[ Note - here is only Part 3 of an abstract comprised of 3 separately indexed parts ]. During the fifth licence year, infill calcrete sampling performed at the Monsoon SW prospect (96 samples taken at 100 m x 100 m spacing) delineated two high...
[ Note - here is only Part 3 of an abstract comprised of 3 separately indexed parts ]. During the fifth licence year, infill calcrete sampling performed at the Monsoon SW prospect (96 samples taken at 100 m x 100 m spacing) delineated two high order gold anomalies of 29 ppb Au and 27 ppb Au, while a continuation of infill calcrete sampling performed at the Monsoon [main] prospect (300 samples taken at 50 m x 50 m spacing) also delineated two distinct high order gold anomalies of 107 and 100 ppb Au, which coincide with two untested previously identified soil geochemical anomalies of 34 and 63 ppb Au respectively. Multi-element geochemical analyses were conducted on retained pulps of six-metre composite RAB drill cuttings samples recovered from the Typhoon and Monsoon prospects, to investigate whether specific elemental haloes that could exist downhole might be used to help define the position of primary mineralisation, relative to promising intercepts obtained from first pass RAB drilling on a prospect, in the same way that earlier multielement assaying of surface sample media had proven to be useful for focussing drilling on broad gold-in-calcrete anomalies. In continuing exploratory drilling of the Challenger prospect, 38 RAB holes for 778 m were completed to test a 365 ppb Au gold-in-calcrete anomaly located updip of the footwall zone, directly along strike from the F1 ore shoot. The best mineralised drill intercepts were 2 m @ 5.4 g/t Au from 13 m depth in hole 98CHAR3013, and 4 m @ 1.7 g/t Au from 38 m depth in hole 98CHAR3009. To date a subeconomic (at the prevailing gold price) gold resource containing roughly 500,000 ounces of gold has been identified within this deposit. Follow-up RAB drilling (28 holes for 1726 m) was conducted at Typhoon prospect. Here the best mineralised drill intercepts were 7 m @ 6.01 g/t Au from 45 m depth in hole 98TNAR121 (including 1 m @ 33.67 g/t Au from 48 m depth), and 9 m @ 1.92 g/t Au from 55 m depth in hole 98TNAR122. During the first year of the renewed Jumbuck licence (now EL 2637), being the sixth year of joint venture activity in this area, operator Resolute Resources collected 280 minus 2 mm size fraction soil samples at 50 m x 50 m spacing over the Monsoon prospect to try to delineate drill targets within broad gold-in-calcrete anomalies derived from earlier 200 m x 200 m spaced sampling. In exploration drilling begun at the Challenger West prospect, 10 RAB holes for 502 m were completed to look for possible high grade gold ore shoots similar to those present at Challenger. None were encountered, although the drilling did intersect several narrow zones having elevated gold content, e.g. 1 m @ 1.98 g/t Au from 35 m depth in hole 98CHAR3016. At Monsoon prospect, the completion of RAB drilling over two untested gold-in-soil anomalies (by another 61 holes for 3452 m), aimed at locating potential high grade gold mineralisation, has instead outlined a 1 km x 300 m supergene blanket having mostly low tenor gold content, but containing some isolated higher grade intercepts that could reflect undiscovered deeper high grade gold shoots. Exploration on EL 2637 in its second year of tenure involved RC and diamond drilling. Most of the drilling was done within the Challenger mineralisation as part of the feasibility study for Stage 1 of the Challenger mining project, the development of a 130 m deep open cut mine pit. The feasibility study was completed in September 2001 at a cost of $1.5 million. Three inclined RC holes for 230 m were drilled during June 2001 to test a geophysical anomaly lying 6.2 km to the north-east of the Challenger mineralisation. Assaying of downhole samples for gold and arsenic returned no significant values. During the three year period mid 2001 - mid 2004, and briefly summarised here as reportable activities pertaining to EL 2637, Dominion Mining completed a bankable feasibility study for the Challenger project (September 2001), made the decision to proceed to mining (December 2001), subsequently developed and completed mining in the Challenger mine open cut (March 2002 - March 2004, and commenced the development of the underground mine (February 2004). Ongoing surface exploration during this time was concentrated around the Challenger mine to assist in defining ore reserves, and was also progressed on nearby prospects for proving the viability of satellite gold deposits to feed the Challenger mill. A total of 1435 new holes were drilled. In the Challenger area, 853 RAB holes, 129 RC holes, 64 diamond holes, 27 RC grade control holes, 85 underground exploration diamond holes and 6 water bores were completed. A total of 6 RC holes for 634 m were drilled at Atlantis prospect; 177 RAB, aircore and RC holes with a total penetration of 6305 m were drilled at Mystery Bore prospect; 17 RAB holes for 883 m were drilled at The Glade prospect; and 71 RAB and RC holes totalling 4002 m were drilled at Typhoon prospect. The start of gold production at Challenger was scheduled for August 2002, from an open cut mine with a reserve of 578,000 tonnes averaging 5.97 g/t Au. The mine was intended to produce 105,000 ounces of gold over a 20 month period using a conventional CIP gold treatment plant, at an average cost of $278 per ounce. With further work to define the deeper underground resource then classified as inferred, it was envisaged that the open cut mining phase would then move into a high grade underground operation for 4-5 years, producing 45-50,000 ounces per year at 10 g/t. Development drilling programmes to evaluate the continuity of the principal Challenger ore shoots below the level of the planned open pit were completed by June 2003, and the resultant resource estimate, incorporating the M1, M2 and M3 shoots (beneath the limit of the open cut mine) to a vertical depth of 430 m, then totalled 257,400 contained ounces of gold. By the end of September 2003, a preliminary underground mine design and schedule had been completed for mining the main ore shoots down to 375 m depth below surface, and confirmatory drilling had commenced to increase the density of information and thus gain certainty regarding the model of the extent of the orebody at depth. By June 2004, after completing further infill drilling to test the M1 ore shoot between 900-820 m RL (~300-380 m vertical depth), the gold resource estimate was able to be extended down to the 780 m RL, now being 1,151,000 tonnes @ 10.5 g/t Au for 391,900 contained ounces, with recoverable underground reserves of 161,000 ounces of which approximately 80% is contained within the M1 shoot. Underground mine exploratory diamond drilling commenced in April 2004, and is presently continuing.