S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold stock Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX: OBM) is charging higher today.
Ora Banda shares closed yesterday trading for $1.56. In early morning trade on Tuesday, shares are changing hands for $1.59 apiece, up 1.7%.
For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.2% at this same time.
This outperformance follows an update on the miner's ongoing drilling campaign at its Waihi Project, located in Western Australia.
Here's what we know.
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ASX 200 gold stock lifts on drill results
In January, Ora Banda kicked off a 22 hole exploratory drill program at Waihi, close to the historical Golden Pole mine.
The ASX 200 gold stock said the "exceptional high-grade drill results" from this program have accelerated Golden Pole's inclusion in an updated Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve Estimate for Waihi.
Ora Banda aims to complete the new estimates in the June quarter.
The Waihi deposit is located three kilometres from Ora Banda's Davyhurst processing plant. The miner is targeting Waihi as a potential third underground mine.
Management said that the targeted infill and extensional drilling on Waihi's Golden Pole Lode has confirmed its mining potential.
Ora Banda reported top results from one hole of 3.0 metres at 44.0 grams of gold per tonne, including 2.0 metres at 64.6 grams of gold per tonne.
A second hold returned 11.3 meters at 10.5 g/t AU, including 2.0 metres at 48.2 g/t AU.
Golden Pole has a rich history, which the ASX 200 gold stock aims to rekindle. From 1900 to 1939, the gold mine produced 81,000 tonnes at 29.6 g/t Au for some 77,000 ounces of gold.
Ora Banda noted that extensions to the Golden Pole mineralised system were "poorly drill tested" by previous operators, which the miner said provides it with a significant follow-up opportunity.
What did Ora Banda management say?
Commenting on the drill results helping boost the ASX 200 gold stock today, Ora Banda managing director Luke Creagh said:
These excellent drill results build on the rapidly growing body of work at Waihi and we're moving to incorporate these into an updated Waihi underground Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve Estimate scheduled for release this quarter.
At Waihi, we are once again seeing the rapid transition of an exploration target into a potential near-term development, highlighting both the excellent organic growth opportunities on the tenement package plus the outstanding ability of our teams to discover and develop these opportunities.
Ora Banda share price snapshot
With today's intraday gains factored in, shares in the ASX 200 gold stock are up 32.5% over 12 months, and up 148.4% since the recent closing lows on 1 August.
