Exploration has taken off at Strata’s Biranup project. Pic: Getty Images
Strata Minerals launches field work in hunt for next Tropicana at Biranup gold project
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- Strata Minerals begins ground exploration activities at its Biranup gold asset
- The Black Dragon and Red Dragon prospects in particular warrant further investigation
- +100g/t Au rock chips previously recorded at Black Dragon
- Preparations for maiden drilling at Penny South are also underway
Special report: February is shaping up to be a busy month for Strata Minerals as field work activities get underway at the Biranup gold project, next door and along trend of the five million ounce Tropicana mine in WA.
The Black Dragon and Red Dragon prospects have been identified as high-priority gold targets following a strategic review and based on prior work carried out by previous explorers.
Strata Minerals’ (ASX:SMX) Biranup project straddles the boundary between the Tropicana Zone to the north and the younger Biranup Zone to the south within the northern Albany-Fraser Orogen.
Black Dragon and Red Dragon form part of the NAFO, a ~100km-long and 20km wide gold corridor that follows a >250km long gravity structure interpreted as a deep-seated basement fault.
The discovery of the Tropicana deposit in 2005 dramatically changed the perception of the gold prospectivity of this poorly outcropping belt with many ASX explorers following suite in hopes of finding the next big discovery.
Today, over 35 orogenic and intrusion-related gold occurrences are known, including three distinct gold mineralising events (Tropicana, Hercules and Voodoo Child).
Gold bull market in 2025?
Analysts reckon a gold bull market could be on the cards in 2025 following record high gold demand numbers in 2024, up 1% to 4974t.
Gold prices are also continuing their winning streak, with prices surging to a new record of US$2871.15/oz on Wednesday, creating a healthy market environment for juniors to carry out exploration programs and get drill bits spinning for discoveries.
Previous gold-focused programs completed by AngloGold Ashanti – the majority owner of the world class Tropicana mine – and Ventnor Resources consisted of mainly shallow aircore holes, with most of them targeting the Black Dragon and Red Dragon prospects.
But overall, much of the project area remains untested.
Exploration underway and preperation for drilling
SMX managing director Peter Woods said the company is eager to see what its geological team can discover on the ground at Biranup.
“We hope to verify some of the historical results which will assist with planning our next phase of works at the project,” he said.
It comes with the explorer generating major buzz for its drilling to the south of the ultra high grade Penny gold mine at its Penny South project
“Preparations for the maiden drill program at the Penny South project is also underway and due to begin in only a few weeks’ time.”
This article was developed in collaboration with Strata 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.
