New Australian explorer Aurora Minerals has strong NZ gold focus

The company was floated on the Australian Stock Exchange last month raising $A4 million and taken up an interesting range of gold prospects across New Zealand from Northland epithermal to Nelson porphyry and Otago mesothermal to the northwest of the Macraes gold mine. It is also active in Western Australia.

Two permits have been awarded since the company floated, one in Northland and the other on the West Coast of the South Island.

The company says that its move into gold exploration here followed the New Zealand Government's release in 2002-2003 of nationwide gold prospectivity reports which highlighted the best places to find gold and re-awakened international interest in the potential for major new gold discoveries in this country.

Three of its permits are targeting the highly prospective Northland Volcanic Zone where Aurora says epithermal quartz veins assayed up to 10 grams per tonne gold and 16 grams per tonne silver from surface sampling in the 1980's. Aurora says the geology of the Northland Volcanic Zone is very similar to the gold rich Coromandel Volcanic Zone

Aurora has epithermal targets in Northland - Hazelbrook, just east of Manganui and taking in the Huia and Te Mata prospects, Lanigans, 25 km south-east of Kerikeri and the Warawara prospect on the west coast of Northland north of the Hokianga Harbour.

Aurora has also acquired a permit in Central Otago over all 45 kilometres of the northwest strike extensions from the 6 million ounce Macraes gold mine. The company says it has interpreted the potential for the Hyde-Macraes shear zone possibly extending the 45km to link with the Rise and Shine shear near the Bendigo workings.

It also has a permit south of Collingwood at the northern tip of the South Island over the area containing New Zealand's first officially proclaimed goldfield in 1856 before the well known Gabriel's Gully discovery in Otago. Aurora interprets this Rockville project area to contain a potential gold-copper porphyry system. Gold, silver and copper geochemical anomalies, a history of previous mining and the recent discovery of the Sams Creek porphyry gold prospect to the south, attracted the company to the area.

Aurora's Cascade permit on the southern West Coast permit lies over the Cascade River south of Haast.

Aurora's proposed activities for this year include soil, stream and rock chip sampling to delineate the best targets for follow up drilling from next year.

The company's prospectus says its budgeted two-year exploration expenditure for the Hazelbrook project is $506,000, Lanigans $164,000, Macraes West $304,000 and Rockville $193,000.

Aurora managing director is Rob Taylor, formerly a head of exploration for two large Australian gold mining companies Goldfields and Aurion Gold. Dr Taylor was also Rio Tinto's director of exploration, Africa, and has a history of gold and other mineral discoveries. Executive director is New Zealand-based Garry O'Hara, a geologist focussing on project acquisition and corporate.