お知らせ • Jun 26
Novo Resources Corp. Provides an Update on Follow-Up Drill Programs At the Becher Project Which Is Part of the Egina Earn-In and Joint Venture with De Grey Mining Limited
Novo Resources Corp. provided an update on follow-up drill programs at the Becher Project, which is part of the Egina earn-in and joint venture (Egina JV) with De Grey Mining Limited. De Grey completed its maiden aircore (AC) and reverse circulation (RC) drill program at the Becher Project in Fourth Quarter 2023, testing the Heckmair and Lowe intrusions, and the Irvine and Bonatti shear corridors, with over 10,500 m completed. Significant results were returned from both the Lowe and Heckmair prospects, which have been deemed as priority prospects.De Grey has commenced follow-up programs, with ~28,000 m of combined AC and RC drilling planned through the use of two rigs. Assay results from these programs are anticipated in H2, 2024. The Egina Gold Camp is Novo’s highly prospective gold belt located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia and includes the priority Becher and Nunyerry North projects (Figure 1). This belt comprises a series of structurally complex, gold-fertile corridors, hosted by rocks of the Mallina Basin in the north and mafic /ultramafic sequences further south. These corridors trend towards De Grey’s 12.7 Moz Hemi Gold Project2 (Hemi) to the north and northeast.Novo’s tenure forms a contiguous package of approximately 80 km strike length directly along this trend and has been the main focus area for Novo’s exploration programs over the last two years, culminating in the Egina JV with De Grey and delineation of the Nunyerry North gold prospect. Novo’s early-stage reconnaissance work at Egina successfully identified the Becher Project as a highly prospective and high priority exploration target.Reconnaissance and exploration programs completed by Novo in 2021-2023 indicated both intrusion-hosted and structurally controlled gold mineralisation similar in nature to that described by De Grey at the Hemi deposit.De Grey completed over 10,500 m of AC and RC drilling in Fourth Quarter 2023, testing immediate drill-ready targets at the Lowe, Heckmair, Irvine and Bonatti targets. Significant assays were returned from RC drilling at Lowe and Heckmair, enough to warrant both prospects as priority targets for follow up in 2024. De Grey recommenced drilling in late May 2024, with two rigs concurrently conducting a proposed 28,000 m combined AC and RC program. The RC program has started at Heckmair and has been designed to follow up on encouraging results at Lowe, Heckmair, and Whillans. The AC program has commenced at Lowe and aims to provide better geochemical coverage over structural and intrusion targets (Figure 2). Lowe is located ~20 km WSW of Hemi. The prospect includes an interpreted 5.2 km long, synclinal layered sill, fractionated from pyroxenite at the base up to gabbro and diorite. It is substantially thicker on the northern side of the syncline and likely truncated by a fault and juxtaposed with altered metasediment to the south. A small RC drilling program of 10 holes (1,786 m) was completed by De Grey in late 2023. Drilling intersected mineralisation in two holes in what is interpreted to be the same structure (Figure 2). A key result of 8 m at 4.7 g/t Au from 97 m was intersected in hole MSRC0031, and 4 m at 0.6 g/t Au from 144 m was intersected in MSRC00323. Mineralisation is hosted within strongly foliated and sheared pyroxenite and gabbro with prominent sericite alteration, quartz veining and pyrite. A comprehensive, follow-up AC drilling program has commenced at Lowe, comprising 220 AC holes for ~11,000 m to test the western extension of the Lowe target stratigraphy (Figure 2). The 2024 RC program for Lowe comprises six holes for ~500 m targeting the contact between the sill and surrounding sediments and aims to confirm and extend significant intercepts reported in 2023. Interpretation of combined geophysical and geochemical data from AC drilling by De Grey in Fourth Quarter 2023 identified a 1.5 km long WNW-trending fault zone within the Heckmair intrusive body (Figure 3). The initial RC drill program testing this structure successfully intersected strong base metal results including4 (Figure 4): 10 m @ 0.12 g/t Au, 29.7 g/t Ag, 0.3% Cu, 1.5% Pb and 1.8% Zn from 40 m (MSRC0016) including 3 m @ 0.20 g/t Au, 59.8 g/t Ag, 0.9% Cu, 2.4% Pb and 2.2% Zn from 47 m, 24 m @ 0.2 g/t Au, 13.2 g/t Ag, 0.1% Cu, 1.0% Pb and 0.1% Zn in hole MSRC0017 from 105 m (MSRC0017) including 6 m @ 0.48 g/t Au, 20.8 g/t Ag, 0.2% Cu, 1.4% Pb and 2.8% Zn from 105 m. The best gold intercept from the RC drilling was 2 m at 2.8 g/t Au in hole MSRC0013. Nunyerry North is Novo’s high priority exploration target with significant prospectivity, located in the southern part of the Egina Gold Camp. Nunyerry North is part of the Croyden JV (Novo 70%; Creasey Group 30%). A ~4,000 m RC drill program commenced in late May following significant results from the maiden drill program which was completed in Fourth Quarter 2023. The program is testing multiple new targets along strike of known mineralisation and down plunge of existing intercepts. Drilling is proceeding to plan with the program expected to be completed in early July 2024. Assays are expected in late July. Post completion of drilling at Nunyerry North, Pilbara exploration drilling will shift to either AC drilling at the Balla Balla Gold Project or RC drilling in the Karratha District gold and gold-copper (+-platinum-palladium) targets dependent on the timing of heritage surveys and final approvals which are expected in late July 2024. Balla Balla is an emerging exploration project centred on the Sholl Shear and associated potentially fertile structural corridors undercover. The Project is considered prospective for intrusion-hosted gold mineralisation, in addition to structurally controlled gold. Geophysical interpretation and research of historical data completed in 2023 advanced the Company’s understanding of prospectivity in the project area and further delineated targets for follow-up work in 2024. A reconnaissance AC program is currently in planning for drilling in H2 2024. In the Karratha District, the maiden ~3,500 m RC drill program is planned to test three significant gold and gold-copper(+-platinum-palladium) targets at North Whundo, Railway Bore and East Well. AC drilling is utilised as a first pass technique testing for gold mineralisation and anomalous pathfinder geochemistry in basement rocks under cover. The drilling methodology is rapid and low cost, with a low impact footprint, enabling large systematic programs to be completed in a cost effective and timely manner. One metre AC drill samples are collected from the drill rig through a cyclone and placed on the ground in piles for geological quantitative and qualitative logging. These piles are then speared as four-meter composites. All AC chip samples are sent to ALS in Perth, Western Australia and each sample is dried, split, crushed and pulverised to 85% passing 75µm.