Novo Resources (TSX:NVO) has reported an exploration update from the ongoing drilling program in the Becher Area of the Egina District in Australia. The program includes systematic regional aircore drilling including more than 650 holes for 16,500 m of  > 30,000 m program completed so far with a deeper RC drilling program intended to follow-up significant aircore results and test discrete targets.

The programs are in progress and testing high-priority structural and intrusive-related gold targets. The initiative was begun after two heritage surveys were recently completed at the Becher area. The aircore drilling at Becher complements the surface soil anomaly at Nunyerry Norther, about 80 kilometres south of Becher within the same district. The drill program will continue through the end of 2022 and into 2023.

Dr. Quinton Hennigh, Non-Executive Co-Chairman of Novo Resources commented in a press release: “Our first aircore drill results have yielded strong gold results at the Becher Area, indicating that the Whillans and Irvine shear zones are indeed prospective for deposits similar to those at De Grey’s adjacent Mallina project. Aircore drilling, a means of rapid, shallow drilling widely used across Australia as a first pass means of testing new areas for mineralization, is proving highly effective at Becher. Several large-scale anomalies are emerging, the largest of which is 650m across and situated along the southern Irvine shear zone. Alteration assemblages, lithologies, geochemical associations and size of these mineralized areas are similar to those observed in other nearby large gold discoveries. Although we have lots more drilling to complete and results to come in, the anomalies suggest that deeper drill testing is required.”

Highlights from the results are as follows:

• Standout gold results have been intersected on the southern Irvine Shear corridor including 20 m @ 0.67 g/t Au, as part of the current aircore drilling program at the high priority Becher Area in the Egina District.
• Over 650 shallow aircore holes for 16,500 m of the > 30,000 m program have been completed.
• The aircore program will test multiple structural and intrusive targets along a series of significant mineralized corridors, some interpreted to extend to De Grey Mining Limited’s (“De Grey”) Hemi gold deposit within the Mallina gold project (“Hemi”).
• Several additional quartz veined, large-scale sericite-silica-sulphide alteration zones have been identified from drilling across the Irvine and Whillans Shear corridors, with assays pending.
• Deeper reverse circulation (“RC”) drilling will commence in November 2022, designed to follow-up significant aircore results and test discrete drill targets within the Becher Area.
• Numerous targets have been enhanced or newly identified from a recent high resolution aeromagnetic and radiometric survey, coupled with detailed ground gravity surveys which have advanced structural interpretation and geological understanding.
• Two heritage surveys were recently completed, enabling infill and extensional aircore drilling traverses and RC drilling to be completed for the remainder of 2022 and first half of 2023.
• Initial results from the Becher Area, combined with previously reported results from Nunyerry North1, reconfirm potential for the Egina District to be a standalone gold production hub.

EGINA DISTRICT

Becher Area

The Becher Area (northern E47/3673, 100%-owned by Novo) contains multiple priority orogenic gold targets in the highly prospective and under-explored Mallina Basin. The area is located ~28 km to the WSW of De Grey’s Hemi gold deposit2. Novo’s interpretation of a series of significant shear corridors, including the ENE trending Irvine and Bonatti Shears (part of the regional Wohler Fault using GSWA 1:100,000 scale mapping nomenclature) and the EW trending Whillans and Heckmair Shears, is key to delineating these newly defined targets.

The current > 30,000 m aircore drilling program commenced in early September 2022, with over 650 holes for 16,500 m completed to date. 16 regional traverses at approx. 640 m line spacing and 25 m hole spacings have been completed along the Irvine Shear and Whillans Shear, with the opportunity to infill to 320 m spaced lines now possible given the recently completed second heritage survey on E47/3673. Drilling was designed as part of a large-scale systematic targeting program, supported by recent high resolution geophysical data sets, in conjunction with field mapping and sampling and research of all relevant historical data1.

Aircore drilling is best suited to areas with abundant cover or oxidation, easily drilling through unconsolidated or saprolitic material testing for gold and pathfinder element (arsenic, antimony, bismuth, tellurium, etc.) anomalism to identify broader zones of geochemical dispersion.

A minimum of 30,000 m of aircore drilling has been planned for 2022, however Novo expects this to be exceeded. The program will test four shear corridors and numerous sanukitoid targets, as well as antimony-arsenic-gold soil anomalies defined by previous explorers.

Results have been received from the first assay batch of 4 m composite samples analysed by PhotonAssay for the southernmost drill lines on the Irvine Shear Corridor (Figure 5). Four zones for infill aircore drilling have been identified from geological logging and current assay return. 1 m split samples and multielement assays are pending for anomalous drill holes.

Best intercepts include:

• 6 m @ 0.15 g/t Au from 24m (A0028)
• 12 m @ 0.16 g/t Au from 12m (A0029)
• 8 m @ 0.22 g/t Au from 4m (A0033)
• 20 m @ 0.67 g/t Au from 0m (A0034); examples of the chips from this zone are shown in Figure 5
• 12 m @ 0.24 g/t Au from 0m (A0035)
• 6 m @ 0.21 g/t Au from 24m (A0038)

Refer to Appendix 1 below for a complete list of assay results. True widths cannot be estimated at this time.

Nunyerry North

The geology of the Nunyerry North target area includes quartz vein-related gold mineralization within a sequence of ultramafic komatiites and mafic rocks, juxtaposed by regional shears and offset faults. Novo’s exploration licence 47/2973 is 70%-owned, with the remaining 30% held by Mark Creasy and entities controlled by him.

A significant high-order gold soil anomaly at Nunyerry North now extends over 1.4 km of strike, with a second 1.2 km long soil anomaly at > 30 ppb gold defined south of the main target. Rock chip sampling returned peak high-grade results from quartz veins including 8.81 g/t Au, 7.39 g/t Au and 1.23 g/t Au1. Further detailed mapping has defined additional swarms of quartz veins and specimen gold has been detected in the main target area1.

Follow-up work planned includes heritage surveys and logistics for road access in preparation for drilling in 2023.

Source: Novo Resources