Marmota Limited (ASX: MEU) announced that it has received highly encouraging detailed 1m assay results from the RC drilling program at Aurora Tank in South Australia.
The company said that the new detailed 1m results have yielded Marmota’s best ever 1m intersection of 165 g/t gold, at 66m downhole.
MEU said that the new NW flank has reported multiple high-grade assays and strike has increased three-fold in 1 year. NW flank remains open, both to the North and to the west and at depth. Marmota said that this program is the first time that it has also intersected high-grade gold at depths below 80m.
Drilling at Aurora Tank
The company had recently reported the initial 4m composite results from the RC drilling program at Aurora Tank completed in September 2020. MEU has now reported encouraging detailed 1m assay results from the RC drilling.
Highest-ever gold intersection
The company reported that the new detailed 1m results have yielded Marmota’s best ever 1m intersection of 165 g/t gold, at 66m downhole from Hole 20ATRC324.
Marmota said that it also collected 5 separate spearings of the drilling sample bag and then assayed each spear sample separately by fire assay, to ensure that the outstanding assay of 165g/t gold is not the result of a ‘nugget effect’.
MEU said that the fire assays of the 5 separate spearings returned grades of 223 g/t, 154 g/t, 119 g/t, 121 g/t, and 212 g/t respectively, yielding an average of 165 g/t gold. Notably, every one of the 5 spearings returned grades over 100 g/t gold, and two of the five spears yielded assays over 200 g/t gold.
New high-grade 1m intercepts over 10g/t gold include 1m @ 165 g/t gold (from 66m downhole) in Hole 20ATRC324 (3m @ 61 g/t gold); 1m @ 41 g/t gold (from 55m downhole) in Hole 20ATRC224 ( 4m @ 13 g/t gold ); 1m @ 36 g/t gold (from 120m downhole) in Hole 20ATRC303 ( 2m @ 21 g/t gold ); 1m @ 30 g/t gold (from 82m downhole) in Hole 20ATRC313 ( 2m @ 16 g/t gold ); 1m @ 14 g/t gold (from 44m downhole) in Hole 20ATRC223 ( 4m @ 7.8 g/t gold ); 1m @ 13 g/t gold (from 51m downhole) in Hole 20ATRC245 ( 3m @ 9.7 g/t gold ); 1m @ 13 g/t gold (from 33m downhole) in Hole 20ATRC242 ( 3m @ 8.8 g/t gold ); 1m @ 12 g/t gold (from 49m downhole) in Hole 20ATRC222 ( 3m @ 7.3 g/t gold ); 1m @ 12 g/t gold (from 54m downhole) in Hole 20ATRC227; and 1m @ 14 g/t gold (from 78m downhole) in Hole 20ATRC235.
Summary Highlights at Aurora Tank are as shown below.
The company said that this is the fourth drilling program at Aurora Tank in which Marmota has intersected grades of ~ 100 g/t gold (or more) over 1m, and now in 4 distinct areas. The results and the different zones are as shown below.
Strike increased three-fold in NW flank
The company said that the new NW flank has reported multiple high-grade assays. The NW flank is a new zone discovered in Marmota’s previous 2019 drilling program while following up elevated gold in biogeochemical sampling (tree sampling).
A year ago, the NW flank was known to extend approximately 95m in a NE direction. The company said that at the end of this program, the NW flank now extends about 3 times that distance (285m) in a north-easterly direction and remains open along strike.
The last hole drilled at the top (north) of the NW flank Hole 20ATRC313 had yielded 1m @ 30 g/t (82m downhole) –– and remains open.
High-grade gold at depth
Marmota said that this program is the first time that it has intersected high-grade gold at depths below 80m in addition to very high gold grades close to surface.
The company noted that the reconnaissance Hole 20ATRC303 designed to test for an extension to the west of the NW flank intersected 1m at 36 g/t (2m @ 21g/t) at a depth of 122m downhole, suggesting the presence of high-grade shoots to the west and at depth.
Updates and next steps
Marmota said that it is currently reviewing results received to date from this drilling campaign and considering additional work programs and additional infill and extensional drilling.
The company said that further RC and Diamond drilling is being planned. Marmota has been drilling local water bores at Aurora Tank to supply both intended Diamond drilling, and to supply a potential heap leach operation, and to support the camp.
Marmota said that it is exploring options to bring Aurora Tank into production by low-cost low-capex open pittable mining, including heap leach methods, following very successful column leach testing results.
The Company said that it has been adopting a ‘work in parallel’ methodology, which allows us to advance both the exploration side and production pathway simultaneously.
In December, Marmota carried out the first ecological surveys (fauna and flora) and hydrology work (including to supply water at Aurora Tank) that are also necessary components to seeking a Mining Lease. The company said that two teams have been active in a very substantial sampling program at both Aurora Tank and surrounding tenements, in exploration work that is being jointly funded by the SA Government under a $225,000 grant awarded to Marmota under the Accelerated Discovery Initiative.
MEU said that further detail will be provided when Stage 1 is complete, and the teams have returned collected samples to Adelaide.
* Images courtesy of Marmota Limited