Navarre Minerals has secured an exploration licence over historical workings where drilling has returned a hit of up to 1,174g/t gold. Pic: Getty Images
Navarre secures historical Victorian goldfield with 1,174g/t gold hit
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Special Report: Navarre has been granted an exploration licence over the historical 400,000oz St Arnaud Goldfield that adjoins its existing ground in Victoria.
The new licence covers the majority of historical workings at the field – the second largest hard rock goldfield in Victoria’s Stawell Zone – and is enveloped by the company’s broader St Arnaud tenement package.
Navarre Minerals (ASX:NML) says the new licence offers the opportunity to follow up on legacy drill hits such as the eye-popping 1m at 1,174 grams per tonne (g/t) intercept made by Rex Minerals in 2008 under the New Bendigo Mine workings that was never followed up.
This acquisition comes on the heels of the company completing its acquisition of the historical, high-grade Jubilee Mine in central Victoria earlier this week.
The company is also looking to further expand its strategic footprint in this area with applications lodged for a further three exploration licences adjacent to the St Arnaud project.
“The granting of the tenement validates Navarre’s aggressive exploration program at a time of record gold prices and intense interest in the Victorian gold sector,” managing director Ian Holland said.
“The St Arnaud tenement package further strengthens the company’s hold over some of the most prospective ground in Victoria’s so-called Golden Triangle.”
Navarre is already preparing to kick off aircore drilling on the St Arnaud project in the current quarter once it completes first pass drilling at the Jubilee project.
Historical gold workings
The new St Arnaud Goldfield exploration licence includes historical workings along the Bristol, New Chum and Nelson lines of reef.
These reefs stretch over 5km and dive under the Murray Basin cover to the north, where Navarre’s drilling on an adjacent licence has identified gold and silver mineralisation extending for at least another 5km. This is great news as the Victorian Government’s ‘2009 Gold Undercover Initiative’, estimates a potential 38 million ounces of gold could lie undiscovered in the Stawell Zone north of the St Arnaud Goldfield.
Navarre noted the previous high-grade drilling results at St Arnaud have gained additional significance following the 2015 discovery of the high-grade Eagle and Swan ore bodies at Kirkland Lake Gold’s world-class Fosterville Gold Mine.
The Eagle – Swan zone contains visible gold-bearing mineralisation that has substantially increased Fosterville’s overall reserve grade, production profile and unit cost performance. The Swan orebody, alone, has contributed 532,000oz of gold at an average grade of 58.8g/t to the reserves.
Additionally, Navarre’s three new exploration licence applications covering the north-western and eastern sides of the St Arnaud Goldfield will increase the total area of the project by 1,156sqkm to 1,523sqkm.
These tenements are prospective for gold and silver mineralisation associated with several major thrust faults, which are believed to be conduits to transport high-grade gold and silver mineralising fluids.
Navarre recently appointed experienced geologist Harry Horvath to lead its regional exploration efforts, which includes the St Arnaud project.
This article was developed in collaboration with Navarre Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
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