In March 2010, once the terms of the joint venture agreement had been finalised, Argo passed its complete data sets to Xstrata, who immediately commenced a re-logging of Argo's drill cores besides conducting comprehensive unconstrained 3-D modelling of Argo's high-quality gravity and magnetic survey data collected throughout the tenement area. Prospects given priority by Xstrata were the Canegrass, Winjabbie East, Oak Dam South and Oak Dam West prospect areas. The Oak Dam South geophysical anomaly was considered to have the best potential to host a significant IOCG mineralised system, a conclusion supported by the SA Government's independent assessment leading to the award of PACE Initiative support for drill testing this position. The target presented as a structurally associated magnetic-gravity response lying in close proximity to BHP-Billiton's Oak Dam resource (560Mt of iron oxide-associated copper-gold-uranium). It was centred on a residual gravity feature located 5 km south of Oak Dam, which had indicated dimensions of 1500 m (east-west), 1200 m (north-south) and 1300 m (vertical, not closed entirely) when modelled at a density contrast of 0.045 mGal. Preliminary 3-D modelling by Xstrata of another significant gravity feature at Canegrass South outlined a second high priority, north-easterly elongated target anomaly some 4 km x 2 km in size. Late in 2010, Quantec Geoscience were contracted by Xstrata to obtain surface magnetotelluric (MT) survey data over the Emmie North prospect. Portions of four MT lines spaced 1 km apart that lay within EL 4164 were profiled at 500 m station intervals across broad gravity and magnetic features to try to detect significant deep conductive bodies at down to 2-3 km, i.e. at depths beyond the effective scope of either surface TEM or IP-resistivity methods. On the resulting 2-D resistivity inversion sections produced for all lines, the upper 600-1000 m is characterised by largely layered variations in an overall low resistivity package. It would appear that most of the extremely low resistivities (1-2 ohm-m) correlate with the Whyalla Sandstone and the Tapley Hill Formation. The transition to basement is consistent through all sections, generally at approximately 100 ohm-m. The basement shows resistivities of 100–1000 ohm-m, which generally increase with depth. Features within the basement are very subtle, and it was considered debatable by the contractor whether these are “real” features as opposed to inversion artefacts. The MT survey failed to discriminate any clear targets for drill testing. As approved PACE drilling project DPY6-07, a single vertical HQ/NQ cored diamond drillhole, ODS001, was drilled from the surface during May-June 2011 at a site chosen near the peak of the Oak Dam South gravity anomaly. This hole encountered crystalline basement rock at a depth of 808 m, beneath thick Neoproterozoic cover. The basement comprised a generally greenish granitic gneiss (probably Palaeoproterozoic Donington Suite) consisting of quartz-feldspar-mica with local minor pegmatite dykes and lesser vein/veinlet related red-rock (haematite/K-feldspar) alteration, which contains very sparse pyrite as blebs/disseminations (no chalcopyrite or bornite was observed). The drillhole was terminated at the target depth of 993.8 m. Because of the lack of visible copper mineralisation in the ODS001 drill core, the JV partners decided that none of it would be cut and submitted for assaying. Furthermore, additional drilling at this prospect was no longer considered necessary, since it appeared that the target gravity anomaly might be due solely to a marginal increase in density of the granite compared to overlying sediments, or instead could stem from lithological or palaeo-topographical variation at the basement unconformity. During the ninth licence year, Xstrata undertook further deep diamond drilling at the Winjabbie East prospect, to test gravity and magnetic anomalies around a zone of significant basement skarn and calc-silicate alteration found in Argo's earlier drillhole IHAD8. Three drillholes, vertical WJE001, plus inclined WJE002 and WJE003, were completed during June-July 2011 (WJE001) and April-June 2012 at respective total depths of 1053.6 m, 1006.0 m and 1050.9 m, for a combined penetration of 3110.5 m. Basement was reached at a vertical depth of between 670 and 680 m. Petrological studies and microprobe analyses of selected drill core samples from two Winjabbie East holes, WJE001 and IHAD8, were carried out by a consultant in the latter half of 2012, to try to gain an understanding of the complex basement alteration history there and its paragenesis. His work gave rise to a recommendation that perhaps magnetic features within the alteration envelope should be targeted more directly, and the observation that the chalcopyrite mineralisation seen at Winjabbie East is, for the most part, not of typical skarn style. All three holes encountered a similar sequence of lithologies in both the overlying sediments and Proterozoic basement, with some unit thickness and vertical depth differences apparent due to structural complexity. Basement units display intense magnetite-hematite-chlorite-garnet±pyroxene±amphibole±k feldspar 'skarn' alteration within a moderate to intense magnetite-chlorite dominated halo that is fringed by a zone of weaker magnetite-chlorite alteration. Textural overprinting makes protolith identification difficult, but the alteration probably occurs in the Gawler Range Volcanics (upper part of suite) and the Wandearah Metasediments, with the latter probably more dominant. The alteration drops off rapidly in the footwall, and the units intersected beneath the altered zone consist of pink quartzites, granite-derived arkose having minor albitisation, and laminated grey siltstones. The petrographic mineral paragenetic analysis suggested that there has been formation of a multiple stage garnet-skarn alteration system, followed by a phase of quartz-magnetite ± chalcopyrite and pyrite alteration, overprinted by haematite. This, along with the presence of K-feldspar in the later stages of the paragenesis, strongly suggests that the Winjabbie East system matured from one of skarn formation to one having closer affinities with IOCG-style alteration. Despite the intense skarn and IOCG - style alteration, the Cu-Au(U) mineralisation intersected is minimal in amount. All three holes show little more than moderate copper anomalism (<750 ppm Cu) punctuated by narrow intervals of low grade mineralisation (2-10 m @ 0.1-0.4% Cu) and rare, isolated high grade veins (~1 m @ 1-3% Cu). The gold assay results were insignificant (<0.1 ppm Au). Specific gravity and magnetic susceptibility measurements taken from the recovered drill cores confirmed both very dense (2.85-3.3 g/cc) and magnetic (0.1-1.0 SI susceptibility) lithologies, and in consequence Xstrata believed that the sources for the target geophysical anomalies had been intersected. During the final year of tenure at Intercept Hill, when no on-ground activities were conducted, the following insights were obtained by the Argo-Xstrata JV from further investigation of the Winjabbie East prospect drill cores : • Assay results for drillholes WJE002 and WJE003 confirmed that the sulphide mineralisation found in the Tapley Hill Formation at Winjabbie East is mainly the iron sulphide pyrite, present in concentrations ranging from 3% to 5% throughout. • Low-grade silver mineralisation occurs at the top and bottom of this formation. • Intensely skarn/IOCG type altered basement directly underlies Tapley Hill Formation, covering a so far drilled area of ~1 km x 400 m at the prospect. • Skarn/IOCG-altered basement intervals from all four holes drilled at the prospect to date have returned anomalous copper-gold assay results punctuated with generally narrow zones of low-grade mineralisation (2-10 m @ 0.1% to 0.85% Cu) and isolated high-grade, metre-wide increments grading at 1.0% to 3.6% Cu. • The best grade cored intervals in angled hole WJE002 are 3 m@ 0.15% Cu from 831 m depth, and 3 m @ 0.12% Cu from 876 m depth. The best gold value was 0.18 g/t Au at 874 m. • The best grade cored intervals in angled hole WJE003 are 2 m @ 0.7% Cu from 883 m depth, and 2 m @ 0.22% Cu, 1.6 g/t Au and 3 g/t Ag from 891 m. Three isolated 1-metre interval core samples returned greater than 1.0% Cu, with the maximum being 2.11% Cu. Gold is generally low, except in four 1-metre samples in a short zone between 891 and 904 m, which returned values of 2.09, 1.24, 0.61 and 1.10 g/t Au. • Drilling to date has confirmed significant structural perturbation of cover sequence stratigraphic units, possibly involving re-activation and propagation of basement-piercing faults into the cover sequence. • These fault structures may act as loci for copper-gold mineralising fluids, as suggested by late-stage, massive gold-bearing chalcopyrite-pyrite-quartz veins and gold-bearing arsenopyrite-quartz veins superimposed on skarn/IOCG-altered protolith, and the underlying less-altered basement meta-siltstone and quartzite. • The potential for fault-controlled mineralisation in the cover sequence thus requires further evaluation. During the period from Sep 2012 to July 2013, all drill sites from the 2012 drilling campaign performed at Winjabbie East were rehabilitated, and the relevant compliance report was lodged with the Department for Manufacturing, Innovation, Trade, Resources and Energy (DMITRE). Xstrata completed its assessment of the new drilling results, and ceased its target evaluation and generation work. Based on the drilling results to hand, Xstrata concluded that Winjabbie East prospect is unlikely to host medium- to high-grade mineralisation of reasonable tonnage, either as a skarn deposit or a related IOCG body lying within the confines of the partially tested alteration system. Therefore the farminee decided to give Argo 30 days’ notice, commencing 9/1/2013, of its withdrawal from the EL 4164 Exploration Farmin and Joint Venture Agreement. During the elapsed portion of the earn-in period it had spent a total of $2,086,267 on sole-risk exploration. Argo, which now resumed a 100% interest in EL 4164, was of the opinion that Xstrata’s withdrawal from the JV had not diminished the overall high exploration potential for the Intercept Hill project area. Rather, it believed that the action reflected the major's conclusion, based on critical analysis of drilling results from Oak Dam South and Winjabbie East, that these prospects are unlikely to host an economic ore deposit of sufficient size and scale to meet the current strategic requirements of the company. Regrettably, the licensee's subsequent deliberations about advancing the project and the need to prioritise expenditure resulted in it applying to DMITRE during July 2013 for permission to surrender EL 4164.