Exploration for Kalkaroo or Portia style copper-gold deposits, and for Broken Hill type stratiform lead-zinc-silver deposits, both possibly formed within the Palaeoproterozoic basement intrusive rocks and high grade metasediments in an area lying immediately north of Mingary township, was initially conducted by MIM Exploration through a farm-in agreement with the incumbent licensees Aberfoyle Resources and Normandy Minerals. Four traverses of ground magnetics, accompanied by soil sampling for gold and copper, and later moving loop Sirotem and dipole-dipole IP surveying along the same lines, investigated Aberfoyle's former encouraging mineralised intercepts made at the Catch Dam prospect in RAB holes W56 and W57. Following this work, MIM drilled 4 RC holes with diamond tails for a total penetration of 615.2 m. The best mineralised intercepts were made in drillhole WM4, which encountered significant but low grade lead-zinc sulphide mineralisation within inferred Pelite Suite schist, e.g. 16 m @ 0.4% Zn and 0.08% Pb from the depth interval 86-102 m, ranging up to 3 m @ 0.78% Zn and 0.15% Pb from the depth interval 163-166 m. The targeted IP anomalies were interpreted to be sourced by the pyrite and graphite encountered by this drilling, with some contribution from galena. Other work carried out at this prospect while drilling was in progress consisted of regolith terrain mapping at 1:25,000 scale by a consultant, aimed at ground truthing the existing TM, magnetic and radiometric data, the collection and BLEG analysis of 69 additional soil samples, plus the acquisition in June 1999 of a 327 station gravity survey, read at 100 m station intervals along four 8 km long lines. The regolith mapping revealed that EL 2127 is dominated by distal valley plain colluvium, with minor erosional terrain around Catch Dam. As follow-up to the RC drilling, 29 aircore drillholes for 749 m were put in to test the colluvium covered regions showing gravity and soil geochemical anomalies. Sub-economic galena-sphalerite was encountered 1-2 km south-east of WM3 and WM4 in holes CD15, CD17 and CD18 (best results 4 m @ 165 ppm Cu below 44 m depth in CD17, and 2 m @ 30 ppb Au from a quartz vein cut at 24 m depth in CD18). Low- level anomalous molybdenum and arsenic was also encountered in many of the Catch Dam aircore drillholes. However, the surface sample BLEG assays for gold, copper and silver were not found to be useful as pathfinders to the Catch Dam base metal mineralisation. MIM decided to exit the Drew Hill Project in May 2001, after it had made the discovery of the White Dam gold-copper occurrence at shallow depth on the joint venture's adjoining Drew Hill EL 2688 to the west. Western Metals Copper (formerly Aberfoyle Resources) then secured a new funding partner in Polymetals Australia to progress exploration for similar mineralisation within Wompinie EL 2774: a complete sale of the Drew Hill Project by the existing joint venturers to Polymetals was completed on 30/9/2002 after that company had completed nine months of due diligence and pre-feasibility studies on the three project tenements. As part of the pre-feasibility assessment conducted during early 2002, ten backhoe costeans 30 m long, 2-4 m deep and 1.5-2 m wide were dug and geochemically sampled by Polymetals along MIM's existing aircore drill traverses at Catch Dam prospect. However, because of a necessary immediate focus of attention on the White Dam deposit, no further work was done on the Wompinie ground until late in 2005. After Exco Resources took over control of the three Drew Hill Project licences, including Wompinie, on 27/10/2004, it chose to continue with geophysically defining new drilling targets. In early 2005, Noranda Pacific entered into an option agreement with Exco Resources, whereby it could acquire a 70% interest in new base metal discoveries on the project licences by spending a minimum of $300,000 to drill identified targets spread across these licences. In August 2005, 9 line km of 100 m spaced dipole-dipole IP traverses were run across four such targets on Wompinie, and in October 2005 104 stations of 200 m x 200 m detailed gravity coverage were also read there. Follow-up diamond drilling in November 2005 (3 RC precollared diamond holes for a total penetration of 957.3 m, partly funded by PIRSA's PACE drilling project DPY2-34) aimed to test a variety of structural/geological/magnetic targets identified by a desktop review completed by Noranda. Drillhole NDHD0001 tested a broad, 1-2 mGal gravity anomaly coincident with a discrete aeromagnetic high in an inferred fold nose structure. The rock sequence penetrated consisted of high metamorphic grade muscovite-garnet schists, amphibolites and leucocratic gneisses that are complexly folded and very strongly foliated. Within these rocks coarse grained quartz-sulphide (pyrite-pyrrhotite) veins up to 2 m wide are associated with zones of strong silica-albite alteration. Below 222 m depth the rocks are ubiquitously altered by a moderate albite-hematite (red rock) alteration assemblage that has overprinted earlier albite-magnetite alteration. The gravity anomaly is explained by the presence of amphibolites towards the end of hole at 342 m depth. The aeromagnetic anomaly is explained by the strongalbite-magnetite alteration. No significant trace metal assays were returned for this hole. Drillhole NDHD0002 tested the strongest IP response obtained from the August 2005 IP survey over selected aeromagnetic anomalies. The hole drilled through a sequence of albite-magnetite-biotite, silica-albite, albite-hematite altered felsic gneisses. Once again several 0.2-1 m wide quartz-sulphide veins were intersected at about 185 m depth, while pyrite-pyrrhotite is disseminated throughout the zone of albite-magnetite alteration. The IP anomaly is likely explained by a combination of the predominant albite-magnetite alteration and a ~12 m wide zone (between 232-243 m depth) of fault gouge with trace pyrite and core loss - likely representing a fault zone. No significant trace metal assays were returned for this hole. Drillhole NDHD0003 tested broadly coincident 3 mGal gravity, aeromagnetic high and moderate IP response anomalies. The hole drilled through a sequence of muscovite schists and leucocratic gneisses and ended in amphibolite. The rock alteration in this drillhole is slightly different to that seen in the others, with a larger percentage of biotite associated with both the albite-magnetite and silica-albite alteration zones. Several zones of interest were intersected at around 215-230 m depth, comprising 1-2 m wide zones of brecciated silica-albite with disseminated pyrite-pyrrhotite and rare chalcopyrite associated with an apparent later biotite event which cuts the core at a low angle. The breccia zones have an apparent southerly dip on section and are also associated with bands of fluorite and/or garnet as selvedges to albite dominant alteration zones. The gravity anomaly may be explained by the amphibolite at the end of hole, and the IP anomaly by either the ubiquitous albite-magnetite alteration or the disseminated sulphides in the breccia zones. No significant trace metal assays were returned for this hole. Minor U anomalism was returned over intervals associated with bands of fluorite. Due to the disappointing results from the PACE-assisted diamond drilling work, Noranda withdrew from its farmin option agreement with Exco Resources in October 2006. Subsequently Exco did not perform any more field work, but carried out a review of the drilling and geophysical data and attempted to generate new exploration targets that might interest new joint venturers.