Whey Whey Creek (the Black Elephant Project). Data release to accompany first partial surrender at licence expiry/renewal : annual reports for the period 9/10/2006 to 8/10/2011.
Created: 12 Nov 2024 Revised: 12 Nov 2024

A tenement area located 25 km south-west of Olary was taken up for exploration because in the licensees' opinion it is favourably located on the southern margin of the Curnamona Craton, and covers Willyama Supergroup metasediments and...

A tenement area located 25 km south-west of Olary was taken up for exploration because in the licensees' opinion it is favourably located on the southern margin of the Curnamona Craton, and covers Willyama Supergroup metasediments and metavolcanics within the mineralised Weekeroo Inlier of the Olary Domain, close to key mineral occurrences including Kalkaroo, Honeymoon, Hunters Dam, Dome Rock, White Dam, Crockers Well and Radium Hill. Although this ground had previously been held by many explorers, it was believed that very little effective exploration had formerly been done there, with only one mineral exploratory drillhole completed on it. The complex nature of the area's geology suggests that many potentially economic multi-commodity mineralisation styles may be present there, including: - stratiform to stratabound, thin, early oxide facies iron formation - associated Cu-Au ± Ag-Mo (U) (IOCG); - stratabound, polymetallic, pyritic massive sulphide Cu-Zn-Co ± Pb-Ag-W-Mn hosted by the Bimba calcsilicate Formation and Calc-albitite Suite (U, Au); - Pb-Zn-Ag± Cu, Au, Ba, thin oxide silcrete facies, manganese-rich BIF associated and manganese garnetite Broken Hill type (BHT) mineralisation; - stratiform to stratabound, metamorphosed volcanogenic Cu-Zn; - shear-hosted gold within quartz veins; - sedimentary uranium (in Cainozoic sedimentary cover); - pegmatite/granite and shear - hosted U and REE mineralisation; - possible calc-silicate and/or graphitic schist - hosted U + REE mineralisation; - carbonatite (?) - associated REE deposits; - mafic/ultramafic PGE ± Ni deposits. Work undertaken to date by the EL 3631 partners has included conducting extensive research into what exploration had been done by earlier explorers, plus what mapping and research work of the state geological surveys and universities exists for this area, together with making a progressive collation of all the available data including aeromagnetics, radiometrics and any drilling data. In licence year 3 Wolf Leyh undertook detailed re-logging of drill chips retained at the PIRSA Core Storage Facility in Adelaide, plus the more accurate GPS re-location in the field of Esso’s 1982 percussion hole NEWP1. After he had carried out detailed surface traversing of Esso's NE Weekeroo prospect in addition to performing the above drill cuttings re-logging, his new interpretation of the drilled section led to the recognition that this hole had probably failed to reach or test the south-western strike extension of the highly prospective Creagh Dhubh meta-exhalite package. The results of subsequent surface geochemical sampling of unusual lode host rocks, gossans and alteration facies present at Creagh Dhubh, based upon existing regional and more detailed mapping plus a detailed study of favourable statigraphic correlations both local and regional, have clearly indicated that this prospect represents a prime BHT exploration target which currently remains undrilled and has barely been tested at surface and along strike. The bedrock beneath the alluvium-filled valley extending off the north-eastern end of the prospective zone is completely untested, and together with the studied outcropping part, constitutes a target having excellent potential for finding a large stratiform sedex to volcanogenic style base metal +/- gold deposit present at shallow depth. No field work was carried out in the fourth and fifth licence years while a third joint venture partner was being sought, but a comprehensive and accelerated exploration programme has now been proposed, which initially includes further rock and gossan sampling along the trend of Creagh Dhubh prospect and over other prospective features identified within the licence area. This will be followed by the acquisition of detailed ground magnetic surveys, the conduct of RAB drilling and bedrock geochemical sampling in soil covered extensions, and then deeper diamond drilling at Creagh Dhubh.

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About this record

Record No mesac24557
Topic Geoscientific Information
Type of Resource Document
Category Type
Document Type Mineral Company Report - Mineral Exploration
Contributor
Sponsor
Tenement EL 3631
Tenement Holder Eaglehawk Geological Consulting Pty Ltd;D.T. Corbett Engineering Pty Ltd
Operator Eaglehawk Geological Consulting Pty Ltd;D.T. Corbett Engineering Pty Ltd
Geological Province
Mine Name Creagh Dhubh prospect
Stratigraphy
Commodity
Notes
Geographic Locality: Whey Whey Creek;Manna Hill;Weekeroo Station;Walter Outalpa Shear Zone;1995 AGSO BHEi Area 1ii Aerial Magnetic Survey;1995 AGSO BHEi Area 1ii Aerial Radioactivity Survey
Doc No: Env 11546
Drillhole: Esso NEWP1;(145053)...

Geographic Locality: Whey Whey Creek;Manna Hill;Weekeroo Station;Walter Outalpa Shear Zone;1995 AGSO BHEi Area 1ii Aerial Magnetic Survey;1995 AGSO BHEi Area 1ii Aerial Radioactivity Survey Doc No: Env 11546 Drillhole: Esso NEWP1;(145053) Drillhole Unit No: 6833 00385

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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/mesac24557
Citation Corbett, W.L.;Leyh, W.R. Whey Whey Creek (the Black Elephant Project). Data release to accompany first partial surrender at licence expiry/renewal : annual reports for the period 9/10/2006 to 8/10/2011. Mineral Company Report - Mineral Exploration
https://pid.sarig.sa.gov.au/document/mesac24557

Technical information

Status
Maintenance and Update Frequency
Geographic Reference GDA2020 (EPSG:7844)
Geo bounding box {"type":"Polygon","coordinates":[[[139.5,-32.5],[140.5,-32.5],[140.5,-32],[139.5,-32],[139.5,-32.5]]]}
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Lineage