Navarre Minerals awarded government grant to drill new target at Mt Carlton gold-silver-copper project
Navarre plans to test its Southeast IP target with up to four 350m deep diamond core holes.
Navarre Minerals (ASX: NML) has been awarded an exploration grant by the Queensland Government to complete diamond core drilling at a new target within its wholly-owned Mt Carlton gold-silver-copper project.
The $132,175 grant will support drill testing of the Southeast induced polarisation (SE IP) priority target located 1.4 kilometres southeast of the Mt Carlton processing mill, with a footprint potentially larger in scale than the adjacent 1-million-ounce V2 gold-silver-copper open pit mine.
The grant was offered under the government’s Collaborative Exploration Initiative and will reimburse Navarre up to 100% of direct expenses incurred as part of its 10,000-metre large orebody discovery exploration (LODE) program including diamond drilling costs and commercial laboratory assaying expenses.
Competitive process
Navarre managing director Ian Holland said the grant was offered following a competitive application process.
“I would like to thank the Queensland Government and specifically the Department of Resources for this initiative in supporting mining and exploration companies such as Navarre with important mineral exploration throughout the state,” he said.
“We look forward to drilling our first holes at SE IP and other promising exploration targets identified at Mt Carlton sharing the results from this exciting phase of work.”
Largest and most intense anomaly
The SE IP target is the largest and most intense coincident chargeability and resistivity anomaly identified from reprocessing and interpretation of legacy geophysical data inherited by Navarre when it completed the “transformational acquisition” of the Mt Carlton mine in December 2021.
Multiple generations of data over significant areas of the 815-square kilometre tenement package included various magnetic, gravity, radiometric, electrical and hyperspectral surveys as well as abundant drilling and geochemical information.
SE IP is reported to be a standout target untouched by exploration drilling or historical mining activity.
The elongate northwest-trending anomaly is interpreted to be a tabular zone of sulphide-rich silica veining or silicification hosted within a flat lying rhyodacite package.
Navarre plans to test SE IP with up to four 350m deep diamond core holes.