Rox Resources Limited in conjunction with its joint venture partner Venus Metals Corporation Limited announced to report a significant increase to the Mineral Resource Estimate for the Youanmi Gold Project near Mt Magnet, WA. Drilling and exploration work at the Youanmi Gold Project in the OYG JV area (Rox 70% and Manager, VMC 30%) has yielded substantial increases in known and defined tonnages and ounces since the acquisition and commencement of drilling in mid-2019. Youanmi Total Mineral Resource increased by 1.34 Moz Au to 3 Moz Au.

Drilling results to the end of October 2021 included in this current resource update to deliver a 156% increase in the Deeps Resource contained gold. Youanmi Deeps very high-grade material increases following seven months of intensive infill and extensional diamond drilling for around 35,000 metres, as well as defining new areas such as Link, Junction, and mineralisation-parallel hanging-wall lodes. The Youanmi surface resource was not updated in this estimation round with further updates pending.

All in exploration costs for the project indicate a $7 per ounce discovery cost - an exceptional result. Significant increase in Au metal ounces per vertical metre paves the way for expected robust conceptual economics, particularly with the recent determination of the Albion process as the preferred method for sulphide ore bodies at Youanmi (92.2% average gold extraction for underground). Rox has used in-house expertise to complete the Youanmi Deeps Resource update and engaged CSA Global to conduct independent checks of the modelling process.

The previous resource for Youanmi Deeps and Near Surface was published in June 2021. For the Deeps Resource an increase in total Au metal of 156% has been achieved, both in the Indicated and Inferred categories . It is noted that in 2021 a 4.0 g/t Au cut-off grade was applied, which has now been reduced to 3.0 g/t Au based on recent mine planning assumptions, and that on an equal cut-off grade basis, specifically using a 4.0 g/t Au cut-off, the comparison to June 2021 still shows a significant increase in metal of 128%.

A significant increase in ounces per vertical metre was achieved to an average of 2,900 ounces per vertical metre between surface and 750m below surface. This reflects resource growth mostly being lateral in two aspects. Firstly, to the north including the Link area as can be seen in the long section (Figure 4) and secondly with new lodes discovered in the hanging-wall of the previously interpreted lodes.

A total of 21 mineralised lodes have been modelled, along 2.8 km of strike length, comprising the Mine Lode and associated footwall and hanging wall lodes along the main trend corridor. The maximum depth of the Mine Lode interpretation is to approximately -600mRL, 1,060m below the natural surface. The Mine Lode is continuous down-dip for this length; other lodes have much more restricted down-dip extents.

The hanging wall and footwall lodes are predominantly 0.5m-2m thick, while the Mine Lode is generally in the order of 1m-3m thick, but locally exceeds 10m. No minimum or maximum thickness values were applied for interpretation of the lodes. A series of grade shells separating lower grade from higher grade parts of each lode were interpreted using Leapfrog Geo to allow reasonable modelling of the higher-grade shoots within the lodes.

Composites were extracted for each lode to have a length of 1m with a minimum length of 0.5m. Grade shell wireframes for each lode were then used to isolate only sample composites inside each grade shell. Statistical distributions of grades inside each lode and grade shell were reviewed individually to determine high grade cuts (top cuts) that should be applied prior to grade estimation.

High grade cuts were applied that ranged from 4 g/t Au to 70 g/t Au and were applied to 7 grade shell wireframe objects and 11 lode wireframe objects. The grade estimate was conducted using Ordinary Kriging with four estimation passes with a grade limited search utilized for passes 1 and 2. Check estimates using the Inverse Distance Weighted squared and the Nearest Neighbour methods were also completed for all blocks within the mineralized lodes. Additional drilling results from November and December 2021 will be incorporated into the next Mineral Resource Estimate update expected in the June 2022 quarter.

Following the substantial upgrade to the Youanmi Mineral Resource Estimate announced in this release, the Company expects concept level project economics to be very robust and is hence continuing to rapidly pursue its investigation of development pathways for the Youanmi Gold Project. The Company is undertaking open pit and underground mining studies including detailed mine design and optimisation. Detailed metallurgical testwork also continues which is being utilised in plant design work (scoping study level) that is also being undertaken.

Exploration programs in 2022 will include resource conversion in addition to extensional drilling, noting that the resource remains open down dip and along strike.