White Rock Minerals Limited provided an update on its underground drilling program targeting the Gap Zone at the Morning Star Underground Gold Mine in northeast Victoria. Diamond drilling of the Gap Zone recently recommenced after the earlier drilling focus on the near-term gold production potential of new mining areas at Dickenson3, Stacpoole4 and Whitelaw North5. The success of that drilling has now provided the impetus for the Company to commence the necessary pre-production development ahead of the scheduled recommencement of gold production in third quarter 2022.

White Rock modified the Gap Zone drill program to provide a broad first pass assessment at nominal 40m centres to better understand Gap Zone's potential to host significant mineralised quartz reefs. Drilling to date has tested the most northern 150 metres of the known 600 metre strike extent of the prospective host dyke within the Gap Zone, with 13 diamond drill holes completed for 2,156 metres (21GZL9001 to 22GZL9013). This drilling identified at least ten quartz reef structures over the 200 metres of vertical depth at this very northern location within the dyke host.

White Rock will continue drilling south along 9 Level to test the entire 600 metres of strike length of the Gap Zone, over its full 200 metre depth interval, with a further 25 diamond drill holes for 5,600 metres planned to complete the first pass assessment. Two significant highlights of drilling to date have been the early identification of at least ten quartz reef structures at the northern extremity of the Gap Zone and the intersection of abundant coarse visible gold in drill hole 22GZL9013 that returned an assay of 0.4 metres at 621g/t gold (20 ounces per tonne of gold). Drilling of the northern 150 metres of the Gap Zone has provided sufficient data to develop a working interpretation of the distribution and geometry of gold mineralised quartz reefs.

The vast majority of Clarke's "A" Floor Reef has not been developed and has had virtually no drilling. White Rock's primary objective at the Morning Star Underground Gold Mine is to identify and drill areas of the dyke that have the potential to host multiple high-grade gold quartz reefs. Utilising existing development infrastructure will support a low capital restart of production from multiple reef locations.

The Gap Zone is one such primary target in the mine due to its size, multiple high-grade gold bearing reef potential and proximity to existing infrastructure including the Morning Star shaft. Drilling to date has provided significant encouragement that a number of mineralised quartz reefs are distributed throughout the Gap Zone. The first-pass drill program will provide sufficient data to assess and identify those quartz reefs with the greater potential for more detailed follow-up drilling.