North Stawell Minerals has confirmed the extension of gold mineralisation across its Darlington and Caledonia prospects in Victoria, revealing the potential for repeats of multi-million-ounce mineralisation at Stawell.
The targets sit within a gold-prospective corridor just six kilometres north of the Stawell Gold Mines operation, beneath a thin blanket of unmineralised sediment.
The regional exploration program was designed to test the northern and southern strike extensions of a high-grade gold zone previously hit during deep diamond drilling.
Results from the fresh holes have been delivered, returning numerous anomalous gold intercepts that align perfectly with the company’s regional geological models.
At the Darlington prospect, drill holes NSAC0630 and NSAC0632 successfully tracked the southern extension of the system, returning six metres at 0.5 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 39 metres, and three metres at 0.57 g/t gold from 27 metres.
These intercepts match up with a known structural trend displaying strong geological similarities to the historical, high-grade Mariners Lodes mined at Stawell.
Testing along Darlington’s northern flank also showed encouraging continuity, alongside an individual intercept of three metres at 1.13 g/t gold earmarked for priority follow-up.
Two kilometres further north at Caledonia, drilling confirmed the broader 3.6-kilometre Darlington-Caledonia mineralised trend, which was originally defined by high-resolution soil sampling.
Notable results included a broader intersection of nine metres at 0.62 g/t gold from 33 metres, and a higher-grade intercept of three metres at 1.49 g/t gold from 51 metres, both associated with significant quartz veining.
North Stawell Minerals Executive Director and Head of Exploration Bill Reid said the shallow data continues to reinforce strong geological parallels with the historic Stawell field.
“Each new layer of geological information continues to reinforce the parallels we are drawing in geology, mineralisation style, grade distribution and structural setting with the historic Mariners Lodes at Stawell,” Reid said.
“The targets remain open in all directions, and we are eager to advance follow up drilling and other geological activity to build on this momentum.”
The company will use these shallow results to refine its geological targets ahead of deeper diamond drilling campaigns across the tenement package.