Aureka strikes visible gold in Victorian drill program

Aureka Limited (ASX: AKA) has struck visible gold in the drill core of three separate holes from its latest drilling program at the company’s flagship Irvine project in the gold-rich Stawell region of Victoria, about 240km west-northwest of Melbourne.

Visible gold was identified in three diamond holes drilled at its Resolution Lode, part of Irvine, pointing to the potential for high-grade mineralisation to be unearthed at depth and a potential boost to the existing inferred resource of 304,000 ounces at a grade of 2.4 grams per tonne (g/t) gold.

One hole drilled 200 metres south of the existing resource, suggests a shallower plunge to the mineralisation and the possibility of a bump-up to the inferred resource. The section of core containing visible gold returned 4.65m grading 2.93g/t from 681.35m, including a 0.4m slice at a solid 10.4g/t.

A further hole intersected visible gold on the Tenacity Hanging Wall fault, highlighting a new priority target for drilling. Assays remain pending.

Visible gold was also observed in core from 413m downhole and although not yet assayed, management believes it can potentially add ounces to the Resolution inferred resource.

The company says the drill rig continues to target key zones south of the resource and the visible gold encountered to-date is deemed to have incurred along the projected Tenacity fault, based on a new understanding of the geological model at play.

The occurrence of visible gold at Irvine demonstrates the potential for a high-grade component to the system and a possible opportunity to rapidly grow the mineral resources beyond the current 304,000oz at 2.43g/t.

Aureka Ltd Managing Director James Gurry

Additional assays received from the latest drilling consist of 4m going 2.55g/t gold from a depth of 699m, including 1m at 8.4g/t and 1.65m grading 2.13g/t gold with a 0.7m slice at 4.4g/t.

The company says updates to its geological model and mineral controls continue to improve its targeting methodology. Its updated geological interpretation suggests the mineralisation’s southerly plunge is controlled by the intersection of the Tenacity Hanging Wall fault and the Resolution Footwall fault.

The existing 304,000-ounce resource encompasses the Resolution open-pit (118,000 ounces) and underground deposits (146,000 ounces) and the Adventure open-pit (40,300 ounces).

Management has an exploration target at Irvine in its line of sight, the number ranging between 280,000 ounces to 420,000 ounces at an estimated grade of 2-3 per cent, with the Resolution deposits accounting for the bulk of the targeted increase.

Aureka’s drill program at Irvine is continuing, with the rig moving north to test several key zones, in addition to infill drilling in preparation for an update to the Irvine mineral resource. A total of 2523.4m have been drilled into two parent holes and one wedge hole as part of the program.

The company estimates more than $13 million has been spent on the project since its discovery in a region with a rich history of gold production. Irvine sits 16km south of the operating Stawell gold mine.

Aureka also revealed a maiden inferred JORC resource from historic drilling results at the company’s St Arnaud project in western Victoria, 90 kilometres west of the famous gold mining town of Bendigo earlier this year.

The company analysed the results from 120 historic drill holes plunged into the previously mined St Arnaud Comstock open pit, releasing its maiden resource of 1.45 million tonnes at 1.2 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold for 56,500 ounces.

The inclusion of the resource at St Arnaud kicked-up the company’s total Victorian gold resources to a solid 360,000 ounces.

Follow-up drilling delivered multiple high-grade hits outside the existing resource too, including a 6.9-metre interval at 4.24g/t gold from 422.1m followed by a 3.2m hit grading 4.71g/t gold from 434m, including 0.6m at a stellar 19.9g/t gold.

Comstock is part of the broader St Arnaud project, which encompasses a substantial 819 square kilometres of historic high-grade goldfields. The St Arnaud goldfields produced about 400,000 ounces of gold averaging a remarkable 15g/t and grades up to 50g/t were mined at Comstock before operations ceased in the 1990s.

Aureka has several gold projects on its hands that may develop into something worthwhile. With a booming gold price smashing through $6350 local dollars today, there may be plenty of upside for the junior goldie.

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