Aureka (ASX:AKA) has been granted a five-year renewal to its St Arnaud Comstock Project’s exploration licence in Victoria, securing access to exploration across the tenure until 2030.
The renewed licence follows the completion of a LiDAR and photogrammetry survey at the open-cut pit, which the company says acts as a pathway to near-term gold production.
Aureka says the LiDAR survey has illustrated a “seamless, high-resolution” model and dataset that will support engineering design, operational planning, and geological interpretation.
The survey was completed with Victorian Geology and Survey Solutions, where the two parties conducted over 300 points per metres squared.
Along with last year’s resource estimate, Aureka will use the survey data to apply for an upgraded licence at Comstock.
Managing Director James Gurry says the company has had a “successful” year at Comstock leading up to the tenement renewal and completion of LiDAR.
“During this period, we declared our maiden JORC resource in May, completed over 2,200 metres of diamond drilling, and reported multiple instances of visible gold,” Gurry says.
“Assays showed record intercepts (notably 1m @ 65.37 grams per tonne gold from 116.2m including 0.3m @ 109g/t and 0.4m @ 65.4g/t).
“We ended the year by signing an engagement with nearby mill owners and we saw expansion of mineralisation to the north and west of the pit.”
Exploration Manager Jozef Story says the renewal of the exploration licence “secures the long-term future of St Arnaud Comstock Project”.
“The team are planning additional work programs with potential to further develop upon the high grade gold and silver intercepts identified during the 2025 drilling campaign, and deliver further exploration success and continued progression at St Arnaud,” Story says.
Aureka is an Australian explorer focused on advancing gold projects in Victoria.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Aureka
