First Development Resources (AIM:FDR) told investors that drill contractor Bullion Drilling is now mobilising to the Lander West Gold Project to begin drilling within a matter of days.
The Northern Territory site sits within the company's Selta Project, one of eight granted tenements the AIM-listed explorer holds across Western Australia and the Northern Territory, where it is also pursuing three copper-gold projects in the Paterson Province.
The follow-up programme targets Red Handed, where Stage I drilling confirmed gold mineralisation in bedrock, with hole 26LWR08 intersecting 7 metres at 0.40 g/t gold from 50 metres downhole, including 2 metres at 0.98 g/t gold.
Stage II comprises approximately 12 holes for 1,920 metres, funded from existing cash resources, with final hole positions subject to field refinement.
Several holes will follow up 26LWR08 directly, while others will test historical hole RHB108, located approximately 834 metres away, which returned 16 metres at 0.30 g/t gold from 12 metres downhole, including 2 metres at 1.93 g/t gold.
The company said the two intersections represent separate targets at this stage, with continuity between them not yet established.
"Stage I confirmed gold mineralisation in bedrock at Red Handed and gave us a much clearer picture of where to drill next," said Tristan Pottas, chief executive officer. "Stage II will test whether we can identify higher grades, greater mineralised thickness and continuity along strike and down dip," he added.
Access and drill pads are already established, and Bullion Drilling's owner-operator, Paul Scanlon, will be directly involved in the programme.
Separately, the company noted it has completed a priority soil-sampling programme across the wider Lander West target area, with samples now being prepared for dispatch to ALS Laboratory in Adelaide.
First Development Resources said the soil-sampling and Stage II drilling programmes are being run independently of one another and will each be reported as results become available.