Richland Resources Ltd. on Aug. 7 reported a maiden JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate for exploration license 25973, located about 45 kilometers from its Capricorn sapphire mining operations in Queensland, Australia.

The estimate comprises inferred resources of 5 million loose cubic meters of sapphire-bearing gravel at an estimated grade of 3.5 grams per loose cubic meter, or 17.5 carats per loose cubic meter.

The resource estimation equates to about 87.5 million carats in the ground.

The company was granted the exploration license in November 2015. The license is adjacent to known sapphire-producing areas.