Sandfire Drilling Extends High-Grade Zones at MATSA, Motheo Hubs

Sandfire Resources reported high-grade near-mine exploration intersections at its MATSA complex in Spain and the Motheo operation in Botswana, with results that confirm mineralisation remains open down plunge at multiple targets.

At the Magdalena West prospect, the highest-rated target within MATSA, drilling extended the known mineralisation and the system stays open in the down-plunge direction. At La Juliana, also at MATSA, the company intersected high-grade polymetallic massive sulphide mineralisation and identified an off-hole downhole electromagnetic plate that requires significant further work.

At the Motheo hub, the A1 Extension and A4 West prospects delivered further high-grade mineralisation. Sandfire said these two zones will be a primary focus for drilling in the financial year ending June 2027.

The results come roughly six months after Sandfire restructured its global exploration team. Brendan Harris, chief executive and managing director, said the reorganisation aligned accountability more closely with operations and was already showing results.

"The exciting results that we've released today reinforce our confidence in the prospectivity of the Iberian Pyrite and Kalahari Copper Belts and the potential for new discoveries," Harris said in a statement.

He said the company was targeting 15 years of reserve life at each of its two main operating hubs. "The increasing rate of success we're now seeing has been built on years of hard work and targeted expenditure that has significantly improved our geological understanding of these rich copper belts," Harris said. "We will continue to play the long game by methodically identifying and testing high-priority targets as we seek to identify 15 years of reserve life to support both our MATSA and Motheo operating hubs."

Harris also pointed to the Kalkaroo copper-gold project in South Australia, calling it "one of the best undeveloped projects of its type in Australia" and said Sandfire was applying the same exploration approach there.

Immediate follow-up work will begin in the first half of fiscal 2027. Sandfire plans to use CCM-90 downhole electromagnetic geophysics at La Juliana to test strike, down-dip and down-plunge extensions while evaluating the potential for additional mineralised lenses in the surrounding stratigraphy. The company said the programs are designed to determine the scale and geometry of the La Juliana system and assess its potential to contribute to future mineral resource growth at the MATSA hub.

Sandfire shares rose 7.11% on the ASX to close at A$24.40, giving the company a market capitalisation of A$10.74 billion.