Solara Minerals Hits 7.05g/t Gold at Myrnas Hill on Vein Never Drilled to the East
Key Takeaways
- Sample SLMH002 returned 7.05g/t Au and 3.28g/t Ag at surface, and SLMH007 added 1.85g/t Au about 370m east on a vein that has never been drilled in that direction.
- The quartz vein is traceable for more than 400m east-west, and the company says no follow-up drilling was done to the east, likely because of structural complexity.
- Historical drilling includes 3m at 1.51g/t Au (FWM08) and 4m at 1.02g/t Au (Kalamazoo FWM32, drilled 40m off tenure), but Kalamazoo could not replicate the higher-grade RAB results.
- A 1km north-easterly shear zone has returned rock chips up to 6.1% Cu, 15.6g/t Ag and 0.52g/t Au, and the northern tenure has had no rock chips taken at all.
- Next steps are air core drilling, northern assessment and soil geochemistry, but no dates, budgets or timelines were disclosed.
High grade gold discovered at Myrnas Hill in the Pilbara
Solara Minerals Ltd (ASX: SLA) has reported reconnaissance rock chip results from its Myrnas Hill project (E45/6809) in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The standout was sample SLMH002, which returned 7.05g/t Au (gold) and 3.28g/t Ag (silver).
A second sample, SLMH007, returned 1.85g/t Au and 1.08g/t Ag, about 370m east of the prospect. That matters because the quartz vein it was taken from remains undrilled along strike in that direction.
The visit identified a wide, boudinaged smoky grey quartz vein within the blocky white quartz vein, which is traceable for more than 400m along an east-west strike. For investors, this is gold at surface in a position earlier explorers never tested.
The Company is encouraged by the preliminary results of the rock chip sampling and a review of historic geochemistry shows a clear relationship between arsenic and gold anomalism.
The announcement was released on 9 October 2026, with James Robinson, Executive Director, listed as the contact for enquiries. The Competent Person is Ms Jennifer Neild (MAIG), an employee of Solara who holds performance rights in the company.
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Historical drilling hints at an untested strike extension
Old drill results along the same quartz vein help explain why the new surface gold stands out. The table below sets out the historical intercepts reported by the company.
What earlier explorers found
| Hole | Operator and year | Interval | Grade | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FWM08 | 2003 RAB | 3m from 19m | **1.51g/t Au** | Including 1m at 2.93g/t Au |
| FWM05 | 2003 RAB | 7m from 51m | **0.20g/t Au** | |
| FWM09 | 2003 RAB | 1m from 49m | **2.38g/t Au** | To end of hole (EOH) |
| FWM31 | Kalamazoo Resources, RC | 12m from 28m | **0.33g/t Au** | |
| FWM32 | Kalamazoo Resources, RC | 4m from 68m | **1.02g/t Au** | Drilled 40m west of Solara’s tenement boundary (off tenure) |
RAB (rotary air blast) drilling is a low-cost, shallow method, while RC (reverse circulation) drilling uses a hammer to return rock chips from greater depth. The source gives different years for the Kalamazoo programme: the summary points say 2013, while the background section says 2010.
Why the east was never followed up
The company states that no follow-up drilling was undertaken along strike to the east, on tenure where SLMH007 was taken. It says the structural complexity likely deterred follow-up of the encouraging historical drill results.
Keep the caveat in view. Rock chip samples are selective by nature and not necessarily representative of the mineralisation at the sampled location or along strike. Further work, including drilling, is required to determine the extent, grade and continuity of any mineralisation.
Copper and silver upside across a 1km shear zone
Gold is not the only metal in the frame. Historical rock chips on the tenement include:
- 6.70g/t Au, 8.98% Cu and 26.9g/t Ag (Kalamazoo, 2010)
- 7.1% Cu and 173.5g/t Ag (Raiden, 2020)
- 42.8% Cu and 47.7g/t Ag (Shaw River, 2007)
The prospect is also sheared in a north-easterly direction. Historical rock chips over 1km along that shear zone returned up to 6.1% Cu, 15.6g/t Ag and 0.52g/t Au, which the company says may indicate that copper, gold and silver-rich fluids migrated along the structure.
No rock chips have been taken on the northern part of the tenure. That points to multi-commodity potential and ground that is still largely unexplored.
How rock chip sampling guides exploration
Rock chips are first-pass, selective samples hammered off outcrop. They show whether mineralisation is present, not how much of it exists, so they are a starting point rather than a measure of size.
Drilling methods such as RAB and RC are the next step, testing what lies beneath the surface. Solara describes its sampling as qualitative, first-pass reconnaissance that is not representative of average grade over any volume of rock.
There is also an investor angle in the vein’s shape. The company notes that Kalamazoo drilled very close to historic RAB holes and was unable to replicate the higher-grade results, though it did intersect anomalous gold at the predicted depths.
An observation of the vein geometry on surface suggests this may be due to boudinaging, where a vein pinches and swells along its length. For you, that illustrates both the risk and the potential of early-stage exploration: grades can change sharply over short distances.
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Next steps at Myrnas Hill
The company outlined the following further work:
- Follow the east-west trend of the quartz vein where magnetics imagery suggests it continues, with air core drilling expected to reach the depths needed.
- Assess the northern end of the tenement, which has very little work on it.
- Assess the soil geochemistry, which is still needed.
Solara has executed a land access agreement with the Coongan Aboriginal Corporation and Strelley Pastoral Pty Ltd. No joint ventures are held on the tenements.
The announcement does not disclose drilling dates, budgets or timelines for this work.
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