Source : THE AGE NEWS
By Andrew Todd
Important high-precision testwork on intercepts from Marmota Ltd’s Aurora Tank gold project in South Australia’s Gawler Craton has delivered a dramatic 73 per cent increase in gold grades from a previously reported 1-metre assay of 50 grams per tonne (g/t) to a staggering 87g/t gold.
The bulk leach extractable gold (BLEG) testwork was designed to provide confidence for upcoming resource estimation for the project and to check against the “nugget effect”, whereby a drill hole can intersect a nugget of gold and report unrealistically high grades for the overall resource block.
The precision analysis reaffirms management’s belief the project possesses continuous high-grade gold potential and enhances its chances of becoming a low-cost, high-grade future gold producer.
High-grade gold results at Marmota’s Aurora Tank gold project in South Australia’s Gawler Craton.
The BLEG testing was conducted on a standout 7m interval grading an impressive 14g/t gold from just 31m downhole, reported last November. The intercept included a 1m section – 32m–33m downhole – that graded 50g/t gold using a standard fire assay.
The BLEG results significantly outperformed the initial fire assay findings, returning an average grade of 87g/t, with individual results ranging from 72g/t to a peak of 94g/t.
“Companies that are lucky enough to get such high grades are sometimes reluctant to re-test them.”
Marmota executive chairman Dr Colin Rose
Marmota says its decision to re-test the interval using the more expensive BLEG analysis has provided a massive boost of confidence for other high-grade results at the project, including previous assays up to 217g/t gold. The company can now confidently conclude minimal nugget effect is occurring for economic studies underway and the project’s future viability.
The company says it collected a substantial 23.4-kilogram sample from the interval and subdivided it into five separate BLEG tests, which all returned consistent high-grade results.
Marmota executive chairman Dr Colin Rose said: “Companies that are lucky enough to get such high grades are sometimes reluctant to re-test them, particularly if there is a nugget effect that caused the high grade in the first place. Marmota has re-tested the highest 50g/t sample from the November 2024 announcement, using the high precision large sample BLEG technique – not just once – but by taking the entire sample bag, and subdividing it into five fresh samples.”
Marmota believes the validation of higher grades positions Aurora Tank as a bumper development opportunity. With plans already underway for resource modelling and additional feasibility studies, the company says it is moving closer to becoming the next low-cost gold producer in the world-class Gawler Craton, in a gold environment that can only be described as booming.
The company’s broader vision for the project includes low-cost, open-pit gold mining at Aurora Tank and its emerging nearby Campfire Bore gold deposit, which is also supported by high-grade, near-surface gold mineralisation.
Previous standout results at Aurora Tank of hits – alongside the 7m intercept above now grading at a substantial 19g/t gold – include a 5m hit at a massive 27g/t gold including a 1m interval of 105g/t from 38m and 3m at 72g/t gold, which included 1m at a whopping 197g/t.
Marmota is no one-trick pony at its massive Gawler Craton project, which impressively features a second emerging discovery of shallow, titanium-rich heavy mineral sands uncovered late last year.
The latest heavy mineral sands discovery at Muckanippie adjoins the western end of neighbour Petratherm’s heavy mineral sands project. Petratherm’s share price has increased more than 20 times since the discovery and market pundits are calling the region the latest critical titanium sands district, thanks to its stunning high grades.
A paleochannel at Muckanippie has been identified as the source of the high-grade heavy mineral sands and has prompted Marmota to kick off an urgent 89-hole follow-up drilling program on its ground to quickly and cost-effectively establish a resource at its project as the region gains market recognition.
As Marmota prepares to commence further drilling and resource modelling at Aurora Tank, the company’s strategic positioning in South Australia’s Gawler Craton, combined with surging gold and titanium prices, puts the company in an enviable position that very few junior explorers ever experience – the potential of having two economically viable projects in two surging commodities on the one project.
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