Santana Minerals Limited (ASX: SMI) ('Santana' or 'the Company') is pleased to announce preliminary field analytical results from drilling at its 100% held Bendigo-Ophir Project ('the Project').

The Bendigo-Ophir Project is located on the South Island of New Zealand within the Central Otago Goldfields. The Project is located approximately 90 kilometres northwest of Oceana Gold's Macraes Gold Mine, where previous production and reserves are in excess of 8 million ounces gold. As reported previously (Santana ASX Announcement, 3rd November 2020), the Project contains a JORC Inferred Resource of 253K ounces gold (uncut), which the Company interprets has the potential to be developed into a bulk tonnage low-cost open pit heap leach operation

Santana reported (ASX Announcement 27th November 2020) that diamond drilling had commenced at CIT. Reverse circulation (RC) percussion drilling commenced on 3rd December and to date a combined total of 1,036 metres has been completed in 7 RC drillholes (889 metres) and 1 DD drillhole (147 metres).

The CIT prospect lies in the north-west sector of the NW-SE trending Rise and Shine Shear zone (RSSZ) and associated hanging wall shear (HWS) which dip at a shallow angle to the NE. The HWS also referred to as 'lode schist' occupies the uppermost part of TZ4 biotite schist and is separated from the overlying lower metamorphic grade unmineralized TZ3 chlorite schist by the Thomsons Gorge low-angle regional fault (TGF). Current drillholes are collared in TZ3 schist and are targeting the HWS / lode schist which hosts the bulk tonnage low-grade gold mineralisation.

Arsenic is used as a gold pathfinder element in regional surveys and in drill chip and core logging to provide a real-time guide to gold levels to assist in drillhole planning and site location / relocation. Historically arsenic levels >1,000 ppm As, indicate gold ore grades.

Composited intervals of >1,000 ppm As samples with 2 metre internal dilution (at zero grade) were intersected in all new CIT RC drillholes with significant intercepts up to 28 metres in HWS / lode schist immediately below the TGF. The northernmost RC drillhole, MRC070, is collared >200 metres NNE of existing resources.

RC drillholes MRC064, MRC065, MRC066, MRC069 and MRC070 appear to delineate a NNE trending area extending from existing resources where higher gold grades could be expected as indicated from higher levels and broader thicknesses of pXRF arsenic analyses. RC drillholes MRC067 and MRC068 appear to be on the fringe of the NNE trending area.

Dip sections transversely cross the NNE trend of higher pXRF arsenic, with highest grades characteristically occurring immediately below the TGF in all drillholes.

Diamond core drilling, with MDD001 at the CIT Deposit was the first to be conducted within the project area and oriented core provides important structural data for geological logging and resource modelling. Preliminary pXRF orientation arsenic analyses are being conducted to determine optimum pXRF analytical intervals to compliment geological interpretations.

Quartz-arsenopyrite breccia veinlets are also evident in MDD001 at 102 metres, below the intensely sheared, altered and stockwork HWS lode schist zone extending mineralisation from 61 to 102 metres below collar.

A total of 423 samples of TZ4 schist and the immediate overlying TGF and TZ3 schist have been despatched for gold fire assaying (FA505) with results expected in mid-January. The DD rig is currently onsite at MDD002 at the Rise and Shine (RAS) prospect and once the RC programme at CIT is completed further down-plunge, both DD and RC drilling will continue at the RAS, Shreks (SHR) and Shreks East (SRE) prospects.

Contact:

Richard Keevers

Tel: +61 408 873 353

Email: rkeevers@westnet.com.au

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