Stellar Resources Ltd (ASX:SRZ) is encouraged by the gold indications returned from its first major Northeast Tasmania field exploration program completed at the Leura and Back Creek prospects, both of which have recorded historic mining.
A soil sampling campaign has produced high-grade gold assays and defined soil geochemistry anomalies at both prospects.
At Leura, 276 soil samples were collected with anomalous gold soil results ranging from 0.1 to 2.4 g/t gold over a 400-500 metre strike length corresponding with the historic Leura Gold Mine, with likely strike extensions of this mine under shallow cover.
The lack of any previous modern exploration over the Leura soil gold anomaly and the high-grade soil results provides an attractive drill target for Stellar.
“Attractive drill target”
Executive director Gary Fietz said: “We are encouraged by the results from our first major field exploration program in Northeast Tasmania, which has outlined an attractive drill target associated with a high-grade gold soil geochemistry anomaly over a 500-metre strike length at the historic Leura Mine within EL12/2020.”
Similarly at Back Creek, the sampling has returned encouraging gold results from the historic Back Creek goldfield.
Lady Emily Reef provided anomalous gold soil results ranging from 0.02 to 0.16 g/t over a ~200-metre strike length over the historic Lady Emily Mine with Nevermind Reefs also promising.
There were anomalous gold soil results ranging from 0.02 to 0.23 g/t over a ~100-metre strike length over the northern reef and 0.02 to 0.05 g/t over a ~50-metre strike length over the southern reef of the historic Nevermind Mine.
Fietz added: “The soil sampling results over the Back Creek goldfield within EL12/2020 are also promising with soil gold anomalies defined over the Lady Emily Reef and the Nevermind Reefs.”
Back Creek Goldfield
The Back Creek Goldfield is near Pipers River, about 45 kilometres north of Launceston and 9 kilometres east of the Lefroy goldfield.
Gold was first discovered at Back Creek in 1869 and worked up until 1890, with most production from the alluvial leads. Total production is unknown.
Historical reports put gold grades from the hard-rock Franklin Mine at Back Creek in a range between about 9-20 g/t (Broadhurst, 1935).
A number of shafts were sunk along sub-cropping reefs in the Back Creek area, but the district tenure was never consolidated, so the mines remained small.
Slate mining was also a significant part of the area's history, with competing interests and tenure positions limiting modern exploration in this area.
Third parties hold four small Mining Leases over this goldfield including the Franklin Mine, which is around 50 metres to the east of Stellar’s EL12/2020 tenement boundary.
Stellar’s EL12/2020 surrounds the four small Back Creek Mining Leases and includes the Lady Emily, Never Mind and Hidden Treasure historic mines that also form part of the Back Creek Goldfield.
Leura mine
Leura prospect is on Stellar’s 100%-owned EL12/2020, 3 kilometres southeast of the main Back Creek goldfield.
Alluvial and hard rock occurrences were worked historically at Leura, with hard-rock grades estimated to average 57 g/t gold (Montgomery, 1894).
Historic maps and reports of the Back Creek and Leura areas discuss a number of east-west striking gold-bearing quartz reefs that define a broad northwest-trending mineralised corridor with a similar structural style to that observed at the nearby Beaconsfield and Lefroy goldfields.
The combination of the high-grade historic gold mining occurrences, the similar structural style to the Lefroy and Beaconsfield gold deposits, and the lack of modern exploration, led to Stellar prioritising gold exploration of the Leura and Back Creek prospects on EL12/2020.
Second program underway
Stellar has its second major field exploration program underway in Northeast Tasmania with a stream sediment sampling program of around 400 samples more than 50% complete at Nabowla.
This initial survey is expected to be completed in late July and results available by mid-September.
The company has also recently expanded its landholding in the region having been granted EL10/2020 (Beaconsfield South, 182 square kilometres) and EL3/2021 (Quakers Ranges, 44 square kilometres).
These bring the number of exploration licences held by Stellar in the region to 12 covering a combined area of 2,559 square kilometres.