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Murray Ward
Australian Gold and Copper has delivered a spectacular polymetallic intersection from its Evergreen project in NSW’s highly endowed South Cobar basin, with a 16-metre drill hit returning 2.3 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, 70g/t silver, 1.4 per cent copper and a combined 12.2 per cent lead-zinc from 112m.
The stunning reverse-circulation (RC) hole was sweetened by multiple high-grade zones, including a 6-metre core running at 5.2g/t gold, 157g/t silver and a combined 27.9 per cent lead-zinc from 116m. Adding to the intrigue was a separate, copper-rich two-metre kicker grading a hefty 6.2 per cent copper from 123m.
The same hole also produced a shallower intercept of 6m assaying 2g/t gold, 20g/t silver and 0.9 per cent copper from 84m, demonstrating multiple mineralised lenses over more than 220m of strike at the Hillston mineralised zone within Evergreen. Separately, the main Evergreen mineralised zone has been defined over more than 500m of strike.
The results form part of the company’s drilling campaign, targeting the high-grade Western Discovery zone at the company’s South Cobar project, as it builds towards a maiden resource estimate for the Evergreen deposit. The standout hole was specifically targeted up-dip and south of a previous discovery hole that returned a 17-metre intercept grading 5.3g/t gold, confirming the system has legs.
′ The high-grade western discovery zone remains open along strike and at depth.′
Australian Gold and Copper managing director Glen Diemar
Other notable assay results from the first 18 holes of the 21-hole, 2593-metre RC program add weight to the discovery, showing it is far from a one-hit wonder. One hole returned 9m running 1.6g/t gold and 58g/t silver from 90m, including a higher-grade 5-metre section going 2.4g/t gold and 94g/t silver. Nearby, a further interval yielded 6m grading 1.4g/t gold and 53g/t silver from 95m, featuring a one-metre section of 5.7g/t gold and 202g/t silver.
Australian Gold and Copper also reported new assays from previously unsampled historical diamond drill core. A standout hit returned a 7-metre slice of 3.1g/t gold and 18g/t silver from 100m, including a 0.7-metre snippet at a solid 5.9g/t gold. The project sits within a sprawling 2600-square-kilometre landholding in a region known for its world-class deposits.
Australian Gold and Copper managing director Glen Diemar said: “This is an exceptional hole. The combination of 6m at 5.2g/t gold, 157g/t silver, 1.0% copper and 27.9% lead-zinc, followed by a copper-rich interval of 2m at 6.2% copper, is an outstanding result at such shallow depths. The high-grade western discovery zone remains open along strike and at depth.”
Australian Gold and Copper says its approach is to use broad-spaced drilling to establish the scale of the mineralised system before tightening its focus on the richest and widest zones. The strategy has already served the company well at its Achilles discovery, just 30km away, where an initial 38.5-million-ounce silver-equivalent resource was defined in 2024, with a hefty 58 per cent in the stronger indicated category.
With regulatory approvals now in hand for a third phase of drilling at Evergreen, the rods will be turning again later this quarter. Management says a higher-capacity RC rig is scheduled to arrive to test extensions to the high-grade zones it has just uncovered. In addition, an induced polarisation geophysics survey is underway at the nearby Mount B target, with results pending.
Rounding out the portfolio, 230 km to the south, the company holds the Junee project, adding a pure-gold play to its growing stable of precious and base-metal assets. Notably, Australian Gold and Copper remains well-funded to continue its exploration push, with a healthy $5.9 million in cash and no debt as of the end of September.
The Evergreen discovery is shaping up to be a significant one for the company. The latest volley of high-grade, polymetallic results from shallow depths confirms a robust mineralising system that appears to remain open along strike and at depth.
With a maiden resource estimate for Evergreen on the horizon, assays from three RC holes still pending and a bigger rig on its way to chase the system deeper, Australian Gold and Copper looks likely to give punters plenty of newsflow to watch out for.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
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