Junior explorer North Stawell Minerals (ASX:NSM) says recent drilling has extended the mineralisation near its Stawell Gold Mine down-dip and down-plunge beneath the historical Darlington Mine in Victoria.
The $10.93 million market capitalisation company says drilling indicates the potential for at least 100m vertical extent of mineralisation with an interpreted shallow plunge to the south-southeast of the Darlington prospect
Further, historical results suggest the potential for ‘higher-grade’ shoots within the mineralised plane. North Stawell notes all ‘high-grade’ results include ‘strongly’ elevated arsenic.
Multiple high arsenic zones without associated gold mineralisation have been identified in drillholes NSD052 and NSD053. The company will be reviewing their potential as vectors to additional mineralisation at Darlington.
This announcement follows a recently completed 2-hole diamond drilling program at Darlington that extended mineralisation down-dip and down-plunge beneath the historic Darlington Mine, with mineralisation open in all directions.
North Stawell reports results include drillhole NSD052 with 2m @ 1.29g/t Au from 241m and drillhole NSD053 with 1.5m @ 4.24g/t Au from 140.5m.
Commenting on recent activities, North Stawell Minerals Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Russell Krause says: “2 diamond drillholes testing the down-dip and down-plunge extents have both intersected gold mineralisation, expanding the Darlington target to approximately 250m-by-150m sub-vertical, planar target with evidence of high-grade plunging shoots within it.
“Both drillholes are step-outs, open in all directions, and further drilling may further expand the geometry of the Darlington target”
Both drillholes are step-outs, open in all directions, and further drilling may further expand the geometry of the Darlington target. Previously, the evidence for basalts at depth at Darlington was from interpretation of high-resolution geophysics.
However, the case for Darlington to be interpreted as a splay above a basalt has been significantly strengthened, with altered basalt intersected 100m beneath mineralisation in NSD053. Determining the relationship between Darlington and the deeper basalt has significant potential to elevate Darlington’s gold potential, as well as focus ongoing exploration.”
North Stawell Minerals is a junior exploration company focused on the exploration of gold. The company holds ‘highly prospective’ tenements with multiple undercover targets in the north of the Stawell Corridor.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: North Stawell Minerals Ltd
