{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Company Interviews","title":"Astra Exploration (TSXV:ASTR) - Chases Million-Ounce Scale as Largest Drill Season Begins","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/72dffabf\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1110,"description":"Interview with Brian Miller, Director & CEO of Astra Exploration\nOur previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/astra-exploration-tsxvastr-largest-drill-plan-tests-district-scale-at-la-manchuria-12013\nRecording date: 18th October 2026\nAstra Exploration Inc. (TSXV:ASTR) is a gold-silver explorer focused on Argentina and Chile. Its flagship is the La Manchuria project in Santa Cruz province, within Argentina's Deseado Massif. The company is preparing to start its largest drill campaign to date, and CEO and co-founder Brian Miller set out the investment case at Michael Gentile's European roadshow.\nLa Manchuria hosts two styles of mineralisation. A bulk disseminated system begins at surface and remains open. Miller puts grades in this system could average up to 10 g/t gold. Its hilltop location supports the case for open-pit mining. The project also hosts high-grade veins, typically 1-2 metres thick, carrying 50-100 g/t gold and silver in the kilograms per tonne. The Basalto zone, discovered in March 2026, is a high-grade vein exposed at surface, and its most recent step-out returned 2.0 metres at 80.5 g/t gold and 44 g/t silver.\nThe company has deliberately held off on an updated resource estimate. A small resource already exists, and Miller says drilling has shown the deposit is substantially larger. Astra will only publish an update once it believes it can outline about a million ounces, a threshold that gives investors a clear benchmark against which to judge progress.\nPhase IV begins in November with two drills. The programme is planned at a minimum of 10,000 metres and up to 20,000 metres, with the final figure driven by results. About 5,000 metres are targeted before year-end, about 5,000 metres in the first quarter of 2027, and up to a further 10,000 metres after that. The first assays are expected around February. Beyond Manchuria Hill, which covers about 1 km², the company has defined five priority regional targets across a 4 x 4 km area....","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/1wv-MFlQAgnm-ca64e5kK4984dZB0os8-HJdRVsI74M/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzEzNTcyLzE2MjM5/NTQyMDctYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}