Aurumin Limited (ASX: AUN) ('Aurumin' or the 'Company') is pleased to announce drilling plans for the Company's 100% owned, 881koz Au Sandstone Project, located 520km north east of Perth.
The Project is part of the Company's Sandstone Operations, which also includes the Birrigrin and Johnson Range Projects, and has a total Resource of 946koz Au.
HIGHLIGHTS
Drilling 9 open pit targets, with 44 holes planned and an estimated 5,000m to be drilled
First pass exploration drilling following up geochemical and structural targeting at Aurumin's Sandstone
Project
All targets on mining leases, within 3km of the processing plant footprint All drilling permits are granted and drill site preparation is underway
Targeting multiple depositional models and style including, porphyry/intrusive hosted vein style, banded iron hosted and structural shear style hosted mineralisation in mafic and ultramafic units
First pass drilling assessment of targets to be followed up rapidly with indications of success
Drilling expected to commence first half of June
Drilling is to be focussed on targets at the Two Mile West, Shillington Lower BIF, Hatton, Ridge North, Ridge West, Mt Klempt North, Mt Klempt South and Nugget Patch 1 and Nugget Patch Intrusive targets, with hole depths in the 40m to 150m depth range. Aurumin continues to evaluate additional targets for drilling. Drilling is to be conducted under the previously announced agreement with Top Drill.4
Aurumin's Managing Director, Brad Valiukas, commented: 'The previously completed auger programme successfully demonstrated the prospectivity of the tenement package that we have at Sandstone, by identifying multiple new targets, while exploring just a couple of kilometres from existing infrastructure. 'This drilling programme announced today is a direct follow on from that work, as we now seek to turn those targets into new deposits. We continue with a clear focus on generating the critical mass for future production, and on the mining leases is a great place to add ounces. 'With the completion of the capital raise, we now look forward to being back on the ground drilling, with other on ground work will continue in parallel.'
Two Mile West Target
The Two Mile West target area is a 600m long gold anomaly generated by auger geochemistry sampling conducted in 2022. The broad, cohesive, gold in soil anomaly tracks east-west across the northern slopes of two banded iron formation (BIF) ridges. The BIF ridges are believed to an exposure of the same lithological units, but offset by structural movement, that host the Shillington deposit (upper BIF) and that intersect and form part of the Two Mile Hill deposit. Based on geophysical data and outcrop mapping, several north striking faults and splays are interpreted to run through the target, providing vectors for potential gold feeder structures to multiple BIF horizons. The anomaly coincides with a zone of apparent magnetite destruction, often associated with alteration zones that host gold mineralisation. The surrounding area has been, and continues to be, a rich area for prospector finds of apparent primary gold that is inferred to be shedding from the BIF ridges. Historical RAB and limited RC has returned weakly anomalous grades, however is not considered to have adequately tested all prospective horizons or structural positions, and no drilling is interpreted to have intersected the lower BIF unit. An initial programme of 6 holes is planned to target multiple BIF horizons with a focus on the north striking structural corridors interpreted as a potential control of gold mineralisation. Aurumin's drilling at the Shillington deposit in 2022 targeted a similar interpreted control and was highly successful
Shillington Footwall BIF
Outcrop mapping and geophysical datasets confirm a second, lower, banded iron unit located 100m into the footwall of the banded iron sequence that hosts the Shillington orebody (upper BIF). This horizon is believed to be the source of several areas of extensive prospector activity and remains poorly explored by drilling. The Shillington - Two Mile Hill Complex is the largest resource/endowment on the Central Sandstone Mining Leases (Historical production >27koz Au, Current Resource >750koz Au). The Shillington deposit itself is a BIF hosted orebody interpreted to be driven by the interaction of a significant north striking structure that also intersects the Two Mile Hill tonalite, BIF and mafic hosted system. The geophysical interpretation of the Shillington lower BIF unit shows suppressed and discontinuous magnetic features suggestive of a faulted, demagnetised, and potentially altered mafic/BIF succession. This pattern is recognised at most of the Sandstone BIF gold occurrences (e.g. Shillington, Ridge, McClaren, McIntyre). An intrusive unit in the mafic sequence, along the trend of the significant north striking structure, provides further evidence for continuation of the structure. The intrusive is variously logged as tonalite, porphyry or granodiorite, and interpreted to be tonalite intrusion. The intrusive is seen in the Shillington open pit, logged in drilling below the Shillington open pit and logged at the end of RAB holes some 200m south of Shillington. The area is covered with transported material which has prevented effective surface sampling in the immediate footwall of the Shillington - Two Mile Hill Complex. The BIF unit (lower BIF) in this target area has not been adequately tested by the small amount of shallow RAB drilling present and there is approximately 500m of strike of prospective lithology currently untested by any drilling. An initial programme of 6 holes is planned to target where the Shillington structural controls are interpreted to penetrate the footwall BIF unit.
Mt Klempt South Target
The Mt Klempt South target area is located 1.5km east of the Sandstone Mill and 1km west of the Ridge and McClaren deposits. Aurumin's 2022 Auger programme confirmed a strong gold anomaly, which coincide with areas of extensive prospector activity and some historical workings. Historical RAB drilling and geophysics indicates the presence of a blind intrusive body, which is sited on north striking structural features and occupies a similar geological position to the intrusive on the Two Mile structural trend. The intrusive body creates areas of structural complexity at contacts and potential increased permeability, that may create an environment conducive to mineralisation. Immediately surrounding the Mt Klempt interpreted intrusive is potentially shear style mineralisation in mafic units, as logged in historical RAB drilling. Mt Klempt is also flanked to the east by the BIF hosted deposits at Ridge, McIntyre and McClaren, which appear to be driven by structural controls radiating from the SW (the Mt Klempt position). Together, this is suggestive of an intrusive body influencing mineralisation locally. An initial programme of 6 holes is planned to test the relationship between the shear type mineralisation and the interpreted intrusive, and to test the potential of the intrusive itself to be mineralised and to represent an analogue of the Two Mile Hill deposit
Mt Kempt North Target
Aurumin's 2022 Auger programme highlighted a strong broad geochemical gold anomaly in the Mt Kempt North area, which is surrounded by prospector scrapings. The known geology is dominated by ultramafic schist and mafic lithologies with zones of discontinuous BIF and chert, with nearby intrusive bodies, including Mt Klempt South. Existing drill coverage is exclusively RAB, air-core or VAC drilling, and despite good results in the area have not, to date, unlocked the potential suggested identified by the combined geochemical anomaly, RAB results, historical workings and structural positions. An initial programme of 8 holes is planned to target shear and quartz vein style mineralisation, on northerly and north easterly orientations, hosted in a mafic package
Contact:
Tel: +61 (8) 6555 2950
Email: admin@aurumin.com.au
COMPETENT PERSON STATEMENTS
The information in this announcement that relates to exploration results, data quality, geological interpretations and mineral resources for the Sandstone Project were first released in the Company's announcements dated 16 December 2021, 25 March 2022, 28 April 2022, 2 May 2022, 9 June 2022, 21 June 2022, 11 July 2022, 11 August 2022, 26 August 2022, 5 September 2022, 12 September 2022, 6 October 2022, 31 October 2022, 25 November 2022 and 30 January 2023. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the announcements and confirms that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates in the relevant market announcements continue to apply and have not materially changed, except as updated in this announcement. The information in this announcement that relates to exploration results, data quality and geological interpretations for the Sandstone Project is based on information compiled by Simon Smith, a Competent Person who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) and a full-time employee of Aurumin Limited. Mr Smith has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Mr Smith consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on this information in the form and context in which it appears. The information in this announcement that relates to exploration results, data quality, geological interpretations and mineral resources for the Johnson Range Project were first released in the Company's announcement dated 25 August 2021. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the announcement and confirms that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates in the relevant market announcement continue to apply and have not materially changed.
ABOUT AURUMIN
Projects Aurumin Limited is an ASX-listed mineral exploration Company focused on two project areas in Western Australia. The Sandstone Gold Operations were cornerstone by the acquisition of the Central Sandstone Project by the Company in early 2022. The Sandstone Project comprises an 881,300 ounce gold mineral resource, significant project infrastructure and an expanding tenement footprint where the Company aims to support a gold mining operation in the future. The Company's Johnson Range Project has a Mineral Resource of 64,700 ounces at a grade of 2.51g/t Au, located midway between Southern Cross and Sandstone. The Birrigrin Project area was added in late 2022 and is 70km north of the Central Sandstone Project. The Project has 39 mapped shafts dating to the early 1900s with recorded production grades up to 196g/t Au. In addition to the Sandstone Gold Operations, the Company has a significant landholding at its Southern Cross Operations, including two historical high-grade production centres, Mt Dimer and Mt Palmer. The Mt Dimer Project produced over 125,000 ounces of gold from open pit and underground production of approximately 600,000 tonnes @ 6.4 g/t, and has a substantial tenure footprint. The historical Mt Palmer Project produced via open pit and underground methods, generating approximately 158,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 15.9 g/t. The Company is actively exploring its tenements and pursuing further acquisitions that complement its existing focus and create additional Shareholder value.
AURUMIN LIMITED 
