During February-March 1990 Aberfoyle conducted detailed, 1:10,000 scale geological mapping and rock chip geochemical sampling at previous Esso base metal prospects, Bulloo Well, Putts Well and Shorts Dam, identifying several strongly zinc, lead and mercury anomalous gossans in the Bimba Formation. During August-September 1990, a regional stream sediment geochemical survey (306 samples) was conducted across the relatively incised terrain of the western half of EL 1616, to complement the one done earlier across the more subdued country in the eastern part of the licence. This work defined BLEG anomalies north of the Woman-in-White mine, to the west of Bulloo Well, and in the vicinity of Putts Well. At the last-named, near coincident soil and stream sediment gold anomalies were regarded as being very encouraging, when combined with the above base metal showings. Detailed soil sampling (200 samples) was then undertaken over the eastern half of the licence, as follow-up to the earlier regional BLEG survey which had identified four gold anomalies, and these were confirmed, but with altered patterns of gold distribution. However, of these, the White Dam and Putts Well gold anomalies were considerably upgraded. White Dam had originally been centred on two anomalous samples of 9 and 14 ppb Au, both taken from an area of thick transported overburden; but the 1990 infill geochemical sampling of this cover yielded four samples with values above the 10 ppb threshold (maximum 84 ppb Au) that spanned ~1 square km on the northern side of the Bulloo Fault. Late in 1990 ground magnetic and soil sampling surveys and 1:2000 scale geological mapping were performed on a 20 line km grid laid out at the Mary mine, to prepare for planned later percussion drilling of possible iron oxide - associated copper-gold (IOCG) style targets. No obvious controls to the known surface Cu-Au mineralisation were found, and disseminated magnetite plus pyrite/chalcopyrite mineralisation at depth was envisaged as causing the observed magnetic response that had been measured at 10 m station intervals along lines spaced 50 and 100 m apart. At the same time rock chip sampling was carried out over the White Dam and Old Sampson Dam soil gold anomalies, while 1:5000 scale geological mapping at the Bulloo zinc prospect was completed. During June-July 1991, infill stream sediment BLEG sampling was performed in the Bimbowrie Hill - Oonartra Dam area (139 samples). Follow-up rock chip sampling and geological mapping did not disclose any significant gold anomalies. In July 1991 a detailed gravity survey was completed over the structurally complicated Bulloo prospect, when ~800 stations were read at 50 m intervals along 100 m spaced lines. No density anomalies were indicated that might be due to massive sulphide bodies, so it was concluded that no buried >5Mt base metal deposit exists there at depths of less than 150 m. The possibility remained that the interpreted stratiform Bimba Formation target producing the anomalous surface geochemistry (probable graphitic schists with pyrrhotite stringers) could lie more than 200 m below the surface. In September 1991 an aerial photographic survey at 1:22,000 scale was flown for the joint venture by BHP Engineering, along an east-west corridor extending from Oonartra Dam to Boolcoomata Hill, in order to improve the existing poor 1976 government photogrammetric coverage of this northern part of the licence area to assist with structural interpretation. In November 1991, an EM sounding survey was carried out at the Bulloo prospect to try to explore the basement character at greater depth than revealed by the earlier gravity survey data. A similar EM survey was also conducted at the Putts Well - Oonartra Dam prospect to probe down to around 300 m depth. Both of the EM surveys revealed interesting bedrock conductors which the JV decided would be drilled during the following year. Drilling began during April-May 1992, when one inclined percussion/diamond hole was put in to test the Putts Well - Oonartra Dam EM target, finally reaching a total depth of 400 m (127 m precollared). This drillhole, PD1, encountered conductive Bimba rocks within an interpreted shallowly southwards dipping, upward facing sequence, but at much shallower depth (160-200 m downhole) than anticipated. Up to 20% pyrite+pyrrhotite content was logged in the host calc-silicates, but only moderate order base metal values were returned (maxima 0.47% Pb and 0.85% Zn). A second inclined percussion/diamond hole, BL1, was completed to TD 358 m (114 m precollared) on the Bulloo prospect late in June 1992. Here the EM target was thought to be a near-flat conductor representing sulphides occupying the keel of a Bimba Formation syncline. The drillhole intersected brecciated and pegmatite-intruded Bimba carbonates and calc-silicates over the downhole depth interval 213-235 m, which contain bands of massive pyrrhotite uo to 7 cm wide. After passing through some underlying carbonaceous schists (interpreted Pelitic-Carbonaceous Unit), the hole passed into the inferred northern limb of the structure, intersecting calc-silicates and carbonates over the depth interval 267-314 m, containing up to 25% pyrite+pyrrhotite between 290 m and 293 m, with visible traces of sphalerite and galena. The highest recorded zinc content in the drill core was 0.51% Zn, from 277.4 to 279.4 m. The accompanying levels of lead, silver and gold were not significant. BL1 was terminated in magnetite-bearing schists of the Upper Albite Unit. The drilling results were regarded as matching fairly closely the prognosed conductor position and stratigraphic section. After reviewing these two drillholes, Aberfoyle decided that additional drilling would be necessary on both prospects in order to address the still unknown subsurface geology lying between the geochemically anomalous Bimba gossanous outcrops and the above mineralised intercepts, that are separated by distances of about 1 to 2.5 km, providing ample room for facies changes and fault displacements of critical horizons. Also, the company believed that further surface geochemical sampling, soil gas surveying for mercury, and detailed geological mapping was warranted at both prospect locations. Accordingly, in May 1992 another 22 rock chip samples were collected during prospecting of ground to the east of the PD1 drillsite. During 1993, only limited field work took place on the subject EL 1616. Some prospecting was done along the western part of the Bulloo Fault, due west of Bulloo Well, which revealed only minor thin beds of Bimba Formation calc-silicates and K feldspar gneisses. Consequently, Aberfoyle decided that the main base and precious metal potential lay to the east, along covered portions of this prospective long-lived basement structure. In an attempt to trace extensions of the fault's magnetic signature, in-house image processing methods were used by Aberfoyle to compare the data from the JV's 1988 Drew Hill Aeromagnetic Survey with that from the 1989 BMR-SADME Olary Infill (synonym Ballara) Aeromagnetic Survey. After some delay in sourcing a drilling contractor, diamond drilling of the Bulloo prospect resumed during June 1994, close to the licence boundary with EL 1938, where a 1-2 m thick Bimba carbonate horizon that is traceable for ~80 m around the hinge of a shallow north-westerly plunging anticline had been found to contain up to 17% Zn, and where sparse scattered ironstone float and subcrop had returned anomalous gold values, to 31 g/t Au. The first of four drillholes, BL2, the only one located on the subject tenement area, experienced considerable drilling difficulties in reaching a TD of 149.5 m, due to the sheared rock below 102 m depth in which the diamond coring took place. The base of the percussion precollar hole had intersected 2 m of very pyritic calc-silicate right above the shear, but beyond this point the hole entered and stayed within unprospective pegmatite and quartzo-feldspathic gneiss/migmatite (?Upper Albite Unit) until drilling was stopped. No lead, zinc or gold values of note were returned. Correlative data obtained from the other three holes, BL3, BL4 and BL5, that were drilled within Aberfoyle's adjoining EL 1938 Bulloo Creek, is reported herein in the 1993-1994 annual report for EL 1616. Minor grades of zinc and gold mineralisation were encountered close to the surface over narrow intervals of the lower Bimba Formation in hole BL5. The disparate results gained from these latter drillholes further served to illustrate the structural and stratigraphic complexity of this particular prospect's geology.