Sarama Resources Ltd. (“Sarama” or the “Company”) (ASX:SRR, TSX- V:SWA) is pleased to advise that it has reached binding agreement (the “Agreement”) with Orbminco Limited (“Orbminco”) (ASX: OB1), an arm’s length third party, to acquire a majority(1) and controlling interest(1) in the under- explored, belt-scale 420km² Mt Venn Project (the “Project”)(2), located in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia.
This follows Sarama’s recent acquisition of a majority interest in the nearby Cosmo Project (refer Sarama news release 6 December 2024). Together the projects create a 1,000km² well-positioned and underexplored landholding in the Laverton Gold District which is known for its prolific gold endowment (refer Figure 1) and recent discoveries.
Highlights
Binding agreement executed for acquisition of 80% interest in belt-scale Mt Venn Project
Located in the prolific Laverton Gold District, 35km from the producing Gruyere Gold Mine and less than 20km from Gold Road’s Golden Highway Deposit
Project covers 420km² and features a favourable litho-structural setting, primarily in greenstone rocks
Includes regional shear zone of ~50km strike length and 1-3km width extending full length of greenstone belt
Advanced gold targets generated through historical exploration, including broad drill-defined gold mineralisation
Highly complementary to Sarama’s recently acquired, underexplored and prospective Cosmo Project
Creates 1,000km² exploration position in the Laverton Gold District, capturing 100km of strike length
Land access agreement with Traditional Owners in place for exploration
100% scrip consideration with initial exploration funded by the November 2024 equity raise of A$2M
Sarama’s President, Executive Chairman, Andrew Dinning commented:
“We are very pleased to be nearing completion of the acquisition a majority interest in the Mt Venn Project and consolidating our position in the prolific Laverton Gold District of Western Australia. The addition of the Mt Venn Project will create a major 1,000km2 area-play and significantly enhances the probability of making the next big discovery in a region that continues to deliver new deposits in previously unexplored areas, including the regionally significant Gruyere Deposit just 35km east of the Mt Venn Project. Soil sampling programs at the Cosmo Project are progressing well, feeding into the process of bringing the Cosmo and Mt Venn Projects to account as expeditiously as we can.”
Mt Venn Project
The Project is comprised of 3 contiguous exploration tenements covering approximately 420km² in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia, approximately 110km north-east of Laverton and 35km west of the regionally- significant Gruyere Gold Mine(3). The Project is readily accessible via the Great Central Road which services the regional area east of Laverton.
The Project captures the majority of the underexplored Jutson Rocks Greenstone Belt over a strike length of ~50km. Rocks within the belt feature a diverse sequence of volcanic lithologies of varying composition, together with pyroclastics and metasediments. Several internal intrusive units have been identified throughout the Project and are commonly associated with local structural features. A regionally extensive shear zone, spanning 1-3km in width, extends the entire length of the belt with subordinate splays interpreted in the southern area of the Project which provides a favourable structural setting for mineralisation.
Gold mineralisation was first discovered in the 1920’s with sampling returning very high grades and prompting the commencement of small-scale mining operations in the mid 1920’s. Multiple gold occurrences have since been identified throughout the Project, demonstrating the prospectivity of the system. Despite the identification of several km-scale gold-in-soil anomalies by soil geochemistry and auger drilling, many of these targets are yet to be properly tested. Encouragingly, drilling by Cazaly Resources Limited (“Cazaly”) (ASX: CAZ) at the Project intersected broad, gold mineralisation over several fences in weathered and fresh rock at the Three Bears Prospect, presenting a priority target for exploration (Cazaly news release 27 February 2017: “Widespread Gold & Zinc Mineralisation Defined”).
In addition to the attractiveness of the Project for gold, it is considered prospective for base metals and platinum group elements. Historical exploration work including auger geochemistry and geophysical surveys identified numerous targets for copper, nickel and zinc mineralisation. Several of these targets remain untested due to historical funding and land access constraints. Exploration in the belt to the immediate south of the Project area is noted to have intersected copper mineralisation of significant grade over a significant strike length(4).
In summary, the Project is located within a prolific gold district and has a favourable lithological and structural setting. A solid database of base-level historical exploration work by previous operators, including generation of drill-ready targets, provides a good platform for Sarama to advance the Project in conjunction with its activities at the Cosmo Project. The size and prospectivity of the landholding that Sarama will have in the Laverton Gold District upon completion of this transaction significantly enhances the chances of making an economic discovery, particularly given the infrastructure and proliferation of mines in the region which will have a favourable impact on the size threshold for finding something of economic value.
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