Aureka (ASX:AKA) has begun exploration drilling at the Irvine Project within the Stawell Corridor in Victoria.
The program, which is expected to take 10 weeks to complete, is designed to test the extent of the Resolution Shoot down plunge via three diamond drillholes for 2,000m of drilling.
Aureka, which has a market capitalisation of $17.41 million, says the early year start is essential to achieving the exploration program goals for 2025 including maintaining continuous drilling with at least one single rig operating across the Stawell Corridor, St Arnaud, and Ballarat projects in Victoria.
A diamond drilling program is also expected to begin in the coming days at the Tandarra Gold Joint Venture Project.
This program comprises four to six holes for 1,000m of diamond drilling within the Lawry prospect and is a follow-up program from 2024.
In addition to diamond drilling, 2,000m of follow-up aircore drilling will begin this month at the northern end of the lease, which sits close to the boundary of Catalyst Metals’ (ASX:CYL) Four Eagles Gold Project.
Managing Director James Gurry says this initial drilling marks the start of a 7,000m drilling program, which aims to add ounces to the resource base and also strengthen the company’s confidence in all of the projects.
Speaking to Mining.com.au, Gurry adds that the drilling activity on the Irvine Project is the first in a number of years and is a credit to the team to be able to get a solid start on 2025.
“The company is looking forward to keeping its shareholders and the market up to date as the drilling results come through from not only Irvine but also Tandarra as that program also gets underway this month,” he tells this news service.
“We feel Aureka is an investment opportunity largely overlooked by 2024’s gold rally given ASX trading did not begin until very late in the year. We are fortunate that the outlook for gold in 2025 seems just as strong if not stronger than last year and we are only now seeing pent up investor interest in our company given the low market cap.”
Gurry notes that all this is the reason for working hard to get Aureka up and recapitalised.
With work on the ground underway, Aureka expects a steady stream of updates throughout 2025. The company has already engaged Nordic Geoscience to review historical data, as well as conduct additional geophysical re-processing to uncover any new targets.
Aureka is a Victoria-focused gold explorer that is discovering and developing the Stawell Corridor, Tandarra, and St Arnaud projects.
As Mining.com.au previously reported, Victoria is a world-renowned gold province with a variety of deposit styles and pre-competitive geoscientific data and knowledge to improve targeting and reduce mineral exploration risk. The state has produced over 2,500 tonnes of gold.
Victoria has 13 goldfields, each of which has produced over 1 million ounces. However the two major goldfields Bendigo and Ballarat have produced 22 million ounces and 12 million ounces, respectively.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Aureka
