of new, shallow lithium targets at Kangaroo Hills has the potential to deliver a near‐term value uplift across our Coolgardie lithium projects portfolio, ahead of further detailed evaluation of development and commercialisation pathways.”

Assay results from the current RC drilling program are expected to be received in June 2026.

OR3 is up 2.63% to 7.8¢. Mkt cap $62.59M.

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