Marmota Delivers Outstanding First Assays from Greenewood Discovery

Marmota (ASX: MEU) has reported the first assays from the maiden drilling program at its Greenewood gold discovery in South Australia.

The results returned thick, high-grade intersections close to surface, including 24 metres at 12 grams per tonne gold from 20m downhole.

Greenewood lies just 35 kilometres from the company’s flagship Aurora Tank deposit, creating the potential for significant operational synergies.

Strong Intersections Close to Surface

The highlight result included spectacular grades of 38g/t over 4m and 20g/t over 12m, confirming the presence of bonanza-style mineralisation.

These intersections are particularly significant given their shallow depth, supporting the potential for lower-cost open-pit development.

Hole 25GWRC094 returned 28m at 5.6g/t gold from 24m, with internal high-grade zones of 4m at 29g/t gold and 8m at 4.4g/t gold, while additional intercepts such as 4m at 10g/t gold from 20m and 12m at 4.1g/t gold from 60m further reinforce the strength of the system.

These results represent only the first batch of assays, with samples from 52 holes still pending.

The early delivery of such grades suggests that subsequent assays could expand both the scale and continuity of mineralisation.

Positioning in the Gawler Craton

Greenewood is part of the Golden Moon joint venture, where Marmota holds a 90% interest through subsidiary Half Moon, and lies on the north-west flank of the Gawler Craton—a geological province renowned for hosting high-grade deposits.

The discovery sits within the so-called “Arc of Six,” a cluster of deposits that includes Aurora Tank, Golf Bore, Campfire Bore, Mainwood and the Challenger mine just 30km away.

Marmota now controls every unmined deposit in this arc, positioning the company as the dominant gold explorer in the district.

This consolidation provides Marmota with the ability to coordinate exploration, development and eventual production strategies across multiple deposits, maximising economies of scope and scale.

Economies of Scale and Scope

The close proximity of Greenewood to Aurora Tank strengthens the potential for shared infrastructure and streamlined development pathways.

Aurora Tank has already produced multiple bonanza-grade intersections and demonstrated excellent metallurgical recoveries, making it a strong candidate for low-cost heap leach production.

By advancing Greenewood alongside Aurora Tank, Marmota could build a multi-deposit production base within a single operational hub—an approach that reduces capital intensity while improving the predictability of gold output.

The strategic value of Greenewood is therefore not only in its standalone grades but in its ability to enhance the economics of the broader Gawler Craton gold portfolio.

Exploration Growth Opportunities

Greenewood had seen only about 7,000m of drilling before Marmota’s entry, and none since 2018.

Much of the mineralisation remained open, with numerous shallow untested targets.

A geological review by Dr Kevin Wills earlier this year highlighted multiple opportunities for extensions along strike and at depth, now validated by the latest results, which show thicker and higher-grade intersections than those reported at the time of discovery.

The mineralised corridor extends for more than 500m and remains open in multiple directions, providing Marmota with a pipeline of targets for follow-up drilling.

With assays pending for more than 50 holes, the company anticipates further confirmation of the scale of the system.

Important Strategic Step Forward

Executive chair Dr Colin Rose said the assays represented an important step forward for the company’s gold exploration strategy.

He further emphasised that the early results already exceeded expectations and confirmed the geological model developed prior to drilling.

“Marmota is delighted with the first batch of Greenewood assays already arriving that are yielding stunning thick gold intersections, so close to surface,” Dr Rose said.

“With 52 holes still incoming, our Gawler gold program is making great progress in every respect, with further gold updates shortly on the way.”

The company sees Greenewood now joining Aurora Tank and Campfire Bore as discoveries delivering bonanza-style grades as a “new paradigm for growth”.

Titanium Appointment Expands Expertise

Marmota has also strengthened its technical capability by engaging mineral sands geologist Richard Stockwell of Placer Consulting to advance its titanium discovery at Muckanippie.

Mr Stockwell, a fellow of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists with 25 years’ industry experience, will lead planning for follow-up drilling, geo-metallurgical characterisation and resource estimation.

He has played a role in the discovery and development of several world-class mineral sands deposits across Australasia and Africa.

Commenting on the engagement, Mr Stockwell said the high heavy mineral grades and broad intercept widths placed Muckanippie among the most significant new titanium discoveries globally, adding that he looked forward to working with Marmota in South Australia’s emerging titanium-rich province.