Aureka finds new gold zones north of Irvine resource

Scout hole extends Irvine mineralisation north

Aureka Limited (ASX:AKA) has pushed the known footprint of its Irvine gold project 725 metres north with a single scout diamond hole, intersecting two gold-bearing zones in ground that had not previously been tested by drilling.

Hole RD057 returned 4.25 metres at 1.42g/t gold from 173 metres, including 1.5 metres at 3.16g/t, followed by 5.65 metres at 0.83g/t from 341.5 metres, including 0.85 metres at 3.19g/t. The reported intervals are down-hole lengths, and true widths have not been established.

The hole sits about 725 metres north-northwest of Irvine’s 358,000-ounce inferred Resolution Lode resource, roughly 500 metres south of the Stawell Granite and in the direction of the Stawell Gold Mine. The result adds a new point of mineralisation to a project where the Resolution and Adventure lodes together account for 398,300 inferred ounces.

Results support the geological targeting model

The newly identified zones occur where basalt and sedimentary rocks meet, alongside localised fault margins. Aureka said the setting resembles the structural and lithological environment around the Resolution lode, while the intercepts also align with a second-order induced-polarisation response and a demagnetisation zone identified in legacy geophysical data.

The result builds on the earlier Irvine drilling results, which included mineralisation beyond the existing inferred resource and results from a previously untested gap between established lodes. The latest hole is notable for testing a conceptual exploration target rather than extending an already defined resource envelope.

Aureka also pointed to the nearby Stawell Granite as a possible influence on localised gold remobilisation and enrichment. That explanation remains a geological hypothesis: the company said further studies are needed to confirm or disprove it, and the granite itself does not host the reported gold mineralisation.

Further drilling will determine whether the footprint becomes a resource

Drilling is continuing across Irvine, including work on nearer-surface extensions to the Tenacity Structure and additional lodes or second-order structures away from the main Resolution Shear. Aureka is targeting growth beyond 1 million ounces across the project, but its current exploration target remains conceptual, with insufficient drilling to estimate a mineral resource.

The company’s stated exploration target comprises 85,000 to 197,000 ounces across advanced targets and 151,000 to 348,000 ounces across conceptual targets. Those figures are potential ranges, not resources, and the filing cautions that further exploration may not result in a resource estimate. Follow-up drilling will need to establish continuity, geometry and grade distribution before the northern mineralisation can carry more than exploration significance.