Aureka says more drilling is now underway to chase extensions along these faults, with infill work targeting zones south of the current resource for an upcoming ounce upgrade.
Aureka Limited exploration manager Jozef Story said: “The successful intersection of additional high-grade mineralisation along the extrapolated Footwall vein, demonstrating approximately 135m of potential mineralisation strike length continuity between holes 47 and 48, and with further development of our geological understanding, has identified a new targeting opportunity for additional high-grade Foot Wall structures that are yet to be thoroughly assessed.”
Gold at Irvine occurs in sheared basalt and meta-sediments near the controlling Irvine Dome structure, mirroring setups in the region’s productive systems such as the 5.3-million-ounce Stawell gold mine just 16km north.
With quartz veins and sulphide zones boosting grades at the fault contacts, the program will continue probing the emerging mineralisation both along strike and at depth.
Aureka says its current step-out drilling is advancing, with the rig infilling key areas south of its Resolution deposits’ 304,000 ounces grading 2.43g/t gold to prepare for a resource update by year’s end.
The company’s exploration target of 280,000 to 420,000 ounces at 2–3g/t gold now appears increasingly reachable as its visible gold hits continue to flow.
Aureka also declared a maiden inferred JORC resource from historic drilling at its St Arnaud project in western Victoria earlier this year. The company says a fresh review of 120 historic holes from the previously mined Comstock open pit has transformed the picture, lifting its resource to 1.45 million tonnes at 1.2g/t gold. It means some 56,500 ounces are still sitting in the ground, giving the project a healthy second wind.
Adding the St Arnaud resource lifts Aureka’s global gold inventory in Victoria to 360,000 ounces.
With mineralisation open along strike and at depth and Aureka’s sharpened geological model identifying new high-grade areas at every turn, the results appear to be rapidly building serious in-ground ounces for the company.
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