Astral Resources NL reported an updated JORC compliant (2012 Edition) Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for its 100%-owned Mandilla Gold Project (Mandilla or the Project), located 70km south of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. The MRE, which was prepared by independent consultants Cube Consulting in accordance with the JORC Code (2012 Edition), incorporates the Theia, Iris, Eos and Hestia deposits and totals 30 million tonnes at 1.1g/t Au for 1.03 million ounces of contained gold. This is the fourth MRE for Mandilla within 18 months and continues to validate Astral's strategy to grow its Resource inventory to achieve the necessary critical mass to develop a sustainable and profitable gold business in the Kalgoorlie region based on Mandilla and Feysville.

The December 2022 MRE update added 250koz to the previous MRE at an exploration cost of approximately $16 per new ounce discovered. This is a low cost in industry terms and a reflection of the increasing efficiency of exploration drilling as the geology team continues to improve its understanding of the controls to mineralisation particularly at the cornerstone Theia deposit. The chart below demonstrates the rapid growth in the Mandilla MRE.

The Company is highly confident that significant growth can be delivered in future updates. The MRE was estimated using a 0.39 g/t Au lower cut-off and is constrained within pit shells derived using a gold price of AUD 2,500 per ounce (consistent with the maiden MRE). Theia is Mandilla's cornerstone deposit, representing approximately 85% of the reported MRE.

The total MRE at Theia is 24Mt at 1.1g/t Au for 878koz of contained gold. In the 11 months since the January 2022 MRE update, the Theia Resource has increased 33% on a contained gold based on assay results from an aggregate 6,447 metres of DD and RC drilling. This has been achieved on a discovery cost of approximately $16 per new ounce added.

This ongoing low discovery cost positions Astral strongly for future MRE updates. Drilling at Theia since the January 2022 MRE has focussed on locations within the January 2022 optimised pit shell, including two previously identified high-grade gold trends, one south trending (- 18°130°) and the other north trending (25°310°), as well as extensional drilling on the western flank. Notably, cumulative gram x metres have averaged 97 gram-metres over the 18-hole/5,294 metres of DD completed since the last MRE update.

This demonstrates the exceptional nature of the Theia deposit and bodes well for continued Resource growth moving forward.