First Au Limited announced that it has secured a drill rig and is planning to commence diamond drilling at the Haunted Stream Project in April 2023. The Haunted Stream Project contains over 150 historical workings that produced gold from the 1860's up until the early 1900's, extends over 8.5km in strike length and has the potential to be of significant scale. Historical mining at Haunted Stream was initially focused on alluvial gold prior to transitioning to hard rock reef mining in the 1880's. Historical production results typically ran around 15-30 g/t Au, with some reefs producing over 150 g/t Au.

The proposed targets include the Ernestine and Hibernia historic workings. Ernestine historically produced 927oz's @ 39 g/t Au and Hibernia historically produced 816oz's @ 17 g/t Au. The planned drill program is intended to test economic potential beneath historic workings as well as explore and test highly prospective structural target locations.

The Targets have been identified and selected based on both surface and UG mapping, sampling, historic research and analysis and evaluation of previous drilling undertaken by Mantle Mining from c.a. 2007 - 2010. Highlights from FAU face sampling at Haunted Stream as previously reported include results up to 135 g/t Au. Across 2007 and 2008, Mantle Mining drilled eight holes comprising four RC drillholes followed by four diamond drillholes targeting around the historic workings of Ernestine and Quarry lodes.

Six of the holes were drilled to the south-east and two were drilled south of the project area. Four of the holes had recorded assay information which highlights the intersection of a mineralised gold system. FAU Geologists have interpreted the Mantle Mining drilling intersected the mineralised corridor, however did not intersect the higher-grade shoots that FAU Geologists have interpreted in the new structural model.

The structural model proposed for the system is envisaged to reflect a series of steeply plunging lenses, entrained within a south-west trending mineralised envelope.