Proposed Work Program approved for EL6870 

Overview
 
Exploration Licence 6870 is located in the Stavely Arc, western Victoria and is prospective for porphyry, volcanic massive sulphide and epithermal copper-gold mineralisation. EL6870 is located adjacent to the Company’s existing tenement portfolio in the Stavely region, where the Company made a discovery in 2019 of a high-grade structurally copper-gold-silver mineralisation – the Cayley Lode. In addition, the Company has been aggressively exploring the Thursday’s Gossan copper-gold porphyry prospect targeting a world-class porphyry discovery.

Below is an outline of the proposed exploration program for the five- year tenure of EL6870.

Year 1
 
Early – stage exploration will be conducted with the objective of selecting exploration targets during the first year of tenure. The first step will be to identify and engage with the local landholders in the area. 

​Exploration activities will include the compilation and review of historical open file data and available geoscience datasets. An airborne gravity gradiometer survey has been undertaken to cover the entire tenement. 

​First pass exploration targets have been identified from the gravity data in conjunction with other available geoscience datasets, historical open file data and field reconnaissance.

​Reconnaissance aircore drilling will be conducted to test the priority exploration targets. Access agreements and consent to drill notices will be signed with the relevant landholders prior to the aircore program commencing. The drill sites will be rehabilitated as soon as it is practicable.

A portion of the aircore drilling is part of the TARGET Grant agreement. Aircore drilling at the S4 and Nekeeya prospects on EL6870 will be co-funded by the TARGET grant. The location of these prospects is shown in the Figure below.

The S4 prospect is a geophysical target in an area of basalt cover. A historic drill hole in the area did intersect basement with sericite – chlorite – epidote alteration with pyrite veins in a tuff was observed in aircore chips.

 The Nekeeya prospect is located near the southern boundary of a 4km x 4km buried intrusion of probable Cambrian age, within the Dryden segment. Owing to Tertiary-age basalt cover, surface geochemical samples haven not previously been collected. 

Further north, the same intrusive complex hosts polymetallic gold-silver-zinc-lead-copper veins at the Morning Bill (formerly Glenlyle) prospect and, due to a recently delineated 1,100m x 400m IP chargeability feature, is actively being explored by Navarre Minerals. 

The NNW-trending Mehuse Fault, likely controlling the polymetallic epithermal veins at Morning Bill, appears to extend south into EL6870. Stavely Minerals plans to complete 44 aircore holes at Nekeeya. 

The first phase of aircore drilling at Neekya is scheduled to commence in November 2021 in areas of grazing. The second phase of drilling has been scheduled for February 2022 once the crops have been harvested. The drill chips will be supplied to the Victorian Geological Survey Core library.

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Year 2
 
During the second- year, follow-up work on the priority targets generated from exploration during the first year was conducted. This aircore drilling is part of the TARGET agreement Milestone 2.

The first phase of reconnaissance aircore drilling on regional targets on EL6870, which was part of the TARGET Grant Milestone 1, has been successful in identifying a number of targets which are highly prospective for follow-up drilling.

The aircore drilling at the S29 and S41 targets identified a dacite porphyry in which chlorite gave way to strong silica-sericite alteration with weak pyrite in the gravity highs and in the gravity lows, coarse porphyritic andesite and sandstones with clay alteration were intersected. The information to date indicates that these targets could represent a zoned porphyry-related hydrothermal system in which a core silica-sericite altered intrusion complex passes to marginal wall rock hosted argillic alteration. Evidence to date suggests this hydrothermal system might be related to a NW oriented intrusion, of possible dacite composition.

The S29 and S41 prospects are considered to be high priority for follow-up in-fill aircore drilling to target any mineralised intrusions likely to occur in the centre of the three dimensional- zoned hydrothermal system.

  
Stavely geologists have identified and prioritised 19 regional targets for follow-up reconnaissance exploration. While the known prospects in the Stavely Volcanic Belt are partially exposed in a small window of sub-crop extending over ~20km of strike, the vast majority (~95km) of the prospective volcanic belt segments are hidden under younger cover.  While some of these targets have been known for some time, most of the regional targets have had very little, if any previous exploration. 

To date the regional targeting methodology has successfully identify ‘blind’ targets under basalt and transported cover with a success rate of around 80% of drill holes intersecting quartz veining / alteration / sulphides to date.

The S41 and S29 targets were tested during the 2023 summer field season. S41 is a gravity low with the dimensions of 3.0km by 2.3km beneath Tertiary basalt cover in the Elliot Segment of the Stavely Volcanic Arc. 

The drill sites have been rehabilitated.  

The Company will continue to engage with the landholders to obtain access over the areas of interest as well as keeping the broader community informed of exploration activities.

The drill chips will be supplied to the Victorian Geological Survey Core library.

Year 3 
 
During the third year, the exploration program will be determined by the results returned by previous exploration. For some of the exploration targets in-fill aircore drilling will be conducted and for other targets diamond drilling will be undertaken. The drill sites will be rehabilitated as soon as it is practicable.  If warranted ground geophysics or in-hole geophysics will be conducted.   

The aircore drilling at the S41 target provided sufficient encouragement to warrant testing by a diamond drill hole. This drilling has been scheduled for the second quarter of 2023. This diamond drilling is part of the TARGET agreement Milestone 3.

The Company will continue to engage with the landholders to obtain access over the areas of interest as well as keeping the broader community informed of exploration activities.

​Diamond drilling is part of the TARGET agreement. The core from the TARGET funded drill holes will be provided to the Victorian Geological Survey Core library.