Novo to drill high-grade NSW gold targets at potential new frontier

Novo Resources is poised to get the drill rods spinning in New South Wales at its Tibooburra gold project, with a 2700-metre reverse circulation (RC) program aimed at high-grade extensions slated to begin later this quarter.

The campaign comes as the company formalises a farm-in and joint venture agreement with previous owners Manhattan Gold Corporation, allowing Novo to finally test two high-priority targets: a step-out at the high-grade Clone prospect and a maiden drill test of its Pioneer South prospect.

At Clone, the company will aim to extend a zone of shallow, high-grade gold mineralisation confirmed in a previous drill campaign, where a solid intercept of 12m grading 5.9 grams per tonne (g/t) gold was returned from just 16m depth.

The company says its upcoming program will include a step-out traverse of approximately 100m to test for the northern extension of the mineralised system with 1700m of the total 2700m program dedicated to Clone.

Further south Novo will conduct the first-ever drilling at the Pioneer South prospect, where a staggering 600m of outcropping gold-quartz reefs has been defined by historic workings. Rock chip sampling from the outcropping reefs has returned assays up to a stellar 19.8g/t gold and presents a serious target that only old timers in early goldfields could have expected at their disposal.

The prospect has never been drilled and Novo plans to put in about 1000m of drilling to test beneath the best-developed and historically mined segments of the reef system.

Pioneer South forms part of a broader mineralised system at the Pioneer prospect, which is defined by a greater-than-2km-long gold-in-soil anomaly, teasing at a continuation to reefs under cover. Previous limited drilling at the northern end of the Pioneer trend, about 300m from the upcoming program, delivered an intercept of 5m at 6.96g/t gold, which included a bonanza 1m section at 33.9g/t gold.

The company has now formalised its option and joint venture agreement with Manhattan Gold Corporation, whereby Novo will issue 1.5 million common shares to its subsidiary and will be required to spend a total of $1.5 million to earn a 70 per cent interest in the tenements.

Novo says it has already spent $1.31 million of the required amount, leaving it on the cusp of securing its majority stake.

Geologically, the Tibooburra district is considered analogous to the famed Stawell Zone of the Victorian Goldfields, with mineralisation classified as an orogenic gold system hosted within a turbidite-dominated sequence synonymous with such Victorian mega-ounce producers like Fosterville and even the Bendigo gold mine. 

While the focus moves to NSW, Novo’s exploration pipeline remains active across the country.

In Western Australia’s Pilbara region, the company’s maiden drilling at its Wyloo project recently confirmed a polymetallic system with promising hits of up to 9m at 92g/t silver starting right from surface. 

Also in the Pilbara, the company holds the Egina gold project which sits adjacent to De Grey Mining’s world-class 11-million-ounce Hemi gold discovery, planting it in elephant territory on opposite sides of the continent.

With the drill rig to fire up on two compelling targets at Tibooburra - one a known high-grade system and the other an undrilled reef trend, Novo appears to have plenty to look forward to for the new financial year. 

And with a geological address that draws comparisons to one of Australia’s most prolific gold provinces, the results from this relatively untouched NSW gem will be closely watched by market pundits and geologist alike.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au