Novo Resources Corp. (TSX:NVO) has begun a reverse circulation (RC) drill program focused on the Catia Prospect and the Edney’s Find Prospect at the Bellary Dome Project in South Pilbara, Western Australia. The company has identified Bellary as one of its priority target areas across its significant 10,500 sq km landholding in the Pilbara.

Mike Spreadborough, Novo’s Executive Co-Chairman and Acting Chief Executive Officer, commented in a press release: “The Bellary Dome Project is one of Novo’s priority areas across its significant 10,500 sq km landholding in the Pilbara. We are excited to get on the ground and start testing these highly prospective targets, that were identified during our previous field work program. We anticipate the programme will take four weeks, with results released as they are received. This is the first of several drilling programs Novo plans for its current season of exploration.”

Novo entered into an option agreement with Bellary Dome Pty Ltd in June 2020 to acquire the gold-only rights on E47/3555, while Bellary Dome Pty Ltd retains the rights to all other minerals and ownership of the tenement under the agreement. The area of structural uplift along the southern margin of the Pilbara Craton has been identified by both historic and more recent explorers as having significant gold targets.

Fieldwork carried out by Novo and historical exploration reviews completed in 2020/2021 highlighted several gold targets, with Catia and Edney’s Find prioritised for drilling. Catia is a structurally complex area comprising sulphidic quartz veins hosted in highly foliated basalt and sedimentary rocks. It hosts a network of shallow and steep dipping gold-rich quartz veins within a regional west-northwest trending shear zone.

Rock chips from reconnaissance mapping and sampling by Novo returned significant anomalous gold values, with peak results of 556 ppm Au and 117 ppm Au. Additionally, broad-scale carbonate, silica, and sulphide alteration has been identified across all stratigraphic units at Bellary.

Soil sampling completed in 2021 by Novo highlighted a coherent bullseye Au-Ag-Pb-Sb anomaly in the immediate vicinity of the Catia vein system. It also identified a significant soil anomaly 700m further east-southeast from the prospect along what is interpreted as a continuation of the Catia Shear.

The commencement of the RC drill program is a positive development for Novo as it aims to further explore the gold potential of the Catia and Edney’s Find prospects at Bellary. Novo’s 10,500 sq km landholding in the Pilbara continues to be a priority target area for the company as it seeks to uncover new sources of gold.

Exploration for gold at Edney’s Find, a conglomerate-hosted gold occurrence located in Western Australia, is gaining momentum as Novo Resources, a Canadian exploration company, plans to drill several short holes to test the area’s gold endowment.

Edney’s Find has been explored by various companies since the 1970s and is known for its significant historical and recent prospector activity. The area boasts of dry-blowing spoils, historic pits, and a small shaft, all of which indicate the presence of gold.

The region is dominated by Bellary Formation sediments, which comprise arkosic sandstone, quartzite, shale, and conglomerate. The conglomerate is clast-supported and has clast sizes that vary from pebble to cobble size. Furthermore, zones of the conglomerate show disseminated buckshot pyrite, up to 10mm in diameter.

Novo’s efforts have been fruitful, with a peak gold value of 36.4 ppm Au recorded in a trench rock chip sample in 2020. As a result, the company plans to drill several short holes to further test the gold endowment of the conglomerate.

Exploration in the region has been ongoing for several decades, and previous work includes mapping, surface sampling, trenching, and drilling. The conglomerate’s unique characteristics, combined with the region’s history of gold mining, have piqued the interest of explorers.

Highlights from the announcement are as follows:

• The Bellary Dome Project is one of Novo’s priority areas across its significant 10,500 sq km landholding in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
• A 3,000 m reverse circulation drill program has commenced at the Catia Prospect, part of the Bellary Dome Project.
• Highly prospective gold mineralisation at Catia is structurally controlled and quartz vein related.
• High-grade gold results returned from rock chip sampling in 2021 include peak results of 556 ppm gold and 117 ppm gold.
• Step-out drilling will test the strike potential of the Catia Trend for 700 m along strike, under cover to the east of the Catia Prospect main target.

Results referred to in this news release are not necessarily representative of mineralisation throughout the Bellary area.

The above references an opinion and is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a licensed professional for investment advice. The author is not an insider or shareholder of any of the companies mentioned above.