Marmota set to drill new high-grade South Aussie gold deposit
Only around 7000 meters of RC drilling has been carried out at the Greenewood mine since its discovery in 2016 by Tyranna Resources as part of the larger Jumbuck project, which aims to find another deposit similar to the Challenger gold mine in the Gawler Craton.
Tyranna’s drilling built on its initial shallow discovery, which outlined early high-grade hits including assaying 53 g/t gold over 1 m over a wider interval of 14 m for 6 g/t gold.
Greenewood’s proximity to the Challenger deposit has long been a major driver of local exploration.
Considering Greenewood also for its proximity to the company’s lucrative Aurora Tank deposit and three adjacent Golden Moon JV gold deposits, the grouped deposits point to the potential for strategic and operational efficiencies across the company’s arc of five known gold deposits surrounding a Y-shaped gravity feature in the region.
The five deposits, from west to east, include the company’s Mainwood, Greenewood, Campfire Bore, Golf Bore and Aurora Tank deposits at various rating levels. Marmota has a 100% stake in Aurora Tank and a 90% stake in the Golden Moon JV field.
The company’s Aurora Tank deposit is currently the most advanced gold project in Marmota’s Gawler Craton portfolio, supported by metallurgical testing studies demonstrating strong gold recoveries and low capex heap leach potential.
Work has begun on the Phase 1 mining plan for the Aurora Tank; Block modeling has been completed and the initial resource estimate will be completed shortly.
Importantly, the company’s five-bed arc extends southwestwards to include Barton Gold’s Challenger mine.
Challenger’s 650 ktpa carbon-in-pulp gold processing plant for the production of gold doré is an important factor in the local strategy equation not only for Marmota but also for other players in the immediate region.
Barton says the Challenger mine is not currently a priority given the need for significant investment to update the geological understanding of the deeper levels of the deposit.
But more importantly, the Challenger gold facility offers a unique opportunity to process gold from other projects near the site and also offers an attractive option for trucking and processing ore from Barton’s Tarcoola gold project in 2017 and 2018.
Given its current plans for a low-capital heap leach operation, such an option may not be on Marmota’s radar for a while.
However, if the company’s emerging projects develop further, the Challenger processing plant could be a worthy competitor for pricing and a game-changer in Marmota’s future plans, if only temporarily while other irons heat up in the fire.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
