Aureka (ASX:AKA) has intersected multiple occurrences of visible gold in the Walkers Zone at its Comstock Project, with mineralisation identified from as shallow as 18m vertically beneath the current pit surface.
It is the first visible gold Aureka has reported from the secondary Walkers structure, adding confidence to the company’s near-surface targeting strategy.
A first for the Walkers zone
Visible gold was logged in hole NED035 at two separate intervals.
The first occurrence was identified at around 21.7m downhole, while a second zone at 61.2m downhole contained another 13 visible gold grains within quartz veining.
Assays are expected in around 3–5 weeks.
That matters because the Walkers structure sits within the same pit Aureka is targeting as part of its near-term production strategy.
Figure 1: St Arnaud Comstock, Walkers Shear. Visible gold (NED035 21.7 m down hole) logging in progress, assays pending).
Production pathway already taking shape
Comstock already hosts a 56koz Inferred Resource at 1.21g/t Au, while Aureka has a binding toll milling agreement in place with the Wedderburn Gold Mill.
Licensing work is underway, and the current infill campaign is designed to validate historical drilling, increase confidence in the resource and collect metallurgical samples.
Managing Director James Gurry said the latest visible gold adds further weight to the shallow production case at Comstock.
High-grade history runs deep
The St Arnaud district has a long record of high-grade gold production, with around 400,000 ounces historically mined at 15g/t within 2km of the current drill area.
Historical drilling within the Walkers pit has also returned standout intercepts including:
- 14m @ 7.2g/t Au
- 2.2m @ 27.4g/t Au
- 3.1m @ 17.24g/t Au
For Aureka, the latest visible gold gives another reason to keep testing how much of that high-grade history remains accessible near surface.
Figure 2: Plan View of the Walkers sub-pit and the Walkes main Shear with legacy drill intercepts projected to pit floor surface.
What’s next
The immediate catalyst is simple, assays from NED035.
Drilling continues as Aureka works to upgrade confidence in the Comstock resource and advance its pathway toward first production.
Visible gold is encouraging.
Now investors will want to see the grades.
