Marmota (ASX: MEU) has reported a second batch of assays from its maiden drilling program at the Greenewood gold discovery in South Australia’s Gawler region, returning grades of as much as 24 grams per tonne gold and intercepts of up to 44 metres.
The Stage 2 results have delivered wider intersections and high-grade gold across the discovery, outlining a near-continuous mineralised system that remains open in all directions.
The latest assays feature 44m at 2.3g/t gold from 16m downhole including 4m at 16g/t gold, and 36m at 3.0g/t gold from 64m including 4m at 18g/t gold.
Other highlights were 32m at 3.2g/t gold from 56m including 4m at 24g/t gold, and 32m at 2.0g/t gold from 72m including 4m at 12g/t gold, reinforcing the continuity and thickness of mineralisation across the system.
Stage 2 Outperforms Historical Drilling
Prior to Marmota’s maiden program, approximately 7,000m of historical reverse circulation (RC) drilling had been completed at Greenewood up to 2018, with several holes failing to reach the deeper mineralised zones.
Historical holes drilled in 2017 stopped short of mineralisation that Marmota subsequently intersected, including 36m at 3g/t gold from 64m downhole.
Similarly, another hole drilled in 2017 ended at 42m and appeared barren, whereas Marmota’s extension of that hole returned 32m at 3.2g/t gold from 56m downhole, demonstrating the importance of deeper drilling.
The company will commence a major follow-up RC drilling program in March aimed at extending the discovery to the south into the Mainwood area and potentially increasing the strike length to around 2km.
Growing Strike and Continuity
Greenewood has expanded to an approximately 900m-long zone of near-continuous mineralisation following the maiden program.
The program has delineated multiple high-grade shoots, including earlier Stage 1 results of 33m at 10g/t gold from 22m downhole and individual 1m splits up to 109g/t gold from 26m downhole.
The deposit remains open along strike and at depth, with mineralisation featuring bonanza-grade intersections close to surface and at both ends of the system, supporting further expansion potential.
Marmota had previously conducted a review under the supervision of Dr Kevin Wills that identified numerous open sections of shallow untested mineralisation with the potential for substantial extensions.
Strategic Position within Gawler Arc
Greenewood is located around 35km north-west of Marmota’s flagship Aurora Tank gold deposit and approximately 30km north-east of the company’s Challenger Gold Mine.
The company recognises the obvious economies of scale this proximity offers and plans to exploit them as it advances its portfolio of assets in the region.
The deposit forms part of the Golden Moon joint venture, in which Marmota holds a 90% interest through its wholly owned subsidiary Half Moon Pty Ltd.
Marmota owns all of the unmined gold deposits along its Gawler gold project arc either outright or at 90%, and recently commenced a maiden scoping study covering its broader Gawler gold assets.
