Marmota welcomes unexpected result from diamond drilling at Aurora Tank gold discovery

Marmota Ltd (ASX:MEU) has had a welcome early, although unexpected, result from diamond drilling at the Aurora Tank gold discovery in South Australia. Drillers at the project yesterday panned gold grains from loose sandy material in the core barrel while drilling one of the holes. What is even more encouraging is that the diamond hole, planned hole 6, is only 50 metres. Diamond drill program Marmota’s diamond drilling program of 14 holes for around 1,000 metres at a maximum depth of 200 metres, which kicked off in early July, is designed to provide detail on the project and advance it towards production. This includes the design of optimal pit walls, bulk density measurements required for completing resource estimations and scoping/feasibility studies and bulk samples to enable the final phase of metallurgical testing across weathering zones and different areas of the deposit. Diamond drilling is underway at Aurora Tank. To date, more than 43% of the diamond program has been drilled with what the company believes to be generally very good recoveries. The diamond drilling program is now expected to complete by late August, which allows for a likely expansion to the program. Jumbuck acquisition During the June quarter, Marmota made an outstanding $2.4 million cash payment to acquire Tyranna Resources Ltd (ASX:TYX, OTC:TYXXF)’s Jumbuck Gold Project, adjacent to MEU ground in the Gawler Craton. The Jumbuck Project more than doubles Marmota’s Gawler Craton gold exposure from around 5,000 square kilometres to more than 12,000 kilometres. With this hurdle achieved, it leaves only Ministerial Consent (for a subset of tenements) to enable completion. Planning activities for first work programs will kick off this quarter.  Uranium  The company's Junction Dam Project is 15 kilometres east from the Honeymoon in-situ recovery uranium mine.  MEU's board recently commenced a strategic review of its uranium assets to add value to shareholders.  The company is particularly well-placed for an upturn in the uranium sector and is watching this space with interest. Next on the agenda Marmota’s diamond drilling program at Aurora Tank is set to continue until August with a reverse circulation (RC) program to follow. The company's phase-2 Accelerated Discovery Initiative (ADI) saw the high-priority infill sampling of two strong gold-in-calcrete anomalies completed in May.  Both gold anomalies are in the tenements adjoining Marmota’s Aurora Tank gold discovery and adjacent to the same shear zone as the Aurora Tank gold discovery. Marmota is awaiting final biogeochemical assays, prior to selecting potential drill targets.