Manfred Dam (the Glencoe Uranium Project). Annual reports and final report to licence expiry/full surrender, for the period 10/8/2005 to 24/11/2012.
Published: 19 Mar 1913 Created: 12 Nov 2024 Revised: 12 Nov 2024

An area in the southern Strzelecki Desert, centred approximately 70 km east of Lake Frome, has been explored for possible economic roll-front style Tertiary palaeochannel-hosted sedimentary uranium mineralisation of the type discovered at the...

An area in the southern Strzelecki Desert, centred approximately 70 km east of Lake Frome, has been explored for possible economic roll-front style Tertiary palaeochannel-hosted sedimentary uranium mineralisation of the type discovered at the Honeymoon and Goulds Dam uranium deposits. Within the area covered by the subject licence, approximately 50 holes have already been drilled by previous explorers targeting sedimentary uranium mineralisation. The fluvial Eyre Formation (Palaeocene to Eocene) is the primary target within EL 3391, and existing drillhole information shows the presence of a 3 to7 km wide sandy palaeochannel, the Carnanto Palaeochannel, traversing the eastern part of the licence for 37 km from its southern to its northern boundary. A second palaeochannel, the Yalkapo, appears to branch off the Carnanto Palaeochannel towards the west in the southern part of EL 3391. The Yalkapo Palaeochannel has been extrapolated to persist for ca. 10 km from its join with the Carnanto Palaeochannel, and its course lies “open” to the north, with potential for a further 18 km extent. The deepest part of the Carnanto Palaeochannel is ca. 150 m beneath surface in the central part of the licence, and the deepest part of the Yalkapo Palaeochannel intersected is around 130 m beneath surface. Two prospective sand units (Paladin’s Te1b and Te2) were encountered in the Eyre Formation in the Yalkapo Palaeochannel, and three sand units (Paladin’s Te1a, Te1b and Te2), locally with a basal pebble conglomerate, in the Carnanto Palaeochannel. Sand units in both palaeochannels are separated by mudstone packets up to 5 m thick. Paladin Energy had also logged some fine to medium grained sand units within the overlying Miocene Namba Formation, but their lateral continuity between drillholes is poor. Namba sand horizons are more common within the Carnanto Palaeochannel. Previous work indicates that the upper Eyre sand units (Te1b and Te2) and sands in the Namba tend to be more widely oxidised than the lower Eyre (Te1a) horizon. Oxidising ground waters appear to be moving as a sheet into the centre of the licence from the east and west, corresponding with the slope on the top of the pre-Tertiary, and are possibly flowing through the Carnanto Palaeochannel from the south. Paladin’s 2002 drilling campaign located in the Carnanto and Yalkapo palaeochannels in the centre of the current licence area showed that the target redox boundaries are complex and poorly constrained. Activity on Scimitar's Glencoe Project commenced with a detailed review of available records from past exploration, which enabled the construction of a 3-D stratigraphic grid and Tertiary palaeodrainage model for the eastern Lake Frome region. Then, during December 2005, a helicopter-borne HoistEM (VTEM) survey was acquired over EL 3391, comprising ~290 line km flown along twelve 2-4 km spaced east-west lines using a 30 m sensor height above ground surface. Interpretation of the AEM data confirmed that two north to north-west trending channels within the Eyre Formation appear to traverse EL 3391 at approximately 70-140 m depth beneath surface. During December 2006, with the help of part-subsidy funding provided by the SA Government's PACE Initiative, Scimitar undertook a rotary mud drilling programme designed to follow-up previously identified uranium mineralisation (up to 350 cps) within the upper Eyre Fm sands in the Carnanto Palaeochannel, and thereby improve knowledge about the channel morphology. 18 vertical holes were drilled for a total penetration of 2502 m, and were geologically and wireline geophysically logged. The holes were generally drilled at 800 m spacing along traverses 1200 m apart. A calibrated gross gamma ray tool run in the uncased open holes recorded average downhole background radiation in the order of 10 – 40 counts per second (cps), and a peak anomaly reading of 826 cps was recorded from 103.25 m depth in hole GNC009. The radioactivity logging confirmed previous intercepts of anomalous (> 300 cps) high grade (> 70 ppm eU3O8) uranium content associated with an inferred redox front developed along the eastern side of the Carnanto Palaeochannel, and further expanded on the known extent of the mineralisation anomaly within the palaeochannel, while the drillholes sampled both reduced and oxidised environments within the sand units of the interpreted Namba and Eyre Formations, and identified a number of partially oxidised sand units of interest within interpreted Eyre Fm sands. In the third licence year Scimitar made preparations for conducting a follow-up drilling campaign of 72 vertical rotary mud holes totalling ~8800 m, which was designed to expand the existing 800 m x 1200 m drillhole pattern to cover a greater part of the Carnanto and Yalkapo Palaeochannels, with the intention of outlining additional uranium mineralisation and giving better definition to models of redox front geometry. This drilling began in September 2008, at the start of Year 4, with 9 step-out (from the grid) holes for 1000 m, which encountered similar subsurface geology to previously, and yielded a maximum downhole mineralised intercept of 0.8 m @ 103 ppm eU3O8 in hole GNC23. In general, the uranium mineralisation occurs within partially oxidized to reduced sand units, or within reduced lignitic clay horizons proximal to sand sequences. No other drilling took place during the rest of the year. During the fifth licence year licensee Cauldron Energy (new name only), in conjunction with its neighbour tenement holder Callabonna Uranium, committed to participate via infill data acquisition to regional coverage for the Geoscience Australia 2010 Frome Embayment TEMPEST AEM survey which commenced in May 2010, of which approximately 200 line km fell within EL 3391. Eight east-west lines 5 km apart were flown for the companies, infilling the 5 km spaced lines of the Geoscience Australia survey, to give line coverage at 2.5 km spacing over the tenement. During the sixth licence year, Cauldron used the additional new AEM processed data released by Geoscience Australia in November 2010 to assist it in evaluating different possible geological models for the Glencoe Project area. The previous geological model had a classic palaeochannel as the preferred sedimentary mineralisation setting. Cauldron's model preference became directed towards a palaeovalley or a horst and graben setting, as it thought this best fitted the current geological evidence. However, the company recognised that there are likely to be uraniferous palaeochannels located within the main palaeovalley. Cauldron spent a large part of this reporting period in negotiations with Callabonna Uranium, in regards to a setting up a possible joint venture on its renewed EL 4611. These negotiations ceased after lengthy discussions had taken place between the two companies. Consequently, Cauldron began to look for a new joint venture partner to assist with progressing exploration drilling and additional geophysical surveying within the subject licence area. However, this quest proved fruitless, and a decision was made at the end of Year 7 to allow tenure to lapse.

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About this record

Record No mesac24823
Topic Geoscientific Information
Type of Resource Document
Category Type
Document Type Mineral Company Report - Mineral Exploration
Contributor GPX Airborne Pty Ltd;Borehole Wireline Pty Ltd
Sponsor
Tenement
Tenement Holder Scimitar Resources Ltd;Cauldron Energy Ltd
Operator Scimitar Resources Ltd;Cauldron Energy Ltd
Geological Province Lake Eyre Basin
Mine Name
Stratigraphy Eyre Formation
Commodity uranium
Notes
Notes: See also related reports held separately in Env 11334 (results of the PACE Initiative Year 3 - approved drilling project DPY3-18 conducted on the Glencoe Project).  A corporate name change from Scimitar Resources Limited to Cauldron Energy...

Notes: See also related reports held separately in Env 11334 (results of the PACE Initiative Year 3 - approved drilling project DPY3-18 conducted on the Glencoe Project). A corporate name change from Scimitar Resources Limited to Cauldron Energy Limited was registered with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission on 26/5/2009. Includes: - Bergeron, M-C. and Lawrence, M., 2011. Acquisition and processing report for the 2010 Frome Embayment Airborne EM Survey (Fugro Airborne Surveys contractor's report for Geoscience Australia). Appendix to EL 4611 first annual report to 24/11/2011. 115 pages. Geographic Locality: Eastern Lake Frome Plains;Quinyambie Station;Manfred Dam;Carnanto Palaeochannel;Yalkalpo Palaeochannel;2005 Marree & Glencoe Aerial EM (VTEM) Survey;2010 Frome Embayment Aerial EM Survey Doc No: Env 11441 Drillhole: GNC01 - GNC27 Drillhole Unit No: 7036 000196;THROUGH;7036 00213

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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/mesac24823
Citation Watts, C.;Boyle, J.;Coppin, T. 1913. Manfred Dam (the Glencoe Uranium Project). Annual reports and final report to licence expiry/full surrender, for the period 10/8/2005 to 24/11/2012. Mineral Company Report - Mineral Exploration
https://pid.sarig.sa.gov.au/document/mesac24823

Technical information

Status
Maintenance and Update Frequency
Geographic Reference GDA2020 (EPSG:7844)
Geo bounding box {"type":"Polygon","coordinates":[[[140.5,-31],[141,-31],[141,-30.5],[140.5,-30.5],[140.5,-31]]]}
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