Marmota drill blitz targets 2km-long SA gold strike

Marmota Limited looks set to light the fuse again near its shiny new Greenewood gold discovery in South Australia. A major reverse circulation (RC) drilling campaign is set to begin next week, testing what the company believes could be a “massive” southern extension.

The program will zero in on Mainwood, 500m southwest along-strike from Greenewood, where Marmota will be drilling the zone for the first time.

The company has mapped out a projected 220 holes for 20,000 metres of drilling, which has the potential to extend the combined mineralised trend to at least two kilometres, encompassing both targets.

Marmota says the required fuel has arrived on site and its field crew has already mobilised from Adelaide to prepare drill pads, tracks and sumps ahead of the rig beginning the first holes.

The company’s push into Mainwood has been driven by a handy tailwind. In late February, Marmota reported a second batch of standout results from its maiden Greenewood drilling, pointing to a near-continuous, high-grade system that still remains open in all directions.

The top three intercepts from that batch of results included 44 metres assaying 2.3 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 16m, featuring 4m at 16g/t gold.

The second hole hauled in 4m at an eye-catching 18g/t gold within a broader stretch of 36m, going 3g/t gold from 64m, while the third hole jagged 32m at 3.2g/t gold from 56m, including 4m at 24g/t gold.

Those thick, high-grade zones helped shape the new drill plan, especially where Marmota’s deeper holes intersected strong mineralisation beneath the shallow 2017 drilling completed by previous owners.

Marmota figures a similar story could play out to the south around Mainwood, which has seen only limited drilling since its initial discovery and has not been subject to further investigation since 2018.

We are delighted to get this program underway. This program serves two primary roles: (1) to continue the growth of the main Greenewood zone, which has been yielding spectacular results and remains open in all directions; (2) to vigorously attack the southern zone (Mainwood) with our maiden drilling program there.

Both Greenewood and Mainwood form part of Marmota’s Golden Moon joint venture in which the company holds a 90 per cent interest. The ground is strategically positioned within the company’s broader Gawler Gold project.

The two prospects lie 35 kilometres northwest of Marmota’s flagship Aurora Tank gold deposit and 30 kilometres northeast of the historic Challenger gold mine, which produced an estimated 1.2 million ounces of gold between 2002 and 2018.

Marmota says 70 per cent of the planned holes will probe the Mainwood zone, while the remainder of the program will tighten coverage and extend to Greenewood as part of the company’s future resource estimation.

If the southern along–strike step-out towards Mainwood proves to be anything like Marmota’s Greenewood discovery, the punters will likely see some lively news flow.

Either way, with the rig set to arrive on site shortly and a two-kilometre-long gold runway in the crosshairs, there’s a good chance the new Mainwood program could potentially power the next take-off and keep Marmota’s Gawler Craton excitement rolling.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au