Accelerate Resources Hits 59.6% Manganese at Faris as Gingarrigan Drilling Nears
Key Takeaways
- Four rock chips at Faris returned 53.9% to 59.6% Mn with iron as low as 0.7%, from an outcrop about 2km from the Area 42 Deposit.
- Sea Turtle is a new discovery: a 650m x 400m undrilled alteration system with two new outcrops returning up to 31.4% Mn.
- The 12km corridor has over 200 mapped manganese outcrops, yet outside Area 42 it has only seen shallow 1996 drilling, none deeper than 15m.
- Discovery drilling at Gingarrigan is expected to start within days, the near-term catalyst for the project.
- The maiden Inferred resource is 1.2Mt at 19.1% Mn, and the rock chips are selective surface samples, not representative of a deposit.
Rock chips to 59.6% Mn confirm high-grade manganese at Faris
Accelerate Resources (ASX: AX8) has reported 53.9% to 59.6% Mn from four rock chips at the Faris prospect, plus a new manganese discovery at Sea Turtle returning up to 31.4% Mn. Both sit along the 12km corridor at the Woodie Woodie North Manganese Project in the East Pilbara of Western Australia.
Ten rock chip samples were collected in September 2026, with assays received in October 2026. Discovery drilling at Gingarrigan is anticipated to commence in the coming days.
For investors, the message is about continuity. The company says the results continue to support the connected nature of mineralisation along a corridor that, outside Area 42, remains largely untested by drilling.
Luke Meter, Chief Executive Officer
“…The more we map new targets on the ground the more we find…”
“…Together, they support a rapidly emerging high grade manganese trend over 12km between our Area 42 Deposit and Gingarrigan and El Largo…”
Faris Prospect results
Faris sits on tenement E45/5854, roughly 2km south-east of the Area 42 Deposit. The prospect is a low relief, high-grade manganese outcrop extending over approximately 60m, and the company describes the samples as notably low in impurities.
| Sample | Mn % | Fe % | SiO₂ % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26AA851 | **59.6** | 0.7 | 1.4 |
| 26AA854 | **57.7** | 1.0 | 1.9 |
| 26AA852 | **57.3** | 1.0 | 3.8 |
| 26AA853 | **53.9** | 0.7 | 9.7 |
Low iron matters because iron is an impurity in manganese ore. Very low readings suggest cleaner chemistry in these samples, though they say little about size.
Historic work points the same way:
- Valiant Consolidated rock chips from the same outcrop in the 1990s returned 58.2% Mn (EB6) and 50.4% Mn (EB17).
- Historic 1996 rotary air blast (RAB) drilling by Valiant Consolidated intersected manganese from surface or near surface in all three holes drilled into the outcrop: 11m @ 28.4% Mn from 1m (BX48), 3m @ 39.1% Mn from surface (BX46) and 5m @ 26.1% Mn from surface (BX47).
Caution applies. The rock chips are selective surface samples, so the grades are not representative of a deposit. The historic holes were shallow, vertical and none deeper than 15m, so the depth extent and continuity of the mineralisation remain untested.
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Sea Turtle discovery and the underexplored 12km corridor
Sea Turtle: new outcrops in a large alteration system
Sea Turtle lies about 4.8km south-east of Faris and 2.8km north-west of Gingarrigan. Field mapping identified an iron and manganese alteration system measuring approximately 650m x 400m, which has not previously been drill tested.
Two manganese outcrops not previously recorded were sampled within it. Rock chips returned 11.6% to 31.4% Mn, including 31.4% and 22.1% from Outcrop 1, and 30.7% and 25.9% from Outcrop 2.
The outcrops are the first manganese mineralisation recorded by the Company within the mapped alteration system. Historic surface samples of up to 36.8% Mn have been reported approximately 200m to 400m west of the system, and none of the manganese targets have been drill tested.
Why the corridor matters
The 12km corridor links the Area 42 Deposits, which host an Inferred Mineral Resource of 0.7Mt @ 20.7% Mn, to the Gingarrigan and El Largo prospects. More than 200 manganese outcrops have been mapped there, with rock chips up to 59.4% Mn at El Largo (reported 16 February 2026).
Outside Area 42, all shallow drilling was completed by Valiant Consolidated in 1996, averaging 9m deep and never beyond 15m. No modern drilling has been completed between Area 42 and El Largo.
The company says this supports its view that the corridor holds potential for additional shallow manganese mineralisation close to Area 42 and within reach of established infrastructure, including Consolidated Minerals’ Woodie Woodie operation approximately 55km to the south.
Manganese exploration explained: what rock chips and alteration systems tell investors
Early-stage results are easy to over-read, so three concepts help:
- Rock chips: surface samples that flag where to drill. They are not resource estimates.
- Alteration systems: zones where rock has been chemically changed. The company describes alteration of this scale as an important indicator of mineralising fluid flow.
- Inferred Mineral Resource versus Exploration Target: an Inferred Mineral Resource is the lowest confidence resource category under the JORC Code. An Exploration Target is conceptual, with insufficient exploration to estimate a resource, so it carries higher risk.
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Project snapshot and next steps
The project’s maiden Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate stands at 1.2 Mt at 19.1% Mn at a 15% Mn cut-off.
| Area | Classification | Tonnes (Mt) | Mn % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Area 1 | Inferred | 0.04 | 17.2 |
| Area 3 | Inferred | 0.3 | 17.5 |
| Area 4 | Inferred | 0.2 | 16.1 |
| Area 42 | Inferred | 0.7 | 20.7 |
| **Total** | **Inferred** | **1.2** | **19.1** |
Due to rounding, the total may not equal the sum of its components. The company has also defined Exploration Targets of 5.3 to 10.7 Mt at 10 to 19% Mn. These are conceptual in nature, and they do not include the Gingarrigan or El Largo trends.
Planned next steps are:
- Discovery drilling at Gingarrigan, expected to commence imminently.
- Detailed mapping and further rock chip sampling at Faris and across the Sea Turtle alteration system to define the extent of mineralisation.
- Field location and review of the historic Valiant drill holes at Faris and Sea Turtle.
- Ranking of Faris and Sea Turtle alongside the Company’s other Woodie Woodie North targets for drill testing.
The near-term catalyst is Gingarrigan drilling, expected within days. Until drill results arrive, the Faris and Sea Turtle samples remain reconnaissance data pointing to where the company may look next.
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