07:15 AM EDT, 04/04/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Orla Mining Ltd. ( ORLA ) on Thursday said exploration at the South Railroad project confirmed strong Carlin-type mineralization at the North Bullion sulphide deposit and defined new drill targets across the project.

In its most recent update, Orla reported strong drill results from the North Bullion deposit, including 3.24 g/t gold over 51.8 meters. Assay results confirmed positive gold values consistent with historical assays, leading to a revision of the geological model and identification of targets for the 2024 drilling extensions of the deposit.

Orla's 2023 program focused on testing exploration targets across the South Railroad property returned assay results justifying follow-up exploration drilling in 2024 on the extension of the North Bullion and Jasperoid Wash mineralized zones.

"Since our acquisition of the South Railroad project in August 2022, we've made tremendous progress in our exploration efforts on the South Carlin Trend," said Sylvia Guerard, Orla's senior vice president of exploration. "With expanded 2024 program planned, we aim to drill over 22,000 metres, with the goal of unlocking further value from this exceptional project."

Orla plans to increase its exploration budget by $3.0 million, subject to closing of the Contact Gold acquisition, boosting total 2024 exploration spend to $13.0 million.