Exploration for possible economic stratiform gold and base metals hosted by Palaeoproterozoic Willyama Supergroup metasediments and intrusive igneous rocks, undertaken within an area located to the north of the Barrier Highway and centred approximately 15 km north of Mingary, commenced with the reprocessing and image interpretation of recent SAEI aeromagnetic survey data acquired by AGSO/MESA along 1500 m spaced east-west flight lines, leading to on ground follow-up of magnetic anomalies of interest via ground magnetic traversing (20.6 line km) and reconnaissance rock chip sampling. Sampling done on ferruginous outcrops in the Catch Dam area returned elevated mercury and weak copper anomalism. In April 1993, three traverses of widely spaced RAB drilling (93 holes for 4057 m) were completed in this area to obtain subsurface geochemical and lithological information on the target Bimba Formation pyritic unit. Two of the drillholes, W56 and W57, reported anomalous lead, zinc and gold from rocks located about 2 km north of Catch Dam, with maximum assays of 0.13% Pb, 0.23% Zn and 0.32 ppm Au. In mid-1994, Normandy-Poseidon Exploration conducted an interpretation of the Ballara survey aeromagnetic dataset, determining that the apparently strongest magnetic anomalies were too low in amplitude to constitute blind Cu-Au-magnetite targets: consequently a partial relinquishment of the northern half of the licence area was effected. No further field work was carried out on the subject licence from the start of 1994 until the end of its term in September 1995, this period being taken up by a search for a third party principal joint venturer who would fund ongoing exploration across all three of the Drew Hill Project licences. At the end of this period Mount Isa Mines agreed to take a majority stake in the project.