Marmota Ltd (ASX:MEU) is set to begin the next round of reverse circulation (RC) drilling at its 100%-owned Aurora Tank Project in South Australia where the first BLEG tests recently yielded grades of 197 g/t over 1-metre from 66 metres downhole.
The program of around 85 holes for approximately 10,000 metres at the discovery in the prolific yet underexplored Gawler Craton is due to kick off around April 1 and the average hole depth is expected to be 117 metres to a maximum of 200 metres.
Fully funded program
Marmota’s team will depart Adelaide tomorrow bound for Aurora Tank for the drilling program, which is expected to take around five weeks and is fully funded.
Chairman Dr Colin Rose said: “We are hoping this will be our final drill program at Aurora Tank prior to our lodging a Mining Lease application at Aurora Tank.
"The program develops a number of parallel extensions that are still open and should enable us to complete work on an optimal open pit design.”
Program objectives
There are multiple objectives for the drill program, including testing further extensions to the new NW flank that has recently tripled in strike and produced strong intersections such as:
- 3 metres at 72 g/t gold from 66 metres including 1-metre at 197 g/t;
- 5 metres at 27 g/t from 38 metres including 1-metre at 105 g/t;
- 3 metres at 29 g/t from 63 metres including 1-metre at 74 g/t; and
- 4 metres at 15 g/t from 67 metres including 1-metre at 53 g/t.
It will also test sub-parallel extensions to the N and NE in parallel to the NW flank, extensions at depth targeting primary mineralisation and extensions to the east of the Aurora Tank mineralised zone.
Selected drilling will aid resource modelling and optimal pit design, or where previous holes were not deep enough.
The program also includes a number of holes that form part of the Accelerated Discovery Initiative (ADI) at Aurora Tank and on the surrounding Woorong Downs and Comet tenements.
These particular holes are jointly funded by the South Australian Government under a grant awarded to Marmota. Some of these holes are early-stage reconnaissance work.
About Marmota
Marmota’s gold exploration efforts are centred on the company’s dominant tenement holding in the highly prospective and significantly underexplored Gawler Craton, near the Challenger gold mine, in the Woomera Prohibited Defence Area.
Elsewhere in South Australia, the company’s copper project is based at the Melton project on the Yorke Peninsula and its uranium JORC resource is at Junction Dam adjacent to the Honeymoon mine.