Navarre Minerals builds mine potential with ‘outstanding’ hits from Mt Carlton United deposit
A highlight interval from Telstra Hill was 5m at 10.2g/t gold.
Drilling at Navarre Minerals’ (ASX: NML) Mt Carlton United deposit has returned “outstanding” high-grade gold, silver and copper hits.
The Mt Carlton United deposit is only 4km from the Mt Carlton mill and mining operation in Queensland that Navarre officially acquired late last year from Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN).
According to Navarre, drilling at Mt Carlton United has confirmed the “outstanding grade and continuity” of the gold-silver-copper mineralisation.
This was the first drilling program at the deposit since Navarre acquired the operation last year.
Notable results were 2m at 22.9 grams per tonne gold, 402.2g/t silver and 0.2% copper; 4m at 18.7g/t gold, 162.4g/t silver and 0.1% copper; 4m at 4.4g/t gold, 254g/t silver and 4.2% copper; 2m at 11.3g/t gold, 1,327.5g/t silver and 0.3% copper; and 7m at 8.5g/t gold, 192.2g/t silver and 2.2% copper.
Assays are from 71 holes for 5,451m of drilling that was completed at Mt Carlton United in the March quarter.
“These outstanding shallow drilling results, returned from our first drilling campaign under Navarre ownership of the Mt Carlton operation are extremely pleasing and represent and important milestone since transitioning to become a gold producer,” Navarre managing director Ian Holland said.
“Only 4km west of the processing facility, the gold-silver-copper mineralisation defined at Mt Carlton United has the potential to extend mine life at Mt Carlton.”
Mr Holland added the assays will underpin an updated resource estimate for Mt Carlton United, which is scheduled to be released in September along with updates for other deposits including V2, Telstra Hill and Crush Creek.
Mt Carlton acquisition
Navarre acquired Mt Carlton in December last year for $26.8 million in cash and $13.2 million shares.
In Navarre’s first quarter of ownership, payable metal production from the operation was 14,600 ounces of gold, 101,000oz silver and 610,000t of copper.
This generated net mine cash flow of $10.6 million for an all-in sustaining cost of A$2,083/oz.