During the subject licence period, 7 diamond coreholes for 406 feet total penetration and 15 rotary drillholes totalling 282.5 feet were drilled by the Mount Gunson Project's new owners, the CSR / United Uranium consortium, to check the existing ore reserve estimate prepared in July 1968 by Austminex from previous drilling information. A revised and slightly increased reserve of 3 220 000 short tons at 1% Cu and 0.32 ozs Ag / ton was assigned by the partners in January 1969, when they concluded that in general the copper content previously calculated had been confirmed by their check drilling, such that no further exploratory drillholes would be needed prior to commencing mining operations. An economic feasibility study on the planned mine was commissioned from Wright Engineers of Vancouver, Canada, which suggested that the mining project is currently viable.The design and construction of an ore treatment plant for Mount Gunson was contracted with McKee-I.E.L. of Melbourne, to produce copper ore concentrate at a rate of 1000 short tons/day. Two mineral claims (5453 and 5454) were taken out to cover the processing mill site area, where plant construction was completed in May 1970. A mining contract was signed with the Davis Contractors Div. of Wood Hall for extracting copper ore from five orebodies located in the vicinity of Mount Gunson Homestead. An ore delineation drilling programme (60 percussion holes for 2600 feet) was carried out at the East Lagoon orebody in February-March and May-June 1970. Test IP survey traverses were also conducted over this orebody and at a location between Gunyah Lake and Pernatty Lagoon, to investigate soil geochemical anomalies.