Northstone Resources Limited (ASX: NRL) has announced encouraging assay results from its infill drilling program at the Barje Deposit, a key part of its Tlamino Gold-Silver Project in southern Serbia. Northstone Resources Limited is an Australian-based ASX-listed gold and copper explorer with advanced exploration and development assets across Serbia and Australia. The company confirmed that results from 12 diamond drill holes, totalling 1,341 metres, are consistent with its existing geological interpretation. These assays affirm the continuity of gold-silver mineralisation within lower-grade sections of the 2021 resource model, a critical step towards the delivery of a maiden JORC (2012) Mineral Resource Estimate, which remains on track for the December 2026 quarter.
The infill drilling program specifically targeted the western zone and margins of the Barje deposit to bolster confidence in the resource model. Highlights from the announcement include 10.8 metres at 3.3 grams per tonne (g/t) AuEq from 68.0 metres in hole BAR056. This intercept supports the continuity of mineralisation along the margin of a previously identified high-grade central corridor. Other significant results feature 2.8 metres at 3.9 g/t AuEq and 3.0 metres at 3.3 g/t AuEq from BAR055, alongside broad zones of 19.9 metres at 1.2 g/t AuEq and 17.6 metres at 1.8 g/t AuEq from BAR059. Overall, these assays largely align with predicted positions, grades, and widths.
This latest batch of drilling results accounts for 31 of the 33 holes in the initial infill program. Furthermore, intercepts in holes BAR057 to BAR059, situated adjacent to the interpreted Barje Fault, indicate that mineralisation may extend further to the south, prompting ongoing follow-up diamond drilling. Northstone CEO Max Piirto stated that the infill drilling successfully built confidence in the resource model by intersecting mineralisation at predicted grades and widths. He added that modelling is now underway, with the maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate for Tlamino nearing completion as planned.
