Strata Minerals Limited (ASX: SMX) is getting set to start its maiden drilling program at the 100%-owned Zelica Gold Project in Western Australia, following the grant of a Programme of Works (PoW) and the securing of a drill rig. The reverse circulation (RC) campaign is expected to begin by the end of November and will comprise approximately 20 holes for a total of 2,000 metres, targeting high-priority drill positions within a granted mining licence in the world-class Laverton Province.
Gold mineralisation at Zelica has been defined along a strike length of around 1 kilometre and remains open both at depth and along strike.
“Having only exercised the option to acquire Zelica a couple of weeks ago, we are moving quickly to add value at the project through drilling," SMX managing director Peter Woods said.
"Historical drilling at Zelica has identified high-grade near-surface oxide gold mineralisation along a 1km strike, open at both depth and along strike. With no exploration carried out in over 10 years at Zelica, Strata sees significant potential to add value in the near term. Strata plans to swiftly expand upon the historic exploration through infill and step-out drilling along the mineralised structure.
"Zelica is situated on a granted mining licence, and given record gold prices, a priority for Strata is to determine the potential for near-term gold extraction opportunities. We are excited to get the drilling started as we believe Zelica has the potential to provide multiple value-adding catalysts in the near term and represents a leveraged opportunity to add shareholder value.”
Validating historical results
Historical drilling has returned multiple shallow, high-grade oxide intercepts that have seen no follow-up work for more than a decade.
Notable results include:
- Hole Z292: 9m @ 8.8g/t from 27m
- Hole ZAC342: 5m @ 5.87g/t from 10m
- Hole ZAC368: 3m @ 5.0g/t from 29m
- Hole ZERC0037: 7m @ 4.9g/t from 26m
- Hole Z297: 5m @ 3.5g/t from 68m
- Hole Z072: 13m @ 3.2g/t from 22m
- Hole ZAC363: 8m @ 3.19g/t from 10m
- Hole Z278: 6m @ 2.9g/t from 51m
- Hole ZERC0015: 5m @ 2.84g/t from 69m
- Hole ZAC398: 13m @ 2.38g/t from 34m
The initial RC program is designed to validate and extend these historical shallow high-grade zones, providing modern confirmation of the existing dataset and improving geological confidence. Contingent on the success of this first phase, Strata plans to follow up with a larger drilling campaign to further test the continuity and scale of the mineralised system at Zelica.