Marmota Limited has ramped up its maiden drilling campaign at the Greenewood gold discovery to 31,000 metres, focusing on the Mainwood zone to extend mineralisation and support an upcoming scoping study.
- Stage 3 drilling increased from 20,000m to 31,000m
- Focus on southern Mainwood zone extensions
- Over 50,000m drilled at Greenewood in 13 months
- Greenewood/Mainwood mineralised strike now exceeds 2km
- Supports maiden scoping study and resource upgrade
Significant Expansion of Drilling at Greenewood
Marmota Limited (ASX:MEU) has further expanded its Stage 3 reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at the Greenewood gold discovery in South Australia, increasing the planned drilling from 20,000 metres to approximately 31,000 metres. This latest extension adds 5,000 metres primarily targeted at the southern Mainwood zone, a newly identified extension of the Greenewood deposit.
The expanded program now includes around 320 holes with an average depth creeping up to 97 metres, and is expected to wrap up by mid-September 2026. To date, Marmota has completed 26,000 metres in this stage, with samples already en route to laboratories for assay.
Mainwood Zone Emerges as Key Focus
The Mainwood zone, located south of Greenewood, is taking shape as a critical target for Marmota’s maiden drilling efforts there. Historical drilling in Mainwood has been limited, only about 3,700 metres of RC drilling across 53 holes, with shallower average depths than current efforts. Marmota’s program is the first significant drilling push in Mainwood since 2018, aiming to establish a contiguous high-grade gold zone that could substantially increase the overall resource.
Greenewood and Mainwood together now boast a mineralised gold strike extending over 2 kilometres, a notable expansion from initial estimates. This growth potential is crucial for Marmota’s plans to increase drilling density and fill gaps to achieve an indicated resource classification, a prerequisite for the upcoming scoping study.
Strategic Location and Project Synergies
Situated roughly 35 kilometres northwest of Marmota’s flagship Aurora Tank gold deposit and 30 kilometres northeast of the Challenger Gold Mine, Greenewood/Mainwood benefits from proximity to established operations. Marmota holds a 90% stake in the Golden Moon Joint Venture, which includes these zones, providing a solid platform for resource development and potential economies of scale.
The Aurora Tank deposit itself has delivered outstanding gold intersections, including bonanza grades near surface and promising metallurgical recoveries, reinforcing the regional prospectivity. Greenewood’s discovery is particularly significant as it lacks the typical surface calcrete gold anomalies that have historically guided exploration in the area, suggesting new pathways for uncovering hidden deposits.
Rapid Drilling Momentum and Upcoming Catalysts
Marmota has drilled over 50,000 metres at Greenewood within the past 13 months, setting a company record for metres drilled in a year. Each drilling stage has yielded high-grade gold results, underpinning the company’s confidence in the project’s potential. The accelerated pace and expanding scope of drilling reflect a strategic push to define a robust resource base ahead of the maiden scoping study, which commenced recently.
Chairman Dr Colin Rose highlighted the program’s dual focus: extending the main Greenewood zone and aggressively testing the southern Mainwood extensions. The imminent assay results from the expanded drilling program will be pivotal in shaping the resource model and informing next steps.
Bottom Line?
Marmota’s aggressive drilling expansion at Greenewood/Mainwood is setting the stage for a potentially transformative resource upgrade, but assay results over the coming weeks will be critical to validate this momentum.
Questions in the middle?
- Will assays from the Mainwood zone confirm the presence of a contiguous high-grade gold system?
- How might the expanded drilling impact the timing and scale of Marmota’s maiden scoping study?
- What operational synergies could arise from proximity to the Aurora Tank deposit as resource definitions progress?