Greenewood Drilling Program Grows to 12,500m with 139 Holes Planned

Program Expansion Signals Confidence

Marmota Limited (ASX, MEU) has announced a significant expansion of its maiden drilling program at the Greenewood gold discovery, increasing the planned drilling from 10,000 metres to approximately 12,500 metres. This move reflects the company’s growing confidence in the prospectivity of the Greenewood zone, which forms part of the Golden Moon joint venture with Coombedown Resources.

Originally planning 127 drill holes, Marmota has now increased this to 139, with 61 holes already completed in July, covering over 5,100 metres. The drilling team is maintaining a steady pace, averaging around 284 metres per day, and the program is expected to continue for another four to five weeks. This accelerated activity underscores the company’s commitment to rapidly advancing its exploration efforts.

Strategic Location Within Gawler Gold Project

Greenewood is strategically located about 35 kilometres northwest of Marmota’s flagship Aurora Tank gold deposit and approximately 30 kilometres northeast of the Challenger Gold mine. The Greenewood/Mainwood gold deposits extend over a two-kilometre strike, with the current drilling focused solely on the Greenewood zone. Marmota holds a 90% interest in the Golden Moon JV, having recently secured ministerial consent for title transfers, clearing a key regulatory hurdle.

The Greenewood area has seen limited drilling historically, with only 8,245 metres of prior work, mostly shallow and insufficient to fully test the deposit’s potential. Marmota’s expanded program more than doubles the total reverse circulation drilling metres at Greenewood, aiming to unlock a clearer picture of the deposit’s size and grade.

Favourable Market and Project Fundamentals

The timing of this expanded drilling is notable given the current gold price environment. At approximately A$5,200 per ounce, gold prices have tripled since the last drilling campaign at Greenewood in 2018, significantly enhancing the economic potential of any discovery. This backdrop supports Marmota’s strategy to build a pipeline of adjacent gold deposits within its broader Gawler Gold project, which also includes the high-potential Aurora Tank deposit and other nearby gold rights.

Marmota’s Executive Chairman, Dr Colin Rose, highlighted the company’s progress, noting that the Greenewood program complements ongoing production-related studies at Aurora Tank. The proximity of these deposits offers potential operational synergies and economies of scale, which could be pivotal in advancing the project towards development.

Looking Ahead

While assay results from the current drilling campaign have yet to be released, the expanded program and steady drilling progress position Marmota well to deliver meaningful updates in the coming months. Investors will be watching closely for indications of resource growth and the potential to integrate Greenewood more fully into the Gawler Gold project’s development plans.