Metallica Minerals Limited announce that assay results have been received for the 25 Hand Auger holes that were drilled in the western part of the Cape Flattery Silica (CFS) tenement (EPM 25734) in August 20222. A total of 25 hand auger holes were drilled (WA145 to WA169) comprising 123m of drilling in the western part of the EPM. The auger holes were designed to determine the possible ariel extent of silica sand in the western part of the tenement and to determine the quality of the silica sand.

The holes were augured vertically into individual sand dunes to a maximum depth of 5m, which was the physical limit that the auger was capable of drilling. High quality silica sand was intersected at the base of twenty-three of the twenty-five holes, indicating that there is likely to be depth extensions to the high quality silica sand mineralisation. Future drill testing of the Western Area will determine the maximum depth extent of the mineralisation in each of the sand dunes tested by the auguring.

Samples were collected at 1m intervals down each hole. Each hole was logged at 1m intervals and the colour, grain size and the presence of any contaminants recorded. A representative sample of each one-meter interval was placed in a chip tray, which was then photographed to provide a digital record of each hole.

These photographs are stored in a database with the relevant assay results so visual comparisons can be made between grade and sand quality. All the samples were submitted to ALS in Brisbane where they were assayed for silica, iron oxide, aluminum, and titanium content.