Maiden drilling program by Battery Minerals intersects visible gold at White Rabbit

Graphite-gold play Battery Minerals (ASX: BAT) reports visible gold in a diamond hole at its White Rabbit project on the Stawell Gold Corridor of Victoria.

The company moved into gold and Victoria in 2020 as a means of diversifying its portfolio, until then heavily weighted to graphite.

Battery Minerals says the drilling results from the current maiden diamond drill program indicate the company is on the track of an intrusion-related gold (IRG) system.

Just 12km from White Rabbit lies the privately owned 6 million ounce Wonga IRG deposit.

The company also notes another notable IRG deposit is Pogo with 8Moz in Alaska, operated by Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST).

‘Compelling’ drill target

Battery Minerals is drilling the Coxs Find, Frankfurt and Cosmopolitan prospects at White Rabbit.

It reports that drilling has defined zones of sheeted quartz-sulphide veins and disseminated sulphides with features consistent with an IRG system.

One drill hole returned visible gold.

Ongoing geophysical survey work in the main Coxs Find prospect has, the company notes, defined “robust” coincident chargeability and resistivity anomalies.

These have defined a “compelling” drill target down dip from strong surface anomalism with up to 420 grams per tonne gold in rock chips.

This will be tested in the next drill hole of the program.

Located close to multi-million ounce mines

Battery Minerals acquired the Victorian project in October 2020.

The licence contains the historic Moyston mine which produced 75,000 oz of gold at an average 22g/t.

It is also 7km from the historic Stawell gold mine which produced 5Moz of gold.

The 721 sq km project covers more than 40km strike of the Stavely volcanics as well as 65km strike length along the Stawell Gold Corridor.

Need to understand the geology

Air-core drilling results are due mid-June, the diamond drilling ones in late June, and geophysical survey results will be available by early July.

Battery Minerals says it proposes to focus its exploration program on understanding the under lying geology, and then from that generate drill targets through ground and airborne geophysical surveys as well as using geochemistry through soil and rock sampling.

Battery Minerals also has a $7.4 million investment in London Stock Exchange-listed Tirupati Graphite (LSE: TGR), an integrated graphite and graphene producer with operations in Madagascar and India.