North Stawell Minerals : Aircore Drilling confirms exploration Concept

North Stawell Minerals

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ASX Announcement

23 December 2021

Regional reconnaissance AC demonstrates exploration concept

Initial regional aircore (AC) program returns anomalous gold results from greenfield

geophysics-derived targets under Murray Basin cover.

Highlights:

• The previously untested Radio target under deep Murray Basin cover returned an extensive zone of anomalous gold - an exciting "proof of concept" that will be used to test the large portfolio of untested targets that the Company has generated.
• The trend of anomalous gold runs along the eastern margin of a large magnetic and gravity anomaly and is open to the north, south and at depth - 2 holes end in anomalous grade.
• 80% of NSM's tenement portfolio is under cover and dominated by cropping. An effective, sustainable technique to deliver assay data through cover is vital for assessing regional targets.
• Systems successfully developed to manage drill cuttings and water are demonstrated to work effectively
• The aircore rig has been secured for the 2022 drill season, will test a series of high priority targets for a Stawell-type mineralisation under cover with assay results from the high priority Gellatlys Prospect pending.
• NSM is fully funded to execute its exploration activities with $10.8m cash at Sept 30, 2021.

Victorian gold explorer North Stawell Minerals Ltd (ASX:NSM) (North Stawell or the Company) is pleased to provide an update on its exploration drilling in Victoria's Stawell Corridor.

For personal use only

NORTH STAWELL MINERALS LTD

ACN 633 461 453

ABN 84 633 461 453

An initial aircore drill program designed to sample through approximately 40m of Murray Basin sedimentary cover comprised 28 holes for 1,966m at the Radio Prospect (Figure 1, Figure 3, Figure 4, Figure 5). Best results include 1m @ 0.22 g/t Au from 85m (NSAC0013) and 1m at

0.21 from 70m (NSAC0008). NSCA0013 ends in anomalous grade. Drilling tested approximately 2000m strike length of a coincident magnetic and gravity anomaly in an area with no prior exploration drilling. The program tested for near-surface,"Stawell-type" mineralisation - gold-bearing shears and veins occurring on (and adjacent to) contacts of basalt units, a well-documented, favourable geological setting elsewhere in the district.

Drilling intersected an anomalous gold trend running down the eastern margin of the geophysical feature. Although the drilling at Radio is unlikely to solicit immediate follow-up work, the results are encouraging as they support the exploration methodology for vectoring toward mineralisation using high resolution geophysics and aircore drilling to test beneath the unmineralised Murray Basin sediments throughout the tenement portfolio.

Continuing exploration.

The aircore rig will continue to efficiently test priority targets identified in historic work, geophysical interpretations or structural interpretations that have potential to host Stawell-type mineralisation under cover (total historic production of 4.9 Moz Au).

The aircore rigs principal role is to "first pass test" 20 targets and confirm (or dismiss) gold potential for near-surface gold mineralisation under cover. This is a critical step to refining which targets will be followed up as the shallowest targets with the best potential to host mineralisation.

Planning is advanced to introduce other drilling (RC or Diamond as appropriate) to follow up on encouraging aircore results through cover and to test other identified targets.

With improved weather and cropping in full swing, access to ground is increasing rapidly for continued drilling.

North Stawell Minerals interim Chief Executive Russell Krause said:

NSM is pleased to return the first aircore drilling results following a very wet winter in western Victoria. The Radio Prospect has all-weather road access and no cropping this season which has given NSM the opportunity to test and refine a surface management process in an agriculture intensive region (with an ultra-low environmental footprint), and identify gold anomalism on a greenfield target located 6km from the nearest drilling.

About 80% of NSM's tenement portfolio is under unmineralised Murray Basin cover, and the drilling program has proved to be an effective and sustainable technique to test targets through cover. NSM is confident that the targeting exploration methodology used are time- and cost- effective and will deliver value to shareholders by delivering results through focussed drilling.

The rig has also completed initial drilling at the Gellatlys project (Figure 1) - results from the laboratory are pending.

	North Stawell Minerals Ltd
	Level 12, 644 Chapel Street, South Yarra, 3141 Victoria, Australia
2	Telephone [phone]
www.northstawellminerals.com

For personal use only

NORTH STAWELL MINERALS LTD

ACN 633 461 453

ABN 84 633 461 453

Figure 1 NSM tenements showing geology, structure, targets and historic drilling

	North Stawell Minerals Ltd
	Level 12, 644 Chapel Street, South Yarra, 3141 Victoria, Australia
3	Telephone [phone]
www.northstawellminerals.com

For personal use only

NORTH STAWELL MINERALS LTD

ACN 633 461 453

ABN 84 633 461 453

Radio results in detail

The aircore drilling at the Radio Prospect comprised 28 holes for 1,966m, testing 2km of an interpreted prospective basalt and its margins (Figure 1, Figure 3, Figure 4, Figure 5, Table 1). All drillholes are summarised in Appendix 2. The Radio target is bounded to the west by the regionally significant (and locally mineralised) Pleasant Creek Fault. Twenty-four of the 28 holes were drilled to target depth (refusal). Eight holes returned anomalous gold grades (>50 ppb Au), principally on the east margin of a deeper basalt (interpreted from geophysics). Multi- element data indicates anomalous arsenic in the north of the Radio target (>120 ppm arsenic), the value for anomalous results is derived from regional soils arsenic values. Arsenic grades are best developed in the most northern drill line (Figure 5, section 5939140mN).

NSAC0013 and NSCA0015 include anomalous gold grades at the end of the holes (Table 1, Figure 5).

Targeting was based on the geological controls identified at the Stawell Gold Mine from mine geology reports and academic research. Flanks of basalts are considered more likely to be mineralised where there are irregularities in the basalt shape (Schaubs 2006, Winterbottom 2017). Targeting inflection zones and hinge zones is the most effective test of target gold potential. Drilling the weathered rock beneath Murray Basin cover also tests for primary and secondary dispersion of gold (and other pathfinder elements) that can potentially be used to vector towards primary mineralisation (Figure 2).

Figure 2 Stylised targeting of primary mineralisation through Murray Basin cover.

Drilling did not intercept basalt due to operational constraints of the aircore rig. The gold results are interpreted as minor mineralisation that has been focussed into the sediments by the basalt buttress at depth (ie deeper than originally interpreted from geophysics). As such, the drilling results do not sterilise Radio.

However, with multiple other targets available that may be near-surface, the program has moved on to continue first-pass regional test work. The geophysical modelling has been reviewed to reflect the reality on the ground, and a refined basalt shape is available to inform any future work.

	North Stawell Minerals Ltd
	Level 12, 644 Chapel Street, South Yarra, 3141 Victoria, Australia
4	Telephone [phone]
www.northstawellminerals.com

For personal use only

NORTH STAWELL MINERALS LTD

ACN 633 461 453

ABN 84 633 461 453

No significant gold results (>1g/t Au) were returned in the Radio program.

Anomalous gold results (>0.05g/t Au) include:

Table 1 Anomalous gold results, Radio Prospect
Hole ID	Easting	Northing	RL	Depth	Azimuth	Dip	Anomalous intercept
	(MGA54)	(MGA54)	(ASL)	(m)	(Deg.)	(Deg.)
NSAC0001	636597	5932096	146	87	000	-90	1m at 0.07 g/t Au from 76m (NSAC0001)
NSAC0005	636300	5932099	148	81	000	-90	1m at 0.08 g/t Au from 58m (NSAC0005)
NSAC0008	636598	5931849	147	87	000	-90	1m at 0.21 g/t Au from 70m (NSAC0008)
NSAC0009	636499	5931850	147	75	000	-90	1m at 0.09 g/t Au from 56m (NSAC0009)
NSAC0013	636899	5931600	147	77	000	-90	1m at 0.22 g/t Au from 85m (NSAC0013)
NSAC0015	636695	5931601	147	83	000	-90	1m at 0.05 g/t Au from 80m (NSAC0015)
							1m at 0.07 g/t Au from 68m (NSAC0015)
							1m at 0.08 g/t Au from 82m (NSAC0015)
NSAC0019	636756	5930487	150	66	000	-90	1m at 0.05 g/t Au from 56m (NSAC0019)
NSAC0022	636802	5931355	148	75	000	-90	2m at 0.08 g/t Au from 63m (NSAC0022)
NSAC0023	636693	5931351	148	69	000	-90	1m at 0.06 g/t Au from 56m (NSAC0023)
							1m at 0.05 g/t Au from 61m (NSAC0023)
NSAC0027	637354	5930477	151	83	000	-90	1m at 0.06 g/t Au from 56m (NSAC0027)

Anomalous results include grades >0.05g/t Au. Grades are combined into composites where adjacent assay results have an average grade greater than 0.05g/t Au. No dilution is applied. Stated thicknesses are downhole and not likely to be representative of true widths.

	North Stawell Minerals Ltd
	Level 12, 644 Chapel Street, South Yarra, 3141 Victoria, Australia
5	Telephone [phone]
www.northstawellminerals.com