Marmota nails thick, high-grade gold in maiden SA drill program
- Doug Bright
- Sep 9
- 3 min read
Marmota Limited (ASX: MEU) has struck gold with the first assay results from last month’s maiden drilling program at its 90 per cent-owned Greenewood gold prospect, which is part of the company’s Golden Moon joint venture in its Gawler Craton gold project in South Australia.
The August drilling campaign delivered a string of impressive, high-grade, near-surface gold intersections from 4-metre composite samples, signalling a bright future for this historically underexplored asset.
Situated 35 kilometres northwest of Marmota’s flagship Aurora Tank deposit and 30km northeast of the historic Challenger gold mine, Greenewood is shaping up as a possible cornerstone - alongside Aurora Tank - underpinning Marmota’s expanding gold portfolio.
The handful of early results includes a standout 24m at 12 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from just 20m downhole, including a high-grade 4m core going 38g/t gold and a further 12m at 20g/t gold. A second hole bored through 28m that assayed 5.6g/t gold from 24m, including a peak run of 4m going 29g/t.
Additional intercepts in three separate holes include 4m at 10g/t gold from 20m downhole, 20m at 1.9g/t gold from 20m, and 12m at 4.1g/t gold from 60m, with 4m at 10g/t gold from 60m.
Marmota is delighted with the first batch of Greenewood assays already arriving that are yielding stunning thick gold intersections, so close to surface. The results already exceed our expectations, with 52 holes still incoming. Marmota now owns every unmined gold deposit within a 10,000-square-kilometre area of the Gawler Craton, along the emerging Gawler Gold Belt.
Marmota Limited Chairman Dr Colin Rose
These near-surface, thick, high-grade zones highlight Greenewood’s potential for low-cost open-pit mining, bolstered by today’s gold price of about $5510 per ounce – more than three times the $1600 per ounce prevailing when the prospect was last drilled in 2018.
This initial program comprised 146 reverse circulation holes for 15,480m to an average downhole depth of 106m, nearly doubling the total historical 7000m drilled at the discovery.
The drilling results already in hand appear to validate an assessment by renowned geologist Kevin Wills, who identified open-ended mineralisation and untested shallow targets across Greenewood’s more than 500m strike length.
The results reveal high-grade zones surpassing previous discoveries and pointing to significant resource expansion potential. The company is expecting to receive more assays in early October, which could offer further strong support for Dr Wills’ interpretation.
Greenewood forms part of the Golden Moon joint venture, in which Marmota holds a 90 per cent stake via its subsidiary, Half Moon Pty Ltd, with Coombedown Resources free-carried until a mining decision.
The joint venture includes two tenements, EL 5998 and EL 6569, secured last year through ministerial consent, which host four of Marmota’s “Arc of Six” gold deposits, notably Greenewood, Mainwood, Campfire Bore and Golf Bore.
The arc also includes Marmota’s fully owned Aurora Tank deposit, which became famous for its bonanza grades and 93 per cent gold recoveries in metallurgical testwork, and the historic Challenger mine, which produced 1.2 million ounces between 2002 and 2018 under various operators, and is now held by Barton Gold Holdings.
Greenewood’s proximity to Aurora Tank offers operational synergies, which further enhance the operational and economic appeal of Marmota’s Gawler Craton portfolio. The discovery is gaining momentum, with the early high-grade hits reported today underscoring its potential.
The high-grade results, favourable gold prices and a pipeline of adjacent deposits could see Greenewood becoming a new growth centre, setting the stage for a potential gold production hub in one of Australia’s most prospective regions.
It’s always satisfying to nail high-grade runs – even more so when the results come from a maiden drilling campaign. This is the second time the company has achieved a quinella in this game, following the inaugural drilling results at Marmota’s nearby Aurora Tank.
Marmota first drilled Aurora Tank in late 2017, starting with a six-hole diamond drilling campaign at the project’s Goshawk deposit. That program delivered multiple near-surface high-grade gold intercepts including 5m at 9g/t gold from 43m, with 1m at 17g/t gold, and a 2m intercept at 9g/t gold from 31m, with 1m at 16.5g/t gold.
Marmota’s shares rewarded the latest news with a hike to $0.047 a share intraday, an increase of about 13 per cent.
Results from a further 52 holes are still to come. As the numbers roll in, investors will be watching closely for the next chapter in Marmota’s Gawler Craton success story.
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