The exploration concept was based on searching for secondary uranium mineralisation that might be derived from the Musgrave Block basement rocks and that could have become precipitated within calcrete horizons from ponded uraniferous surface drainage water. Initially, two reconnaissance airborne magnetic/radiometric surveys were acquired. Highly anomalous radioactivity which was detected over an area of numerous small lakes west of Lake Dey Dey, and weaker anomalies associated with other salt lakes, proved to be related to radon. Hydrogeochemical exploratory drilling (of 30 holes totalling 1542 m) to obtain groundwater samples for radio-isotope analysis provided water samples that were shown to be rich in dissolved radium (Ra226), but which had only a minor uranium content; in some isolated instances, weak sedimentary uranium mineralisation was found to be fixed within lignitic sand of the Eocene Pidinga Formation. Diamond drilling (of 2 vertical, percussion precollared holes totalling 1193 m, including 944 m cored) was also undertaken in 1982: - SMD 5002, sited on a linear coincident magnetic and gravity anomaly SE of Lake Maurice, penetrated 40 m of Tertiary sediments above Cambrian Observatory Hill Formation bedrock, and was terminated within Cambrian Murnaroo Sandstone at 589 m; - SMD 5001, sited on a circular magnetic anomaly lying in close proximity to the radioactive lakes area SSW of Lake Dey Dey, was terminated in an underlying (pre-Murnaroo) conglomerate (?Wallatinna Formation) at 603 m. Here the depth to magnetic basement was retrospectively estimated to be 700 m.