Unlocking South Australia's Mineral and Energy Potential - A Plan for Accelerating Exploration. Theme 2 (drilling partnerships with PIRSA and industry) : Year 4 partnership no. DPY4-65, Chianti mineral prospect. Project completion dataset.
Created: 11 Nov 2024 Revised: 11 Nov 2024

The subject set of reports describes the results of PACE Initiative Year 4 partly-subsidised drilling work conducted in the vicinity of the Chianti prospect, which lies approx. 20 km north of the old Mount Gunson mining camp. The aim of this work,...

The subject set of reports describes the results of PACE Initiative Year 4 partly-subsidised drilling work conducted in the vicinity of the Chianti prospect, which lies approx. 20 km north of the old Mount Gunson mining camp. The aim of this work, which was conducted by Gunson Resources NL in conjunction with its new joint venture partner Xstrata Copper Exploration Pty Ltd, was to assess the iron oxide - associated copper-gold (IOCG) mineralisation potential of several satellite residual gravity highs discerned to lie on the flanks of the main Chianti gravity anomaly, in the light of an encouraging, strongly mineralised but narrow drillhole core intercept of chalcopyrite and bornite that was made in late 2005 by Gunson Resources in its PACE Year 1 DDH MGD34 (2.01% Cu, 0.10 ppm Au, 2.4 ppm Ag, over the depth interval 548-552 m). Xstrata had proposed to underwrite up to 3000 m of drilling on 11 new targets arising from their recent reprocessing and interpretation of all regional aeromagnetic and gravity data using new lithostratigraphy and density models; 5 of these targets were identified as lying on the Emmie [Bluff] East and Chianti North gravity features, which had not previously been drilled. The latest PACE-assisted drilling programme was carried out during February-April 2007, and consisted eventually of just three directional diamond drillholes with RC precollars: MGD42 (total depth 1023.3 m, including a 300 m precollar), MGD44 (TD 607.32 m, including a 178 m precollar) and MGD45 (TD 801.17 m, including a 300 m precollar). No mineralisation was found, even though MGD45, the closest hole to the discovery at MGD34, was sited only 600 m north of it. The main contribution made by this new drilling activity was towards extending the understanding of the regional basement geology and topography. The local pre-Pandurra Formation palaeosurface was seen to have a linear depth gradient which increases northwards and westwards coming off the Chianti structural block, where the relief is in part due to past down-to-the-west movement along the north-south trending Cattlegrid Fault. A variably preserved, dacitic Gawler Range Volcanics section was intersected, overlying probable Hiltaba Suite (rather than Donington Suite) granitoid plutons and associated mafic dykes. The over 301 m thick and by far the thickest drilled sequence of GRV volcanic flows and underlying laminated tuffaceous sediments (?Tarcoola Formation equivalent) was present in hole MGD44, and its atypical development in relation to the succession seen in nearby drillholes suggests that it formed in a localised, steeply subsidised (?half-graben or collapsed caldera pipe) portion of the Chianti prospect with many similarities to the Carrapateena orebody setting. However, at Chianti the lateral distribution of drilling data on which to formulate a basement structural model is presently much too sparse. Therefore recommendations were made by Gunson Resources to carry on with additional close-spaced drilling in the vicinity of MGD34, addressing refined targets based on improved 3-D gravity modelling, besides acquiring both surface and downhole EM or IP data to try to locate conductive zones at depth.

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About this record

Record No mesac21828
Topic Geoscientific Information
Type of Resource Document
Category Type
Document Type Mineral Company Report - Mineral Exploration
Contributor Hamish Paterson and Associates Pty Ltd
Sponsor Gunson Resources Ltd
Tenement
Tenement Holder Gunson Resources Ltd;Xstrata Copper Exploration Pty Ltd
Operator Gunson Resources Ltd
Geological Province
Mine Name Chianti prospect;Emmie East prospect;Chianti North prospect
Stratigraphy
Commodity
Notes
Notes: PACE project code DPY4-65 : company final submission includes exploration drilling actual total cost ($597,871.12 excluding Goods and Services Tax), out of which PACE Initiative funds have paid $75,000.00 (excl. GST).
Geographic Locality:...

Notes: PACE project code DPY4-65 : company final submission includes exploration drilling actual total cost ($597,871.12 excluding Goods and Services Tax), out of which PACE Initiative funds have paid $75,000.00 (excl. GST). Geographic Locality: Arcoona Plateau;Emmie Bluff;Arcoona Station;Mount Gunson;Elaine Zone;Lake Windabout;Pernatty Station;Bottle Hill;Cattlegrid Fault Doc No: Env 11557 Drillhole: MGD42;(229980);MGD44;(229978);MGD45;(229979);MGD46;(229981) Drillhole Unit No: 6335 00343;THROUGH;6335 00346

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Language English
Metadata Standard ISO 19115-3

Citations

Use constraints License
License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
Persistent identifier https://pid.sarig.sa.gov.au/document/mesac21828
Citation Paterson, H.L. Unlocking South Australia's Mineral and Energy Potential - A Plan for Accelerating Exploration. Theme 2 (drilling partnerships with PIRSA and industry) : Year 4 partnership no. DPY4-65, Chianti mineral prospect. Project completion dataset. Mineral Company Report - Mineral Exploration
https://pid.sarig.sa.gov.au/document/mesac21828

Technical information

Status
Maintenance and Update Frequency
Geographic Reference GDA2020 (EPSG:7844)
Geo bounding box {"type":"Polygon","coordinates":[[[137,-31.5],[137.5,-31.5],[137.5,-31],[137,-31],[137,-31.5]]]}
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