Santana Minerals (ASX:SMI, NZE:SMI) confirmed the continuation of the high-grade core and the potential for underground mine life extensions following recent drilling at the northern extents of the Rise & Shine deposit in Central Otago, New Zealand, according to a Thursday filing with the Australian bourse.

Results include 8.7 meters at about 31 grams per tonne grade of gold, and consistent gold grades above 15 g/t grade of gold with two assays exceeding 100 g/t grade of gold, the filing said.

The results suggest that the northern Honeypot zone extends the HG1 domain further down-plunge by at least 230 meters, resulting in a 60% increase beyond the current underground reserve and mine design, per the filing.

Shares fell 1% in recent trade in Australia and rose 2% in New Zealand.