** Shares of precious metal explorer Santana Minerals
SMI.AX rise as much as 11.8% to A$0.828, eyeing their best
session since July 26
** SMI says new gold intercepts at Bendigo-Ophir Project in
New Zealand urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nASXc8v4dq
** Intercepts exceed previously modelled grades and
thicknesses, says co
** More than 817,000 shares change hands, vs 30-day average
volume of about 189,000
** Stock up ~118% this year, as of last close
(Reporting by Anan Ashraf in Bengaluru)
((Anan.Ashraf@thomsonreuters.com;))