North Stawell Minerals (ASX:NSM) reports it has identified ‘high-grade’ gold at the greenfield Caledonia prospect in Victoria.
The Victorian gold explorer reports that early results from a reverse circulation (RC) drilling program over the southern portion of its tenements and completed in June 2022 have added to the successes of the FY22 regional phase one air core drill program.
The greenfield Caledonia prospect, identified via geophysics, has identified ‘high-grade’ gold mineralisation 500m north of the historic Bonnie Dundee Mine, which demonstrates prospectivity in the Germania-Darlington trend on EL7325.
Caledonia is one of four ‘high-grade’ gold occurrences within a 10km strike extent.
Addressing the works program, North Stawell Minerals Chief Executive Officer Russell Krause said: “The discovery at the Caledonia Prospect highlights the gold potential of the Germania-Darlington trend.
“The discovery at the Caledonia Prospect highlights the gold potential of the Germania-Darlington trend”
Historic mining in the vicinity has produced at grades over 15g/t Au and to return intercepts with the same gold tenor on the same structure is highly encouraging. The Germania Darlington trend has been extended north to the Wimmera Park prospect, drilled by NSM this season with exciting first-pass air core results.
The trend is now 10km long and includes four historic mines and two high-potential prospects – Caledonia and Wimmera Park. Results of drilling more directly targeting the historic mines are yet to be returned.”
The CEO notes that Caledonia is a 1,000m long section of the trend targeted for a geophysics interpreted basalt core at depth – a structural setting similar to the 5Moz Au Stawell Mine 6km to the south on a parallel structure 2km to the west.
Drilling has highlighted that mineralisation is positioned on the flanks of the basalt ‘footprint’ and along its interpreted crest consolidating similarity to the Stawell mineralisation. The Caledonia Project includes thin Murray Basin cover although much of the Germania-Darlington trend is without this impediment to exploration.
Caledonia is an important additional regional greenfield discovery for NSM adding a prospect with identified significant grade along strike from established historic mining area to the mineralisation pipeline. It is a more advanced target to compliment the seven existing targets under cover identified in the 2021-2022 phase one air core exploration program.
With the advanced 55,000oz Mineral Resource at Wildwood already established a substantially more robust exploration pipeline with multiple compelling Stawell-like targets has been consolidated over FY22, with a more targeted phase two infill drilling campaign next on the agenda.
North Stawell is an Australian-based gold exploration company, solely focused on discovering large scale gold deposits in the ‘highly prospective’ Stawell Mineralised Corridor in Victoria.
The company is exploring prospective tenements located along-strike of and to the immediate north of the Stawell Gold Mine which has produced in excess of 5Moz of gold.
North Stawell’s granted tenure has a total land area of 450km-square in which the company believes there is potential for the discovery of large gold mineralised systems under cover.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: North Stawell Minerals Ltd
