North Stawell Minerals (ASX:NSM) reports diamond drilling has extended a gold-bearing structure at depth at its Darlington Project in Victoria.
Hole NSD063 returned 0.5m @ 1.16 grams per tonne gold (Au) from 129.6m, with arsenic results of 3,849 parts per million (ppm).
The result sits 40m down dip of hole NSD062, which returned 0.4m @ 17.1g/t Au from 98.6m, and 70m along strike from NSD057, which returned 2.3m @ 29.18g/t Au from 108.2m, including 0.8m @ 82g/t Au.
NSD063 intersected the same brecciated vein texture as previous holes, supporting the interpretation of a steep, west-dipping vein system. Five diamond drill holes have now intersected the target.
Executive Director Bill Reid says the host is brecciated quartz veining in carbonaceous sediments.
“Five diamond drill holes have [defined] a steep-dipping, planar structure that remains open at depth,” Reid adds.
“Where this structure intersects the deeper, drill-confirmed basalt is a high-priority future drilling target, and understanding the plunge of the high-grade gold shoot is a prerequisite to deeper drilling.”
Reid says the results strengthen similarities between Darlington and the historical Mariners Lodes at Stawell, 6km to the south. The lode produced 740,000–950,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 28–30g/t.
Three other parallel mineralised structures have been identified at Darlington, all open along strike and at depth. The historical Darlington mine trend sits 70m east of NSD063, with historical production of 2,347 ounces at 18g/t gold.
Previously reported drilling on that trend includes 4m @ 10.77g/t Au from 60m and 6m @ 3.45g/t Au from 42m. The target remains open at depth.
Drilling at Darlington West, 200m west of NSD063, has intersected gold on the margin of a previously undrilled basalt, returning 0.5m @ 6.01g/t Au from 283.35m and 1.2m @ 3.32g/t Au from 177.3m.
The intercepts may indicate Stawell-type basalt margin mineralisation. A recent induced polarisation survey identified an untested strong response 300m to the south on the interpreted basalt margin at depth.
A broad ‘low-grade’ gold and arsenic anomaly occurs from 187m in NSD063 and extends up-dip to NSD062. The company plans to design a program to assess the new trend in the December quarter.
North Stawell Minerals is an Australian gold explorer advancing a portfolio of exploration assets in central Victoria.
Write to JC Villarba at Mining.com.au
Images: North Stawell Minerals
