Ora Banda Mining (ASX:OBM) began underground mining at the Waihi deposit, located three kilometers west of its Davyhurst processing plant in Western Australia, alongside further high-grade drill results at the Golden Pole and newly identified Midnight prospects, according to a Thursday Australian bourse filing.
The results were of up to 11.5 meters at 26.0 grams per tonne gold, including 8.9 meters at 32.4 grams per tonne gold from the Midnight prospect, the filing added.
The company said a key element of the Waihi Underground development will be establishing drill drives to allow rapid follow-up drilling on Golden Pole and Midnight, targeting strike and depth extensions as well as the main Waihi line of lode.
Waihi Underground is scheduled to contribute high-grade ore from mid-2027, de-risking the production profile ahead of delivery of Ora Banda's new 3 million tonne per year processing plant in early 2028, the filing added.