Stavely Confirms Blind Gold-Silver Discovery with High-Grade Depth Extensions

Blind Gold-Silver Discovery Confirmed at Depth

Stavely Minerals (ASX:SVY) has unveiled assay results from diamond drill-hole STDD002 at its Freddy’s Find Prospect in western Victoria, confirming a significant blind gold-silver discovery concealed beneath younger basalt cover. The hole successfully extended previous shallow intercepts, delivering 13.7 metres at 1.80g/t gold equivalent (AuEq) from 223.3 metres depth, including higher-grade zones such as 4 metres at 3.41g/t AuEq and a standout 1 metre at 7.03g/t AuEq. This represents a notable increase in grade compared to the shallower RC drill-hole STRC0132, which returned 16 metres at 1.05g/t AuEq from 46 metres depth.

Epithermal-Style Mineralisation Under Basalt Cover

The mineralisation at Freddy’s Find is hosted within a hydrothermal breccia and exhibits epithermal-style gold and silver mineralisation, a style associated with prolific deposits in the Southwest Pacific. The discovery lies beneath a variable thickness of basalt cover ranging from 20 to 50 metres, which had previously concealed the system from surface detection. Stavely’s Managing Director, Chris Cairns, emphasised that no other group had identified this style of mineralisation in the region, highlighting the prospectivity of the approximately 130-kilometre volcanic arc tenure controlled by the company.

Broader Hydrothermal System and Exploration Plans

Freddy’s Find is interpreted as part of a larger porphyry-epithermal complex, with the S4 porphyry target located to the southwest and a Freddy’s Find North look-alike target to the north. Stavely plans to undertake a program of approximately 10 to 12 reconnaissance RC drill holes to delineate the strike extent of the epithermal target and to test these adjacent porphyry targets. These next steps aim to identify the most prospective zones likely to host higher-grade copper-gold-silver mineralisation.

Technical Details and Historical Context

The diamond drilling was conducted using HQ core, with high sample recovery and industry-standard assay methods performed by Australian Laboratory Services. The gold equivalent grades incorporate both gold and silver values, assuming an 80% metallurgical recovery for silver based on similar epithermal operations, although no metallurgical testwork has yet been completed at Freddy’s Find. The prospect was initially identified in 1996 through aeromagnetic data and has seen intermittent drilling since, including shallow air-core holes that failed to penetrate the basalt cover. Stavely’s recent drilling is the first to confirm mineralisation beneath this cover.

Freddy’s Find in the Context of Stavely’s Portfolio

This gold-silver discovery complements Stavely’s earlier copper-gold-silver finds, notably the Cayley Lode deposit, which underpins the company’s recent Thursday’s Gossan Scoping Study demonstrating strong economics with a pre-tax NPV7 of A$818 million and a 40% IRR. The confirmation of a fertile hydrothermal system at Freddy’s Find adds another dimension to Stavely’s exploration potential in western Victoria, where much of the tenure remains obscured by cover and underexplored.