Drilling at Telstra Hill and Mt Carlton United confirms gold-silver-copper grade and continuity for Navarre Minerals

Assays from ongoing resource definition and exploration drilling at the Telstra Hill and Mt Carlton United deposits within Navarre Minerals’ (ASX: NML) recently-acquired Mt Carlton operation in north Queensland have confirmed strong grade and geological continuity.

Results from an additional six reverse circulation and 20 diamond core holes for 2458 metres of drilling across both deposits returned “outstanding” gold-silver-copper intercepts to reinforce the shallow, high-grade mineralisation and highlight the prospectivity of the broader project area.

Two rigs were employed to infill and extend the known limits of the gold-silver-copper mineralised systems across both deposits.

Telstra Hill drilling

Telstra Hill is located approximately one kilometre northwest of the Mt Carlton processing facility and is interpreted to be an intermediate sulphidation epithermal gold-copper-silver system hosted within the same rhyodacite volcanic package as Navarre’s producing V2 deposit.

Drilling of nine holes for 1597m confirmed Telstra Hill’s potential to provide supplemental mill feed at Mt Carlton.

Highlights included 6.2m at 13.5 grams per tonne gold and 1.5g/t silver from 17.8m; 4m at 2.4g/t gold and 3.2g/t silver from 38m; and 1m at 5.2g/t gold and 16.4g/t silver from 14m.

Mt Carlton United results

Mt Carlton United is an intermediate sulphidation epithermal system which extends in an east-west orientation and has a similar characteristic to V2 with the mineralisation structurally controlled and hosted in the same rhyodacite volcanic unit.

A total of 17 holes were completed for 1864m with best intercepts of 8.7m at 4.6g/t gold, 27.7g/t silver and 0.3% copper from 98.9m; 5.1m at 5.3g/t gold, 94.9g/t silver and 0.8% copper from 21.9m; 4m at 2.9g/t gold, 83.6g/t silver and 0.4% copper from 31m; and 18m at 1.4g/t gold and 84.2g/t silver from 20m, including 5.0m at 1.9g/t gold and 203.7g/t silver from 33m.

Navarre anticipates the drilling results will inform an updated resource estimate for both deposits which is expected to be published by mid-2023.

Complementary resource

Managing director Ian Holland said the latest results point to a complementary resource for the Mt Carlton operation.

“These high-grade results from Mt Carlton United and Telstra Hill continue to demonstrate the project development opportunities present on the Mt Carlton mine lease,” he said.

“It is pleasing that our ongoing investment in exploration and resource drilling is delivering on our strategy of defining new satellite mineral deposits within short trucking distance to the mine [and] we also see significant potential to expand our satellite mineral inventory with key targets including Crush Creek and other regional prospects.”