Navarre Minerals hits ‘significant’ high-grade gold zone at Irvine project

Navarre Minerals (ASX: NML) has intersected high-grade gold mineralisation at the Resolution Lode, part of the Irvine gold project in western Victoria, where it hopes to confirm a fine-grained, Stawell-style gold orebody.

The company diamond drilled four-holes for 1,137m from surface to 200m depths targeting extensions to the primary gold mineralisation at Resolution Lode.

Highlights from drilling included a 10.6m intersection containing 6.2 grams per tonne gold from 135.7m downhole, including a 3.3m segment at 16.9g/t gold from 143.0m, and a 1.9m segment with 5.2g/t gold from 136.2m.

A second hole, which featured visible gold in the intercept contained 10.8m of 3.8g/t gold from 244.1m downhole, with a feature segment of 1.8m at 6.4g/t gold from 253.1m and a 4.6m interval comprising 6.2g/t gold from 244.1m. A third intersection had 3.8m of 3.3 g/t gold from 107.1m downhole, including 1.5m at 4.2 g/t gold from 107.1m.

The campaign aimed to test for the presence of potential higher-grade gold-shoots below a blanket of lower grade shallow oxide gold mineralisation which Navarre described as “typical of the gold mineralisation zonation patterns observed in western Victoria, particularly at the Magdala gold deposit”.

Navarre today said the new drill results reinforced both the high-grade nature of the primary gold mineralisation and its inferred extent and continuity below the surface-oxide Resolution Lode gold discovery.

The company reported its now complete 2018 first-half campaign had been “successful in intersecting a significant zone of high-grade gold (or potential ‘ore shoot’) below the shallow oxide gold mineralisation (surface to 50m) discovered in previous air-core drilling”.

Navarre managing director Geoff McDermott said the latest assays had helped the company expand the potential of its discovery.

“The mineralised structure remains strong at depth with the two deepest holes drilled to date containing visible gold. The drilling is confirming a potential multiple ‘gold shoot’ type geometry typical of those mined at Stawell’s Magdala gold mine,” he said.

“Our confidence to deliver a maiden mineral resource at Resolution and Adventure lodes is growing as we plan for further drilling in the near future.”

As reported in Small Caps’ guide to the western Victoria mining province, Navarre hopes to develop its Irvine project into a multi-million-ounce gold deposit similar to the 4 million ounce Magdala gold project which is found nearby in Stawell, where the company is based.

Previous drilling under Navarre’s A$626,000 Victorian Government TARGET Minerals Exploration Initiative-boosted series of campaigns delivered high-grade intercepts at Resolution Lode prospect such as 18.7m featuring 7.1g/t gold from 196.3m and 4m at 9.8g/t gold from 72m in May 2017.

Navarre’s seven-hole 2017 drilling campaign highlighted another quartz-sulphide structure at Irvine, featuring 5m at 3.2g/t gold from 53m, including 2m at 3.8 g/t gold from 26m and 7m at 2.8g/t gold from 36m.

The company burned A$815,000 in the March 2018 financial quarter — and A$1.97 million in the first nine months of the 2017-18 financial year — ending March with $2.82 million on hand.

Navarre securities rose 2.41% to A$0.085 in late morning trade.