The company had signed a binding term sheet with the Creasy Group earlier this month, to acquire a 70% interest in 103 new tenements and tenement applications in the Pilbara region.
Novo’s holdings now include eight large tenement packages, namely Beatons Creek, Marble Bar, E Pilbara, Mosquito Creek, Balfour Downs, Top Camp/Croydon, Whim Creek and W Pilbara.
The company had engaged Newmont Exploration to provide certain exploration expertise and services for the Pilbara gold project in November 2013.
Newmont conducted a baseline sampling program at Beatons Creek using its proprietary bulk leach extractable gold (BLEG) technique, in December of the same year, which proved successful in discriminating areas with outcropping gold-bearing conglomerates at Beatons Creek.
The two companies now plan to undertake extensive BLEG sampling between now and June 2014, in order to quickly identify prospective areas on Novo’s existing and newly acquired Pilbara tenements.
After BLEG sampling is complete around mid-year, Novo plans to resume drilling at Beatons Creek and start drilling at Contact Creek at Marble Bar.
Novo Resources president, CEO and director Dr. Quinton Hennigh said BLEG sampling appears to be highly effective at identifying areas with exposures of outcropping gold-bearing conglomerates.
"This program should help us quickly identify such areas thus allowing us to quickly focus further exploration, perhaps even drilling of new targets by year end," Hennigh added.
Novo is likely to consider conducting first pass drilling before year end, if BLEG sampling and follow-up mapping and sampling work identify any new, high priority drill targets.
