Tartana Minerals Ltd. has commenced its first drilling program at the Nightflower silver project in Far North Queensland since 2008, marking the end of an 18-year hiatus for the asset.
The project forms a core component of Tartana’s broader base and precious metals portfolio in the region. Mobilisation of a truck-mounted drill rig was expedited following the recent completion of a Conduct and Compensation Agreement and initial site-access works.
The current campaign primarily targets polymetallic silver-lead-dominant mineralisation across the historically defined Digger Lode system. The Digger Lode hosts a conceptual Exploration Target ranging from 2.75 million tonnes at 364 grams per tonne silver equivalent at the lower bound and up to 5.36 million tonnes at 270 g/t AgEq at the upper bound.
In tandem with drilling preparations, Tartana executed extensive field reconnaissance and rock-chip sampling across both the Digger Lode and the nearby Terrace Lode to the south, which has remained undrilled since 1990. Laboratory assay results from these surface samples remain pending.
“Commencing drilling at Nightflower is an important milestone for Tartana and follows the work undertaken over recent weeks to finalise land access and get our team and drill rig onto site,” said Tartana Executive Chairman Sonny Didugu.
“Nightflower has not been drilled since 2008 despite the scale of the previously reported exploration target at Digger and the historical workings extending through the broader project area.
“Our immediate focus is on testing the Digger Lode and building our understanding of the system through drilling, field mapping and sampling.”
Tartana plans to integrate the incoming drill and assay data with historical exploration records to sequence the next phase of development across the project.
This approach is consistent with Tartana’s current broader exploration strategy of systematically assessing its portfolio before committing capital to larger drilling programmes.