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Murray Ward
Aureka Limited has had its big exploration potential reaffirmed at the company’s Irvine gold project in Victoria, with a renowned geologist flagging a hefty target of between 236,000 and 545,000 ounces of gold. The fresh target is in addition to the project’s existing 398,000-ounce inferred JORC resource and sits just 16 kilometres from the world-class 5-million-ounce Stawell gold mine.
The geological interpretation, completed by respected independent consultant Dr Barry Murphy, provides Aureka with a renewed exploration framework and a swag of well-defined targets to chase with the drill bit.
The news comes as gold continues to push higher and Victoria’s own mining industry body talks up a bigger production pipeline through to 2035, underscoring a clear-eyed punter focus on new discoveries in the state.
Dr Murphy’s work integrated high-resolution magnetics and induced polarisation data to map the project’s complex plumbing. It confirmed several major north-west-trending faults control the local geology and, importantly, it identified numerous cross-cutting faults that appear to be directly associated with known mineralisation. A new understanding of the structural complexity appears to be a significant step change for targeting, giving the company greater confidence as it homes in on new discovery opportunities.
‘Barry’s work highlights the unexplored potential of this gold-rich geology.’
Aureka Limited maanaging director James Gurry
The total exploration target is broken down into two categories. Advanced targets, based on along-strike continuity from known mineralisation, account for a potential 1.33 million to 2.66 million tonnes (Mt) grading between two and 2.3 grams per tonne (g/t) gold for 85,000 to 197,000 ounces of gold.
A further suite of conceptual targets representing extensions to historic mines or areas with limited exploration could hold between 2.35Mt and 4.7Mt at similar grades for an additional 151,000 to 348,000 ounces of gold.
Aureka says that despite 59km of drilling at Irvine since its discovery in 2017, the geological framework and definitive controls on mineralisation are still in their infancy, suggesting a big opportunity remains.
Dr Murphy is a heavyweight in the field with 40 years of experience and a track record that includes geological interpretations that led to the discovery of the colossal 5.5-million-ounce Bankan gold project in Guinea whilst working with Predictive Discovery.
Aureka Limited managing director James Gurry said: “Barry’s work highlights the unexplored potential of this gold-rich geology and at the same time gives us a means by which we can identify credible targets to test with our on-going drill programs and grow the Irvine gold project to its full potential.”
The work at Irvine makes up part of Aureka’s savvy two-pronged strategy. While it chases the big company-making prize at Irvine, it is also advancing its smaller 56,500-ounce gold Comstock project, within the company’s broader St Arnaut gold exploration area, towards near-term production.
Notably, the company recently hit visible gold in drilling at Comstock, with assays pending, and has a toll-milling agreement in place with the nearby Wedderburn gold mill. Aureka says it plans to use the early cash flow from Comstock to help bankroll larger-scale exploration at its flagship Irvine play.
The company’s wider regional tenement holdings include the Jubilee gold project near Ballarat, the Morning Bill gold and base metals project along with critical minerals potential across the broader St Arnaud project area. The St Arnaud goldfield is a well-endowed region, with historical production records indicating that 400,000 ounces of gold were mined at a hefty average grade of 15g/t.
The Stawell corridor, where Irvine sits, is a hot address for gold explorers, with several nearby players such as North Stawell Minerals, 50 kilometres to the north, using similar geophysical techniques to sharpen their own targets, adding local validation to the style of geology being chased.
With a 398,000-ounce resource already in the bag at Irvine, assay results about to land from Comstock, a geological road map pointing towards a potential half-a-million more ounces and drill rods already turning to test the first of these new targets, Aureka appears to be positioning itself to make some serious noise in Victoria’s modern gold rush.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
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