Marmota (ASX: MEU) has expanded its maiden drilling program at the Greenewood discovery within the company’s Gawler gold project in South Australia. The reverse circulation scope of work has been upgraded from 127 drill holes for 10,000 metres to 139 holes for 12,500m, at average downhole depths of 90m. Marmota is a South Australian based gold exploration company, focused on proving up shallow, high-grade gold deposits close to its existing infrastructure. The company’s flagship Aurora Tank gold deposit has previously returned multiple bonanza grades of over 100 grams per tonne near surface in five different zones.
A total of 61 holes have already been drilled for 5,108m, with the drilling team currently averaging around 284m per day. The company expects the campaign will continue for another five weeks. Featuring more than 2km of strike, Marmota’s Greenewood/Mainwood gold deposit forms part of the Golden Moon joint venture, in which Marmota holds 90% equity through its subsidiary Half Moon, alongside private company Coombedown Resources.
The deposit is located approximately 30km north-east of the historical Challenger gold mine and 35km north-west of Marmota’s flagship Aurora Tank gold deposit. Marmota chair Dr Colin Rose said the proximity of the Gawler project to Aurora Tank creates “obvious economies of scope and scale” for the company.
Marmota received ministerial consent in June for the transfer of title relating to Golden Moon tenements EL5998 and EL6569. These tenements include four of the Arc of Six gold deposits along the flanks of a major Y-shaped gravity anomaly in the north-west Gawler Craton. The Arc comprises the Mainwood, Campfire Bore, Golf Bore and Aurora Tank discoveries, all owned by Marmota, and the Challenger mine, which produced over one million ounces of gold for 16 years from 2002.
