Terrain Minerals preparing for 10,905m RC program at Lightning gold project

• Program designed to grow the open-pit component of resource
• Looking to test for interpreted repetitions of the Lightning mineralised system
• Also exploring for new discoveries
• Testing a series of exciting exploration targets including the seven new priority IP targets

Terrain Minerals (ASX: TMX) has received board approval for the next round of drilling at its Smokebush gold/silver project in Western Australia.

Located within the Lightning deposit, the soon-to-commence 10,905m, 86-hole reverse circulation (RC) drilling campaign will be the largest drilling program undertaken by Terrain to date.

The program is designed to expand the current Lightning mineral resource with a particular focus on expanding the open-pit component of that resource to support an upgrade in resource classification and test strike extensions.

Executive director, Justin Virgin, said drilling contractors have now been appointed and the program is expected to commence in the second half of October.

“This drilling program is designed to support an upgrade of parts of the Lightning mineral resource from the Inferred to Indicated category, which would enable initial mining studies to be undertaken,” Mr Virgin said.

“This aligns with Terrain’s stated strategy of working towards a potential small-scale toll milling operation, to fund future exploration and development across the broader project.”

“This program represents the company’s largest-ever RC drilling campaign. Our confidence in executing this program has been built on a strong geological dataset and the grassroots project knowledge gained through six years of exploration at Smokebush and the Lightning deposit.

“This knowledge continues to build our confidence as we advance our other targets, which continue to return encouraging results, further strengthening our belief that Smokebush has the potential to develop into a multi-deposit gold camp.”

“This program focuses all our efforts on the granted mining lease, with infill and extension drilling at the Lightning deposit an obvious priority. However, the other new targets represent potential new discovery opportunities. Results continue to support our theory of the area housing multiple, parallel, stacked mineralised structures across the mining lease.

“Our other targets remain prospective and offer further upside, with the broader tenement package having the potential to host multiple deposits. Hurley, Paradise City and the Wildflower area, which hosts multiple targets, remain key priorities for future exploration.”

The maiden Lightning Inferred mineral resource estimate of 677,000 tonnes at 2.5 grams per tonne (g/t) gold for 54,000 ounces of gold and 156,500 ounces of silver was announced on 27 July 20261. Of that inventory, 157,000 tonnes at 3.5 g/t gold for 17,500 ounces of gold sits within the optimised open- pit shell, with the balance reported under underground mining assumptions.

Fifty-four of the eighty-six planned holes, for 5,735 metres, are directed across the Lightning project, targeting both the Lightning and Monza structures. These holes are designed to infill the existing drill pattern at a spacing that supports an upgrade in resource classification, and to drill the near-surface position of the deposit so that mineralisation currently sitting outside the optimised shell may be brought inside a larger pit. Mineralisation at Lightning starts at surface and remains open along strike and at depth, and the deposit is under-drilled to the north of the main body.

A further eight holes for 960 metres test the northern strike extension of Lightning. These are classified as exploration holes because they sit outside the current resource envelope. A successful result there could inform the next resource update.

The exploration targets have been generated from IP and soil datasets, together with existing drilling and geological interpretation.

TMX was steady at 0.3¢. Mkt cap $11.13M.

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