Gold leads SA charge as Marmota unlocks titanium sands surprise
Brought to you by BULLS AND BEARS
Doug Bright
While very few young explorers can turn an initial flagship high-grade gold find into a multi-bed “gold arc” and then spice it up with a significant new titanium sand find, Marmota Limited has managed to deliver just that.
The company has succeeded in presenting this compelling narrative in South Australia, focusing on the vast, largely contiguous Gawler Craton holdings approximately 100 km south-west of the opal mining hub at Coober Pedy.
The project is located in the state’s Woomera Restricted Zone, where access has historically been restricted and now provides a significant exploration advantage.
At the heart of the story is what management describes as an emerging “gold arc,” a 150-kilometer-long arcuate trend of multiple gold occurrences and defined deposits stretching across the company’s Gawler Craton project to the north. The arc curves from southwest to northeast of the project area and surrounds a large gravity anomaly.
The full significance of the gravity anomaly for regional gold mineralization is not yet fully understood and remains a key interpretive focus as Marmota reveals numerous near-surface high-grade gold systems along the flanks of the large, Y-shaped feature.
However, this trend appears to point to a long-lived structural corridor that has historically provided significant amounts of gold and hosts a range of deposits and prospects along its length.
The corridor includes several third-party projects, most notably the former Challenger gold mine owned and operated by Dominion Mining, Kingsgate Resources, WPG Resources and now Barton Gold.
Challenger produced more than one million ounces of gold between 2002 and 2018 and is currently under maintenance and repair; but it is a testament to Marmota’s potential to host a significant gold deposit in this remote and underexplored region.
Supported by new discoveries such as gold deposits driven by the company’s flagship Aurora Tank and Greenewood, approximately 35 kilometers west of Aurora Tank, the company is transitioning from exploration to development planning, supported by outstanding drilling results, solid financing, new key personnel appointments and advanced studies.
Aurora Tank remains Marmota’s most advanced gold project and was the starting point for the Gawler gold venture. Located in the northeast of the apartment package, the facility has provided consistent, high-grade, near-surface intersections across multiple drilling campaigns.
Metallurgical studies since then have confirmed that the mineralization is suitable for low-cost heap leaching, typically ideal for near-surface ounces suitable for simple open-pit mining and conservative water use in arid regions.
The initial JORC resource estimate is being finalized by the company’s consultants Ashmore Advisory and will be used to support a wider feasibility study on the gold cluster.
More recently, the company’s nearby Greenewood project has proven to be a spectacular find, spun out of Marmota’s 90 percent-owned Golden Moon joint venture (JV) late last year. The new find provided some of the best gold results seen in the Gawler Craton since the discovery of the Challenger deposit in 1995.
The initial drilling program at Greenewood identified mineralization over a 900m strike that remained open, yielding high-grade, near-surface zones just 17m from surface; this includes individual 1m assays up to 109 grams per tonne (g/t) from 26m downhole and 95g/t gold from 22m downhole.
Notable catches have also analyzed 10 grams/t gold from 22 metres, reaching 33 metres, and include several thick zones better than 4 to 5 grams/t gold over significant capture widths ranging from 11 to 33 metres.
Phase one drilling experiments carried out in December last year confirmed continuity and good grade intervals between 17m and 67m above surface.
The second phase expanded the drilling attack to 129 holes covering 10,117 meters and was completed in December; the results are expected to contribute directly to sourcing and scoping efforts. All signs so far suggest that the scale and proximity of Greenewood will provide significant validation and positive contribution to the “gold arc” story.
Other supporting deposits at the Golden Moon JV include the company’s Campfire Bore course, just 5km from Greenewood, and the nearby Mainwood and Golf Bore courses.
Spanning more than 20 km of high-grade, near-surface gold deposits, these projects share similar geology and can offer low-cost potential as satellites feed into a central hub.
Marmota also has a 100 per cent gold claim over the West Gawler Craton joint venture fields, which host the Monsoon and Typhoon gold deposits in the southwestern parts of the gold arc, further increasing exploration options.
Monsoon hosts 600,000 tonnes at 0.8 g/t gold for approximately 17,000 ounces of gold, mostly in the inferred category, while Typhoon hosts an estimated 300,000 tonnes at 1.9 g/t gold for approximately 16,000 ounces of gold.
The two projects currently represent modest, early-stage resources, totaling approximately 33,000 ounces of gold. However, they also represent defined gold mineralization located in the southwestern extension of the gold arc, which may be important in future structural and mineral mapping interpretations.
In addition to the company’s growing gold story at the Gawler Craton project, the south-central zone of Marmota’s tenement package includes a number of paleodrains, including the Muckanippie discovery in 2025, which has delivered outstanding heavy mineral sand results.
Bonanza catches include 37 meters from just 2 meters carrying 45 percent heavy minerals, while 5 meters contain 56 percent heavy minerals; an exceptional maximum heavy mineral grade of 63 percent is also reported.
The ore zone covers an area of approximately 3.2 km by 1.8 km and remains open. It is housed in a palaeochannel that extends for approximately 28 km during its tenure, which belongs entirely to Marmota.
The discovery follows the company’s review of the 2024 SA Geological Survey interpretation and was supported by adjacent results from Petratherm Minerals, which revealed outstanding titanium signatures.
Petratherm’s results were recorded on ground covering part of the same 28 km long trend paleochannel as during Marmota’s tenure.
The discovery of heavy mineral sands proves that Marmota is an important second string to commodity diversification at Gawler and is located relatively close to transport infrastructure.
Interestingly, Marmota also has well-established uranium in its portfolio, in addition to the Gawler Craton gold and titanium sand deposits.
The company’s flagship Junction Dam uranium project is located 50 km west of Broken Hill in the Olary region of South Australia, placing approximately 325 km east/southeast of Marmota’s Aurora Tank gold deposit.
Its base surrounds part of the Yarramba paleochannel and is immediately adjacent to Boss Energy’s Honeymoon in situ recovery (ISR) uranium project.
ISR is a widely used method of extracting certain soluble source materials from various types of porous and permeable rock formations by pumping solvents into the ground to dissolve the source minerals. The pregnant solution is then drawn to the surface for further processing.
Junction Dam contains a historic JORC inferred uranium oxide resource of 5.4 million pounds averaging 557 parts per million (ppm) in the Safran deposit.
The resource was first discovered by Marmota in 2011 with an initial estimate of 4.36 million tonnes and was subsequently refined and improved following additional drilling in 2012-2013.
While the inventory has remained unchanged since then, the company still maintains its Exploration Target of 22-33 million pounds of uranium oxide graded between 400-700 ppm, including adjacent prospects.
Bridget and Yolanda, located next to the Saffron deposit, are additional uranium prospects within the tenure of the Junction Dam. First identified and partially drilled in the early 2010s, these resources formed part of the original Exploration Target, but were never developed to full resource status due to deteriorating market conditions in 2014. Neither possibility is included in the current uranium resource figure of 5.4 million pounds.
With uranium prices back in demand and close to established infrastructure, Marmota is preparing to restart exploration at the site to expand the resource.
The uranium side of Marmota remains a strategic, non-core asset, with priority given to gold and titanium in the Gawler Craton. However, given its proximity to the Honeymoon Well, the project offers a clear advantage.
Late 2025 has been transformative for Marmota, thanks to Greenewood’s game-changing results and the appointment of titanium and mineral sands expert Richard Stockwell to advance the Muckanippie discovery. The company has further strengthened its technical firepower with the addition of experienced metallurgist Paul Richardson as Gawler gold project manager.
Additionally, the first Gawler gold scoping study in November evaluated a 1 million tonnes per annum heap leach project with a mine life of more than 7 years, with completion targeted for the current quarter.
A significant $15 million corporate placement a week ago set the tone for the start of the year, with renewed funding to accelerate resource growth drilling, study progress and further exploration.
The growing high-grade gold cluster in the Gawler Craton is taking shape, the rapidly emerging titanium sand discovery is adding product depth, and the leveraged uranium option is on the sidelines; Marmota is preparing to transition from explorer to true multi-asset developer.
As drilling, studies and resources ramp up through 2026, the company looks well positioned to continue building momentum in one of Australia’s most underexplored but increasingly proven mining regions.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
