The head of Tasmanian-focused gold exploration company Stellar Resource said he was "encouraged" by mineral indications returned from its first field samplings at sites east of George Town that have not seen major commercial exploration since the 19th century.
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The area, south-west of Weymouth along the Piper River, was among the first sites in Tasmania where early fossickers found gold in 1849.
Now Stellar is looking to revive the gold rush, and executive director Gary Fietz said he is "encouraged" by the initial results.
He said the recent dearth of "modern exploration" in the area was one of the reasons he chose the site.
The company on Thursday announced that soil testing around its Leura and Back Creek prospects returned samples with gold content of as much as 2.4 grams per tonne.
"We are encouraged by the results ... [it] has outlined an attractive drill target associated with a high-grade gold soil chemistry anomaly over a 500 metre strike at the historic Leura Mine," Mr Fietz said.
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Grades of gold mined in colonial times in that area averaged 57 grams per tonne, he said.
Stellar is also prospecting at its nearby Back Creek tenement, where gold was first discovered in 1869.
Ironically, only modest amounts of gold were found in both areas compared with sites such as Beaconsfield, although Launceston jeweller Ferdinand Riva claimed to have handled "many pounds" of the mineral starting in 1849.
- ben.seeder@austcommunitymedia.com.au
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