OWNERSHIP
100% Navarre Minerals
COMMODITY
Gold
LOCATION
237km North-West
of Melbourne, Victoria
GEOLOGICAL PROVINCE
Cambro-Ordovician Stawell Zone of the Lachlan Fold Belt
PROJECT STAGE
Advanced Exploration
Navarre’s Stawell Corridor Gold Project (incorporating the Irvine and Langi Logan gold projects and five other prospective targets) captures 60 kilometres of a multi-million-ounce gold zone, stretching southwards from the Magdala Mine in the township of Stawell..A 40km section of exposed basement rocks within this ‘Corridor’ has yielded over six million ounces of gold in two multi-million-ounce goldfields – the Stawell and Ararat goldfields. The southern extension of the Stawell Gold Corridor beyond the historical goldfields is concealed by cover which has likely hindered historical efforts, but makes the location a prima candidate for Navarre’s unique exploration techniques.
The mineralisation model for the Stawell Gold Corridor is based on the 4Moz Magdala gold deposit in Stawell where primary gold mineralisation occurs proximal to the margins of large basalt dome structure. The basalt structures are rigid and do not deform as much as the surrounding sediments. Deformation of these rocks leads to the creation of voids where the contrast in rock properties is greatest, allowing quartz veining and gold mineralisation to form around the basalt margins.The largest gold mine along the Stawell Gold Corridor is Stawell’s Magdala Gold Mine which has been producing gold from a deposit that has a surface footprint of 900m and has been mined to depths of more than 1,600 metres below surface for in excess of 30 years. The Magdala gold deposit has contributed more than 4 million ounces of the total 5 million ounces of gold produced to date from the Stawell Goldfield.Navarre is advancing its recent gold discoveries at the Irvine Gold Project (Resolution and Adventure lodes) and the Langi Logan Gold Project towards a potential multi-million-ounce gold inventory. Based on initial high-grade gold drilling successes, exploration has been prioritised for further shallow drilling at the Langi Logan Gold Project in order to scope its potential contribution toward a maiden mineral resource estimate for the Stawell Gold Corridor.
Irvine Gold Project
The Irvine Gold Project is located 20 kilometres south of the Stawell Gold Mine and was identified in 2015 from mapping, sampling and geophysics (NML ASX release 12 June 2015).
The Project occupies the north end of the Ararat Goldfield, which is estimated to have produced approximately one million ounces of gold mainly from alluvial and deep lead production during the period 1854 to 1925.Production of primary hard-rock gold from the Ararat Goldfield was relatively modest in comparison to the endowment of the alluvial deposits, and is one of the reasons why Navarre chose to search for economic primary gold mineralisation near the richest alluvial gold deposits.In June 2017, Navarre completed its first season of drilling, testing the potential for the Irvine Gold Project to be an analogue of the multi-million ounce Magdala gold deposit. The program targeted the primary reef source to approximately 1 million ounces of alluvial gold production mined during the 19th century on the Ararat Goldfield and resulted in the discovery of the Resolution Lode . In December 2017 Navarre made its second discovery of significant oxide gold mineralisation within a 1.7km long quartz structure subsequently named Adventure Lode, approximately 4 kilometres south of the Resolution Lode on the Irvine basalt dome. In 2018, a follow-up RC drilling program was completed at Adventure Lode testing the mineralised structure to 120m below surface. The drilling confirmed four high grade gold shoots, with two of the shoots remaining open at depth (Figure 6). The pattern of gold distribution at the Adventure Lode has similarities to the 4.0Moz Magdala Gold Mine at Stawell , while Adventure and Resolution lode structures remain open at depth.
Langi Logan Gold Project
The Langi Logan Gold Project is the next major basalt dome target south of the flagship Irvine Gold Project.
These targets have been identified based on multiple coincident anomalies, including gravity, gradient array induced polarisation (GAIP) plus several significant, historical drill intercepts.Over 120,000 ounces of alluvial gold was historically mined from the nearby Cathcart Central and New Langi Logan shafts. Although the source of the alluvial gold is uncertain, it occurs in close proximity to the Langi Logan basalt dome which the Company believes is an encouraging sign for the occurrence of a potential Stawell-style gold deposit.Navarre commenced its maiden first-pass AC drilling at Langi Logan in November 2018 (see NML ASX release of 20 November 2018) and has subsequently delivered multiple high-grade gold intersections, with individual assays up to 33.6 g/t gold (see ASX announcements of 11 December 2018, 30 January 2019 & 12 February 2019).
