Known magnesite beds existing within the Adelaidean Skillogalee Dolomite in the far north-western Flinders Ranges, and extending into the Willouran Ranges over a strike distance of 120 km heading north-westwards from Leigh Creek South township, have recently been the targets of intensive, partly PIRSA - assisted company exploration. The intent of the latest work has been to determine the viability of these deposits for open-cut mining to provide potential feedstock for a planned magnesium metal refining facility intended to be built at Port Pirie. Four deposits: Screechowl Creek, West Mount Hut, Witchelina and Mount Hutton, were examined in detail by SAMAG to assess each one's development potential. The magnesite was formed within an interpreted Neoproterozoic shallow water marine environment, where sediments were deposited that are characterised by repetitive lithogical sequences made up of dolomite, magnesite, siltstone and sandstone. Detailed surface geological mapping, together with interpretation of data from an airborne infrared hyperspectral survey (Hymap) flown during March 1998, has identified up to seventeen potentially economic beds of magnesite common to both the Mount Hutton and Witchelina areas, ranging up to 10 m in thickness, that are present within a much larger Mg - mineralised sedimentary package carrying up to 86 magnesite beds, only very few of which are discontinuous or lensoidal at deposit scale. Following the conclusion of preliminary land access negotiations with Native Title claimants, resource definition diamond core drilling (46 holes for 2157.5 m at Witchelina, and 64 holes for 3951.6 m at Mount Hutton / Mount Playfair) was carried out during 1999 to obtain samples for mineralogical and acid leach beneficiation testing and to allow calculation of measured, indicated and inferred resources of magnesite ore. This work included infill drilling along traverses 250 m apart to investigate the 17 selected interbeds which have the lowest stripping ratio and lowest calcium content, and which occupy the middle of the Skillogalee Dolomite host sequence. Magnesite interbeds formed above this zone are thin and high in Ca, whereas those below it, although thicker, tend to consist of purer dolomite with only a few high grade magnesite layers. Exploration on the four principal deposits has defined a high grade, low impurity magnesite resource totalling 486 Mt @ 24% MgO. Moreover, complementary evaluation of three nearby prospects, Termination Hill, Pug Hill and Mount Playfair, has identified an additional combined total resource (measured, indicated and inferred) of 66 Mt @ 42.8% MgO. Subsequent to the resource definition drilling programme conducted during 1998-1999, attention focussed on the Mount Hutton prospect, which appeared to contain the second biggest magnesite deposit (with a measured resource of 18.3 Mt, plus 42 Mt indicated and 53 Mt inferred), and was also best sited for ease of product transport and mine infrastructure access. A trial mining campaign was completed there in June 2000 to extract a 100 t bulk ore sample which was sent to Amdel for conducting material handling and ore processing testwork. Next, in April 2001, SAMAG commissioned an engineering geology and mine planning study on the Mount Hutton magnesite deposit from consultants Minarco Pty Ltd, and also took out a Mining Lease over it (ML 6092) in place of their former Mineral Claims 3098, 3099 and 3100. At the same time Retention Leases were taken out over the Witchelina deposit (RL 96; formerly MCs 3101-3106) and over the Mount Playfair / Myrtle Springs deposits (RL 98). The remainder of the year was devoted to acquiring environmental baseline data including a hydrogeological assessment, and undertaking groundwater monitoring. During the latter two years of the EL term little new work was performed apart from office desktop studies relating to project management. Additional Mining Leases were granted over Myrtle Springs (MLs 4998-5001) and Mount Hutton South (MLs 5617, 5618), as well as over the Camel Flat deposit (MLs 5594, 5595).