Victorian Gold Projects (AU)

Project highlights

Highly prospective and drill ready in the heart of the Victorian goldfields.

  • Bubalus granted option to acquire a portfolio of Victorian exploration licences covering approximately 1,000 km2 in close proximity to the operating, high-grade Fosterville and Costerfield gold mines and the Sunday Creek gold-antimony project.
  • The licences are prospective for gold and antimony mineralisation, with high grade rock chips collected at the Crosbie and Murrindindi licences by the vendor.
  • IP surveys at Crosbie have delineated priority targets for drill testing.
  • Permitting for low impact exploration at Crosbie has been completed, which enables Bubalus to carry out drilling from existing tracks.
  • Experienced resources executive and geologist Brendan Borg to join Bubalus board.
  • Placement raising A$900,000 completed, bringing cash balance to A$3.5 million.

About the project

The licences include Crosbie, located 18 km from Agnico Eagle’s (NYSE:AEM) Fosterville Gold Mine and 20 km from Mandalay Resource’s (TSX:MND) Costerfield Gold Mine, and Murrindindi, located 20 km from the Sunday Creek Project owned by Southern Cross Gold(ASX:SXG). Work to date indicates significant potential for gold mineralisation to be present, supported by the geological setting, high grade gold rock chips collected from both licences, as well as targets enhanced by recent geophysical surveys at Crosbie.

The Fosterville and Costerfield Mines are widely accepted to be Australia’s highest grade gold mines currently operating.

The Fosterville Mine had Mineral Resources at 31 December 2023 of 21.6 million tonnes at an average grade of 4.28 g/t gold for 3.0 million ounces of contained gold (Measured, Indicated and Inferred), with 8.6 million tonnes at 6.10 g/t gold in Proven and Probable Reserves (reported in accordance with NI 43-101)[1]. The Costerfield Mine had Mineral Resources at 31 December 2023 of 1.25 million tonnes at an average grade of 9.8 g/t gold and 2.7% antimony (Measured, Indicated and Inferred), with 0.6 million tonnes at 10.5 g/t gold and 1.9% antimony in Proven and Probable Reserves (reported in accordance with NI 43-101)[2]. High grade mineralisation at both Fosterville and Costerfield is believed to be associated with Devonian-age intrusions, which have been demonstrated by age-dating to be present within the Crosbie Project. Importantly, the vendor has completed the required permitting to enable low impact exploration, including drilling, to be carried out at Crosbie along existing tracks on Crown Land at Crosbie under Section 44 of the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990. Agreements have been reached with the native title party responsible for the Taungurung land use activity agreement (LUAA) and a private landowner, with the latter allowing drilling to be conducted across that property.

Key Projects optioned by Bubalus
Crosbie

The Crosbie licence (EL007144) covers an area of 21.5 km2, overlying a late-Devonian I-type granitic intrusion (the Crosbie Granite). The Crosbie Granite has intruded into Ordovician metasediments and Re-Os dating on molybdenite from a vein in the Crosbie Granite ages it at 385.6±1.6 Ma (2σ). This places Crosbie in the Late Devonian group of IGRS deposits, which is regionally significant as detailed below.

Field mapping and sampling at Crosbie have identified various breccia, bladed quartz-calcite, multiple vein generations, and Unidirectional Solidification Textures (USTs). These features strongly suggest the presence of a well-developed magmatic hydrothermal fluid system at a shallow crustal level. An area of angular quartz float some 700 m in length is exposed by an access track across the paddock (the Prince Foote Trend, Figure 3) with stockwork quartz veins and aplite having been observed in exposed granite.

Results from surface sampling at Crosbie South are shown in Figure 3 and detailed in Appendix 1 and include the following high grade results: up to 19.1 g/t gold and 1.1% antimony, from the Prince Foote Trend.

  • 4.26 g/t gold + 0.20% antimony (WES007)
  • 19.1 g/t gold + 0.28% antimony (WES008)
  • 2.21 g/t gold + 0.15% antimony (WES011)
  • 1.59 g/t gold (CD7)
  • 0.03 g/t gold + 1.1% antimony (CF152)
  • 1.42 g/t gold (DE010)
  • 3.89 g/t gold (SM02)
  • 7.53 g/t gold + 0.1% antimony (SM07)
  • 2.70 g/t gold (SM09)

Following identification of high levels of gold in rock chip samples, two Induced Polarisation (IP) surveys were conducted at Crosbie across the Prince Foote Trend. Inversions and analysis of the survey data were conducted by Mitre Geophysics, a well-respected Australian geophysical consulting firm. The IP surveys identified coherent chargeability anomalies detected from surface to depths of over 360 m. The chargeability anomalies are coincident with the high-grade gold samples collected along the Prince Foote Trend. 3D inversion modelling has identified four chargeable and resistive features associated with previously mapped aplite dykes and gold-antimony veins, as well as high-level hydrothermal-magmatic features observed in the field resistivity modelling, indicating that potentially a large intrusive body is present.

The IP surveys were extended into the north of the Crosbie licence (Crosbie North) to create a transect across the Crosbie Granite, the associated hornfels and into the Ordovician sediments of the Castlemaine Group. While the 2D nature of the survey means that detailed interpretation is not possible, Mitre noted a rough spatial association between chargeability features and potassium anomalism in open file GSV datasets.

The near surface layer of the Castlemaine Group is mostly resistive, but displays unexplained variability which may indicate folding and faulting of the sediments. Mineralisation at Fosterville is hosted in anticlinal hinges within the Castlemaine Group (refer below) and therefore this area could represent another target for gold mineralisation should additional work provide further evidence for this structural setting. Gold-bearing rock chips have also been collected in this area as shown on Figure 3 and detailed in Appendix 1, including:

  • 4.0g /t gold + 0.80% antimony (CR012A)
  • 6.46 g/t gold + 0.35% antimony (CR013)
  • 12.1 g/t gold (CR073)
  • 5.84 g/t gold (CR075)
  • 3.96 g/t gold + 2.02% antimony (CR102)
Location of Crosbie showing proximity to the Fosterville and Costerfield operations.
Image showing rock chip results (gold + antimony) and IP chargeability anomalies.
Murrindindi

The Murrindindi licence (EL007412) covers an area of 354 km2 within the Melbourne Zone of the Lachlan Orogen. The Melbourne Zone has historically been less explored in comparison to the Bendigo Zone due to the discovery of gold at Ballarat and Bendigo however, the recent development of Costerfield as well as drilling success at the Sunday Creek Project (owned by Southern Cross Gold (ASX: SXG)) has led to renewed interest. Critically, studies have shown that gold mineralisation in the Melbourne Zone was formed closer to the ancient surface (“epizonal” mineralisation) which also makes the region more prospective to host mineralisation related to Intrusive-Related Gold Systems (IRGS), with both findings changing the targeting criteria for projects in this area. Antimony mineralisation is also associated with epizonal gold deposits in Victoria and recent export restrictions by China (the dominant global supplier) has added interest in targeting this style of mineralisation. 

Murrindindi is located approximately 20 km east of Sunday Creek and appears to overlie a similar gravity feature to that associated with the high-level intrusion adjacent to Sunday Creek (Figure 3). High grade samples have been collected from two prospects: Higginbotham, where widespread sandstone alteration/silicification, quartz veining (laminated and cross-cutting) and brecciation were noted, and Tin Creek, where mapped metasediments are believed to be altered intrusions based on field inspection and previously reported identified tin-molybdenum-tungsten occurrences may represent the alteration pattern of an IRGS.

Rock samples from Higginbotham contained visible gold and returned some spectacular results, including:

  • 131 g/t gold (HG60)
  • 66.9 g/t gold (HG48)
  • 9.68 g/t gold (HG150B)
  • 4.39 g/t gold (HG24B)

Rock samples from Tin Creek returned gold results consistent with a potential IRGS, including:

  • 0.73 g/t gold (HG280)
  • 0.93 g/t gold (HG295)
  • 1.06 g/t gold (HG193A)

A single diamond drillhole completed in 1984 in the Tin Creek area, targeting large tungsten and tin anomalies, intersected sub-economic grades of tungsten and tin mineralisation, but the work identified potential for gold mineralisation.

Refer to ASX Announcement Option to Acquire Highly Prospective Victorian Gold Projects Appendix 2 for full details of rock samples taken from the Murrindindi licence.

Location of EL007412 (Murrindindi) showing proximity to the Sunday Creek Project (owned by ASX.SXG).
Other Licences

The portfolio optioned by Bubalus also includes the Lockwood and Wilson’s Hill licences (EL007261 and EL007359) located near Bendigo and the Castleburn licence (EL007450) located near Bairnsdale. These licences are not the immediate focus of exploration however, are believed to also have potential to host gold mineralisation.

The Lockwood and Wilson’s Hill licences are located adjacent to tenure held by Falcon Metals (ASX: FAL) and structures hosting gold mineralisation are interpreted to trend into the licence areas. Historical data will be reviewed and compiled to define targets within these licences.

The Castleburn licence has also had some initial work completed however, has not been investigated with exploration targeting the IRGS style of mineralisation.

All licences optioned by Bubalus.
Next Steps

The Company intends to implement a drilling programme at Crosbie South to test the geophysical targets supported by high-grade surface sampling results.  Further surface sampling and geophysical surveys are planned at Crosbie North to refine drilling target positions.

Results of these initial programs will guide further work at Crosbie. It is likely that further drilling may require environmental and other approvals, including from the Taungurung Land Council, the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action and Parks Victoria.

At Murrindindi further surface sampling and geophysical surveys are planned to further define targets for drilling, including tungsten and tin targets in addition to gold. Approvals and timelines for drilling will be dependent on whether targets can be tested by drilling from existing tracks.

Data from the other licences will be compiled and reviewed to ascertain the potential for gold mineralisation and to generate targets for further work.