Three separate small sub-blocks forming a licence in the Tarcoola district have been explored for possible economic buried Tertiary sandstone-hosted uranium mineralisation and for any other metallic mineralisation that may have formed in...
Three separate small sub-blocks forming a licence in the Tarcoola district have been explored for possible economic buried Tertiary sandstone-hosted uranium mineralisation and for any other metallic mineralisation that may have formed in underlying shallow basement rocks. Work commenced with the acquisition of 416 line km of airborne EM (TEMPEST) survey coverage flown over two, northern and eastern sub-blocks of EL 3483 during August 2006 by Fugro Airborne Surveys, along 1 km spaced E-W lines, with N-S tie lines 10 km apart. Post-processing inversion modelling of the new AEM and aeromagnetic data was used to map the palaeodrainage topography and to identify potential palaeochannel saline aquifers and also intra-basement conductive features. Following interpretation of the airborne survey data, the same two licence sub-blocks were explored with semi-regional calcrete geochemical sampling on a 400 m x 800 m grid (661 samples collected for assay during January-July 2008). The highest uranium value obtained from this sampling was 3.6 ppm U. In the northern (central) tenement sub-block, the gridded uranium assay values showed subtle elevated values that approximately follow the interpreted course of the palaeochannel valley. A number of multielement anomalies were also evident in the calcrete data, that overlie areas of interpreted Hiltaba Suite granite basement close to the edge of the Bulgunnia Shear Zone. During August 2009 Quasar began its drilling evaluation of the Kingoonya Palaeochannel section delineated on the subject licence. 38 vertical aircore drillholes for a total penetration of 2233 m were completed along 3 traverses laid out in the northern licence sub-block. Along these drill traverses, the holes were put in 400 m apart outside the palaeochannel confines, and were spaced 200 m apart inside of it. In addition, a few of the 38 holes were also sited on the traverses in places where they could investigate the basement beneath surface calcrete gold and base metal anomalies. All of the aircore holes were continued downwards until they reached the point of bit refusal, and 33 of them successfully penetrated the pre-Tertiary basement. Following their completion, 25 of the holes were able to be wireline geophysically logged through the palaeochannel sedimentary sequence, using a gamma ray probe run inside of the drill rods. Disappointingly, no significant gamma log anomalies were recorded - the highest radiometric grade detected in these sediments after tool calibration calculations was 1 cm @ 0.009% eU3O8, from below 14.49 m depth in hole TCA019. A slightly higher but less important gamma log peak of 5 cm @ 0.012% eU3O8 was recorded elsewhere, in hole TCA002, but was sourced from saprolitic, radiogenic clayey weathered basement granite below 6.19 m depth. The highest conventional assay results obtained from sampling of the palaeochannel sediments was 33.2 ppm U, which came from the depth interval 37-39 m in hole TCA009. This sample was taken from the base of a channel lower subunit containing reduced gravels and sands, with minor smoky quartz present. Other sediment assay results indicated that the western side of the southwards draining palaeochannel has the higher levels of uranium mineralisation, with most of it occurring near the top of the channel fill sequence, at or near the contact between a clay layer and the youngest, overlying sand-gravel package. In terms of other metals of interest, a detrital gold anomaly was found at 118-119 m depth in drillhole TCA013 located in the eastern part of the licence northern sub-block, where a decomposited 2 m sample returned 0.15 ppm Au; the nine highest downhole gold results also came from this drillhole, from samples taken over the depth interval 114-123 m. Base metal concentrations were subdued, with maxima of 336 ppm Zn, 190 ppm Pb and 176 ppm Cu coming from saprolitic granite basement, but in three separate drillholes. Planned follow-up drilling (a) to test the palaeochannel fill prospectivity in the vicinity of hole TCA009, particularly near the edge of the Bulgunnia Shear Zone within the underlying basement; and, (b) to revisit intra-palaeochannel sites where the basement was not reached in Quasar's previous drilling, in order to try to fully investigate the palaeochannel sedimentary sequence, did not eventuate, as no further work was done on EL 3483 over the succeeding two years before a decision was made early in 2012 to surrender tenure.
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