Solstice Minerals (ASX: SLS) continues to grow the Nanadie copper-gold project in Western Australia's Goldfields, with new wide copper-gold intercepts returned from two additional diamond "tails".

CEO and Managing Director Nick Castleden highlighted a particularly strong combined RC and diamond intercept of 148m at 0.77% copper and 0.20 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 201m, with the diamond tail component adding an extra 43.4m at 0.56% copper and 0.15 g/t gold to a previously reported end-of-hole (EOH) intercept.

Mr Castleden said the assay results correlate well with logged sulphides and confirm that a high-grade position is present in this part of the Nanadie mineralised system, most of which sits beyond the current mineral resource estimate (MRE) boundary. An MRE sets out the tonnage and grade that can be reported with reasonable confidence under the JORC Code, the standard governing Australian resource reporting, and mineralisation defined outside those limits is what explorers typically rely on to underpin larger future estimates.

"Ongoing diamond and RC drilling continues to show that Nanadie is developing into a substantially larger copper-gold system that extends well beyond the current mineral resource," he told shareholders.

"At the same time, the results strongly validate and refine our geological model, confirming that multiple zones of high-grade mineralisation extend well beyond the current MRE limits, particularly along the eastern side of the host gabbro."

The combined 148m intercept was particularly encouraging, according to Mr Castleden. Together with a nearby intercept of 51m at 1.03% copper and 0.29 g/t gold, drilling is defining a broad, strongly mineralised position that sits immediately to the north of a local cross-fault and largely outside the current MRE boundary.

"More broadly, core assays to date continue to validate the zones of visible chalcopyrite mineralisation logged, and the results give us enormous confidence to keep pursuing zones of high-grade material well below existing drilling, and also potentially up-plunge into the current MRE area," he said.

"Importantly, we are seeing growth on several fronts. Step-out RC drilling continues to extend the strike of mineralisation south of the current MRE, while our diamond drilling is testing the system at significantly greater depths."

"We are particularly looking forward to the results from NANRCD005, which, at 840m EOH, is our deepest hole to date and is interpreted to extend the host geology and sulphide mineralisation approximately 500m below the current MRE boundary."

The twin-track program reflects standard exploration practice: reverse circulation (RC) drilling is generally faster and cheaper for extending known mineralisation along strike, while diamond coring is used to test deeper targets and recover continuous core for geological logging and modelling.

A second RC rig is due on site shortly to drill across the broader system, with assays pending from a further 12 diamond tails and 18 RC holes.

"The results to date continue to reinforce our view that Nanadie is growing into a much larger copper-gold system than previously recognised, with the host gabbro and zones of copper sulphide mineralisation extending well beyond the limits of drilling," Mr Castleden said.

The drilling push comes as copper remains a central metal for electrification, used across power grids, electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure, and exploration for the metal continues to attract strong interest across Western Australia, a state whose Goldfields region has historically been dominated by gold mining.

SLS shares were up 3.37% to $2.15, giving the company a market capitalisation of $358.0M.

Source: The Market Online Australia