en.Wedoany.com Reported - Kuniko (ASX:KNI), as a joint venture partner with Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT), has commenced Phase 2 diamond drilling at the Commonwealth-Silica Hill gold-silver project in New South Wales.

Contractor Titeline Drilling has mobilized the rig to site, with the initial program planning to drill six holes totaling approximately 1,300 meters, focusing on follow-up to Phase 1 drilling results.

Phase 2 drilling targets recently identified zones, including a "high-grade" gold-silver intersection at Silica Hill located approximately 100 meters outside the existing resource boundary.

The company stated that the initial program can be expanded to up to 14 holes totaling approximately 3,340 meters, depending on ongoing geological review and operational considerations.

Impact Minerals Managing Director Dr. Michael Jones said the company is pleased to see Kuniko accelerating exploration work following Phase 1 results. Jones noted that they have always believed the area above Commonwealth and Silica Hill represents a larger system, and this drilling will test that thesis. He also pointed out that this validates the company's strategy of unlocking exploration asset value while advancing the Lake Hope high-purity alumina (HPA) project and investing in Aluminous HPA processing technology.

Impact Minerals reported that Phase 1 drilling intersected mineralization in all six holes. Key results at Silica Hill include: 84 meters at 2.6 g/t gold equivalent from 226 meters, including 3.4 meters at 50 g/t gold equivalent; and 0.5 meters at 347 g/t gold equivalent. At Commonwealth South, drilling intersected 7.1 meters at 9.7 g/t gold equivalent from 79.9 meters, including 3.1 meters at 21.6 g/t gold equivalent. At Commonwealth Main Shaft, the intersection was 8 meters at 8.6 g/t gold equivalent from 94.7 meters, including 3.8 meters at 17.4 g/t gold equivalent.

Kuniko Managing Director Maja McGuire said Phase 1 drilling confirmed the mineralization potential of the system. McGuire stated that these results indicate a large, fertile, and vertically extensive hydrothermal system with significant scale potential.

Independent consultant Resource Potentials is completing a regional target review, integrating historical geophysical datasets with geochemical and geological data to refine existing targets and identify new priority prospects across the project area.

Assay results from Phase 2 drilling are expected to be released in September, followed by a planned mineral resource estimate upgrade in December.

The Commonwealth-Silica Hill project is located within the Lachlan Fold Belt in central New South Wales, approximately 100 kilometers north of Orange. Under the terms of a binding earn-in and joint venture agreement, Kuniko can earn up to a 70% interest by funding A$3 million in exploration over four years. Impact Minerals retains a 30% free-carried interest until a mining decision.