How Significant Are the Theia Deeps Assays for Astral Resources (ASX:AAR) at Mandilla?

Sonal Goyal

10 November 2026 12:19 PM AEDT

How Significant Are the Theia Deeps Assays for Astral Resources (ASX:AAR) at Mandilla?

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Key Highlights

Hole AMRCD468A returned 31 metres at 13.5 grams per tonne gold from 288 metres, including 0.34 metres at 1,146.3 grams per tonne.
Three diamond holes totalling 1,796 metres have been assayed in the latest update.
Assays are pending for holes AMRCD516 and AMRCD575, and hole AMRCD615 is being drilled.
The cornerstone Theia deposit contains 1.4 million ounces, within the wider Mandilla resource.

Astral Resources Limited (ASX:AAR) has reported assay results from three diamond holes at the Theia Deeps drilling program, located at the Theia deposit within its Mandilla Gold Project in Western Australia. The announcement, dated 10 November 2026, describes exceptionally high-grade individual assays alongside wider zones of gold mineralisation. The company refers to its Theia deposit as a cornerstone asset containing 1.4 million ounces of gold.

Highest-Grade Assays From Hole AMRCD468A

Hole AMRCD468A returned 31 metres at 13.5 grams per tonne gold from 288 metres, which includes 0.34 metres at 1,146.3 grams per tonne from 305.57 metres. The same hole also returned 1.97 metres at 7.65 grams per tonne from 359.83 metres. The 1,146 gram per tonne result is a very short interval, and the company describes it as the highest-ever assay grade at the project.

Very high assay values over narrow intervals can heavily affect average grades, and their representativeness depends on how the mineralisation is distributed within the surrounding zone. Such results are important for understanding the geology of the deposit but are not a measure of the average grade of a resource.

Broader Intervals From the Other Holes

Hole AMRCD514 returned 13 metres at 1.41 grams per tonne from 298 metres, 2 metres at 16.5 grams per tonne from 434 metres, and 38 metres at 0.84 grams per tonne from 572 metres. Hole AMRCD515 returned 40 metres at 3.30 grams per tonne from 332 metres, including 0.3 metres at 317 grams per tonne, along with 111 metres at 1.12 grams per tonne from 424 metres.

The broader intervals in these holes are more relevant to assessing a resource than the very high single-metre results. The company's description of them as wide zones of gold mineralisation reflects that scale.

Context of the Mandilla Resource

The company cites a JORC 2012 Mineral Resource for the Mandilla project of 1.3 million tonnes at 1.3 grams per tonne in the measured category, 32.6 million tonnes at 1.0 grams per tonne in the indicated category, and 19.6 million tonnes at 0.9 grams per tonne in the inferred category. Theia results are therefore added to an existing resource base, and the new drilling is intended to test the deposit at depth.

Program Status and Risks

Assays are pending for holes AMRCD516 and AMRCD575, and hole AMRCD615 is being drilled. The program is ongoing, so the full picture of the deeper zones is not yet available. High-grade gold intersections are unevenly distributed, and the company will need to show that the highest-grade zones connect across drill holes before any change to the resource is considered.

Final Word

Astral's Theia Deeps results include some of the highest individual gold assays reported at the project, alongside broader zones that show continuing mineralisation. The pending assays and the hole in progress will show whether these high-grade pockets are linked and whether the deposit's depth potential supports an update to the resource. The next results will show how much of this material can be turned into resource.

FAQs

Q: What was the highest-grade result?

A: Hole AMRCD468A returned 0.34 metres at 1,146.3 grams per tonne gold from 305.57 metres, within a 31-metre interval at 13.5 grams per tonne.

Q: How large is the Theia deposit?

A: The company describes Theia as a cornerstone deposit containing 1.4 million ounces of gold.

Q: Which holes are still awaiting assays?

A: Assays are pending for holes AMRCD516 and AMRCD575, and hole AMRCD615 is being drilled.

Q: Does a single high-grade assay define the deposit's grade?

A: No. Very high assays over short intervals are important for understanding the geology, but they do not represent the average grade of a resource.

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