Adavale Resources Limited has confirmed significant shallow gold mineralisation at its Victoria South Prospect, with historic drilling revealing bonanza grades up to 245.5g/t Au. These results suggest potential for a substantial extension of the existing 115,000-ounce London-Victoria gold resource.
- Historic drilling at Victoria South confirms shallow, high-grade gold mineralisation
- Bonanza grade intercept of 1m at 245.5g/t Au supports resource extension potential
- Victoria South lies directly along strike from existing 115koz London-Victoria resource
- Systematic drilling, metallurgical testing, and geophysical surveys planned to expand resource
- Regional greenfields exploration targets identified to complement near-mine growth
Historic Drilling Validates Victoria South Gold Potential
Adavale Resources Limited (ASX:ADD) has announced the validation of historic drilling data at its Victoria South Prospect, located immediately south of the London-Victoria Gold Mine in New South Wales. The review and compilation of near-mine drillhole datasets, including reverse circulation (RC), rotary air blast (RAB), and diamond drilling from the mid-1990s, have confirmed significant shallow gold mineralisation with bonanza-grade intercepts. Notably, a 1-metre intercept grading 245.5 grams per tonne (g/t) gold was recorded from 22 metres depth (hole KGC12), highlighting the prospect's high-grade nature.
These historic results align with surface geochemical anomalies and support the interpretation that Victoria South represents a direct southern extension of the existing London-Victoria mineralised system, which currently hosts a 115,000-ounce gold Mineral Resource. Other significant intercepts include intervals such as 17m at 1.53g/t Au and 13m at 2.25g/t Au, all at shallow depths, indicating a potentially sizeable near-surface gold footprint.
Strategic Importance Within the Parkes Gold-Copper Project
The Victoria South Prospect is part of Adavale's broader Parkes Gold-Copper Project situated within the Lachlan Fold Belt, a Tier-1 mining jurisdiction known for world-class deposits like Cadia Ridgeway and Northparkes. The prospect's location along the London-Victoria shear zone and its structural setting within an antiformal fold are consistent with the company's evolving geological model, which emphasises the role of shear zones and fold geometries in controlling gold mineralisation.
Adavale's Managing Director, David Ward, noted that the validation of historic drilling confirms the opportunity for resource growth along strike to the south of London-Victoria. Executive Chairman and CEO Allan Ritchie highlighted that these results reinforce the momentum across the Parkes Project, with multiple workstreams advancing to build scale at London-Victoria while unlocking new opportunities across the broader tenure.
Planned Work to Expand and Upgrade Mineral Resources
Following the historic data validation, Adavale is undertaking a systematic drilling campaign to expand and upgrade the existing mineralisation at London-Victoria and Victoria South. This includes ongoing reverse circulation drilling designed to support Mineral Resource growth and conversion. Complementary activities include preliminary metallurgical testing to assess gold recoveries and early-stage scoping studies to evaluate potential development pathways.
High-resolution airborne geophysical surveys, including drone magnetics, are being extended into the Victoria South area to refine structural interpretations and improve drill targeting. These efforts aim to prioritise follow-up drilling and enhance the understanding of the mineralised system's geometry.
Regional Exploration and Tenure Consolidation
Beyond near-mine growth, Adavale is advancing greenfields exploration across its Parkes Project tenure. This includes extending geophysical and surface geochemical programs at the Ashes Prospect and newly acquired exploration licences, with first-pass drilling planned to test priority targets. The company recently consolidated tenure in the region, including acquiring EL9178 from Alkane Resources Ltd, which extends the London-Victoria gold corridor southwards.
This announcement builds on the company's recent identification of multiple near-mine gold targets at London-Victoria, including the high-priority Victoria South anomaly with peak soil gold values up to 600 parts per billion, where drilling is imminent. These developments reflect a coordinated approach integrating geochemistry, geophysics, and structural modelling to drive exploration success Adavale Identifies Multiple Near-Mine Gold Targets at London-Victoria with Drilling Imminent.
Historic Data Quality and Reporting Considerations
The historic drilling data underpinning these results were collected primarily in 1995 by Sipa Exploration NL and Michelago Resources NL, with diamond drilling completed earlier in the 1980s. While modern QA/QC protocols were not fully applied at the time, multiple check assays and repeated analyses of key high-grade intervals provide reasonable confidence in the reported grades. Drillhole orientations were designed to intersect mineralisation perpendicularly, and downhole intercepts are considered close to true widths.
Adavale has integrated these datasets into its current geological framework for the first time, enabling a more comprehensive assessment of the Victoria South Prospect's potential. The company cautions that follow-up drilling is required to confirm the extent and continuity of mineralisation and to support any future Mineral Resource updates.
Bottom Line?
Adavale's validation of historic high-grade gold intercepts at Victoria South sets the stage for targeted drilling to potentially expand the London-Victoria resource, but confirmation through ongoing exploration remains essential.
Questions in the middle?
- How will upcoming drilling results at Victoria South influence the overall Mineral Resource estimate at London-Victoria?
- What metallurgical characteristics will the preliminary testing reveal about the Victoria South mineralisation?
- How might the consolidation of exploration licences impact Adavale’s strategic exploration and development plans in the Parkes region?