Novo Resources Corp. (TSX: NVO) has commenced a +20,000 m AC drilling programme at the company’s flagship Becher Project, located in the northern sector of the Egina Gold Camp in Western Australia.
The Becher Area (E47/3673, wholly-owned by Novo) contains multiple high-priority orogenic gold targets under shallow cover in the highly prospective, yet under-explored Mallina Basin. Becher is located ~28 km to the west-southwest of De Grey Mining Limited’s Hemi deposit, along an interpreted gold-fertile corridor and only 2.5 km south of their recent Withnell South discovery.
“We are very excited to have recommenced drilling at our flagship Becher Project, as we embark on a targeted +20,000m follow-up programme for this quarter,” Executive Co-Chairman and Acting CEO. Mike Spreadborough, said.
“Importantly, results from our 2022 drill programme have confirmed the right geological indicators for discovery success and we believe there is significant prospectivity in the Becher area.”
Novo’s 2022 drill programme proved to be extremely successful on several fronts:
- The location and tenor of gold assay results from drill sampling have provided confidence in the fertility of the interpreted regional structural corridors;
- Multi-element analysis of bottom-of-hole AC drill samples revealed intrusion-related “sanukitoid” signatures, which are known hosts to gold mineralization elsewhere in the district;
- The distribution of pathfinder elements such as arsenic, antimony and tungsten (amongst others) defined vectors which have helped finesse understanding on the controls on gold mineralization; and
- The realisation that the cover sequence is shallow (generally less than 10m) and is less consequential than expected, is of particular note.
All of these findings have considerable influence in targeting and prioritizing the 2023 drill programmes.
Final results have also been received for 1.0m split samples sourced from 4.0m composite samples in the reverse circulation (RC) and AC drilling completed in 2022. The new results closely mirror intercepts from previously reported composite samples and include high grade assays of as follows:
- 1.0 m @7.27 g/t Au from 9m (F0632) at the intersection of the Irvine and Heckmair trends;
- 1.0 m @3.1 g/t Au from 17m (F519) at Whillans; and
- 1.0 m @4.27 g/t Au from 17m (F1393) at Bonatti
New results also highlight potential for Intrusion Related Gold (IRG) mineralization at Irvine South and this concept is supported by highly anomalous Au-Cu results and associated pathfinder elements (Au-Ag-Cu-Bi-Mo-Sb) in AC on the most southerly line drilled in 2022. The presence of a strong magnetic target, coincident with the edge of current drill coverage and its location immediately west of the Becher epithermal vein system, provides further support for this possible target style.
The current AC programme will test multiple high-priority structural and intrusion-hosted gold targets, which appear similar to De Grey’s Mallina Gold Project. These targets have been defined by significant gold and pathfinder anomalies in an area of approximately 20sq. km, delineated in anomalous structural corridors at the Heckmair, Irvine and Whillans prospects.
Additional targets are also emerging from partly completed reconnaissance drilling at Lowe and Bonatti. A minimum of 20,000m of AC drilling will be conducted as part of the programme, which commenced in mid-April 2023 and will be completed in June 2023.
For further information please visit: https://novoresources.com/
