Aureka (ASX:AKA) has begun a diamond drilling program at the Tandarra Gold Project in Victoria, as part of a broader 7,000m continuous exploration works program.
The program, comprising six holes for 1,000m of drilling, will follow-up on previous results at the Lawry prospect which confirmed multiple zones of gold mineralisation extending into the fresh rock similar to that mined at the historical Bendigo Goldfield.
Aureka, which has a market capitalisation of $15.87 million, says the program is expected to run through to the end of this month, with assay results expected thereafter. Deepcore Drilling has been engaged to conduct the program.
“Tandarra is a key project for Aureka and it is great to see the diamond drilling program underway, adding to the strong progress at the Irvine Project made in recent weeks,” Managing Director James Gurry says.
Meanwhile, diamond drilling is continuing to progress at the Irvine Gold Project which is testing the extent of the Resolution Shoot down plunge via three holes for 2,000m.
To date, minor sulphide minerals have been observed 212m downhole consisting of fine arsenopyrite needles associated with low angle silicified breccia vein and strong sericite alteration.
Aureka notes samples will be submitted for laboratory analysis to confirm mineral content, with assays to be reported as they become available.
The Tandarra Project is a joint venture between Aureka and Catalyst Metals (ASX:CYL. Catalyst holds 51% of the project’s interest, while Aureka holds the remaining 49%.
Tandarra comprises three main prospects called the Tomorrow, Macnaughtan, and Lawry prospects. The Lawry prospect lies on the Reynolds trend which is a lightly explored structure located about 250m east of the main Tomorrow trend.
Aureka is a gold-focused explorer which owns a portfolio of advanced projects across Victoria, Australia.
As this news service previously reported, the total annual gold demand hit a new record of 4,974 tonnes, according to the World Gold Council’s Q4 and full year 2024 Gold Demand Trends report. The report says this is driven by strong, sustained central bank buying and growth in investment demand.
In conjunction, global investment demand increased 25% year-on-year to 1,180 tonnes, which is a four-year high, driven by the revival of gold ETF demand in the second half of 2024. During the December quarter, global gold ETFs added 19 tonnes which marks the second consecutive quarter of inflows for the asset class.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Aureka
