ASX-listed Marmota (ASX: MEU) is gearing up for major drill campaigns at two of its key assets in South Australia where it is targeting gold at its new Golden Moon joint venture (JV) project, in addition to uranium at Junction Dam.
According to a letter to its shareholders today, the company expects to kick off drilling within the next three weeks, with the first cab off the rank to be decided on whichever site receives an initial clearance.
In April, management revealed plans to grow its gold resources through the completion of the Golden Moon partnership with private company, Coombedown Resources that covers two tenements holding four individual deposits combining for a resource of 7.82 million tonnes at 1.14 grams per tonne gold for 286,000 ounces. The two bigger deposits are Campfire Bore with 2.78 million tonnes at 1.2g/t gold for 109,000 ounces and Golf Bore comprising 3.79 million tonnes going 1g/t for 119,000 ounces.
Greenewood and Mainwood make up the balance of the resource with 46,000 ounces and 12,000 ounces, respectively.
Golden Moon sits within shouting distance of Marmota’s flagship gold operation at Aurora Tank, which has previously delivered multiple hits of more than 100g/t from near the surface, including highlights of 1m at 217g/t gold from 118m. Marmota says it has already designed a drill program for Campfire Bore where it hopes to create economies of scale to complement the nearby Aurora Tank.
But it is not only gold that has management’s interests piqued in SA, with drill programs also set to test several high-priority uranium targets at its Saffron prospect in a 164-hole campaign planned as part of the company’s reboot for its Junction Dam project. The known Saffron deposit hosts an inferred resource of 5.4 million pounds grading 557 parts per million uranium oxide and it has previously delivered impressive drilling results including peak assays as high as 12,310ppm and 8465ppm.
Importantly, Junction Dam sits in the same paleochannel as Boss Energy’s massive Honeymoon uranium project that features a mineral resource of 36 million pounds grading 660ppm uranium oxide. The Jasons deposit at Honeymoon already hosts a JORC-compliant resource of 6.2 million tonnes at 790ppm for 10.7 million pounds of contained uranium oxide.
Highlights from Boss’ recently-completed drilling program at Jasons, which sits close to Junction Dam, returned a 3m hit at 3221ppm uranium oxide from 105.5m, 6m going 1278ppm from 100.5m and 3.25m grading 1509ppm from 104.5m. Junction Dam has an exploration target of between 22 million and 33 million pounds at 400ppm to 700ppm.
Marmota also recently announced plans for a 114-hole drill campaign to test two distinct geological formations for uranium at its Bridget prospect. Designed by uranium expert Mark Couzens, who conducted a full technical analysis of the stratigraphy and mineralisation at Junction Dam back in November, the Bridget drill campaign will include 64 holes at the central target to test both the Eyre and the Namba formation paleochannels.
A further 46 holes will test regional extensions to the central Bridget uranium mineralisation, with four holes planned in areas of interest where only sparse drilling has been completed previously at a part of the prospect that features favourable geology.
With the market for its two key commodities in gold and uranium currently enjoying remarkable highs, Marmota may well have timed its upcoming drill campaigns to perfection.
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