Exploration for Kalkaroo or Portia style copper-gold deposits, and for Broken Hill type stratiform lead-zinc-silver deposits, both possibly formed within the Palaeoproterozoic basement intrusive rocks and high grade metasediments in an area lying immediately north and north-west of Cutana township, was initially conducted by licensees Aberfoyle Resources and Normandy Minerals, and then by MIM Exploration, through a multi-licence farm in agreement made with these companies. Early exploration was centred on the Bulloo prospect, which contains outcropping Bimba Formation basement metasedimentary ironstones and gossanous carbonates that are anomalous in zinc and gold. Up to 12% Zn in 1 kg rock chip samples had been reported by previous explorers. The target horizon lies near the core of a complex anticlinal structure having an overall northwards plunge; changes in the angle of this plunge create buried domes and also stratigraphic horizon pinchouts. Inclined diamond and percussion drilling was carried out by Aberfoyle during June 1994 (1 hole, BL3, was percussion drilled to 220 m and then finished with a 13 m long NQ diamond tail, while zinc outcrop stepout percussion holes BL4 and BL5 totalling 120 m were not cored). The drilling encountered minor supergene gold, to 2.02 g/t Au, within Pelite Suite rocks, plus low grade zinc sulphide mineralisation to 0.7% Zn in the lower graphitic calcsilicate-K feldspar facies of the Bimba, directly overlying quartz-feldspar gneiss and pegmatite. After Mount Isa Mines farmed into the licence and became exploration manager, attention was given to linear magnetic features which could represent buried magnetite-rich copper-gold mineralised horizons. MIM chose to use geochemical methods for generating drill targets within the footprint of these geophysical anomalies, since this strategy had proved effective elsewhere in the Curnamona Province. Minus 80 mesh soil samples were to be collected over erosional cover adjacent to outcrop/subcrop, whereas over depositional cover, minus 1.6 mm soil samples were to be taken for analysis with a BLEG method. A strong magnetic anomaly occurring to the north-east of Bulloo Creek Homestead, over which magnetite float occurs at surface, was profiled with 5 x minus 80 mesh soil samples, but returned insignificant base and precious metal values. During December 1996 the eastern third of EL 1938 was investigated with 99 BLEG soil and 14 rock chip samples, but yielded only weak gold and no copper anomalies. The year after that MIM did regional soil sampling (246 samples taken at approximately 500 m spacing) over the western two-thirds of the licence, and detailed soil sampling at 100 m intervals (130 samples) was also done at Bulloo prospect. One sample taken in the centre of the Bulloo prospect returned 190 ppb Au and 116 ppm Cu, confirming the primary gold anomaly drilled by Aberfoyle. A vacation student was employed to do 1:2000 scale geological mapping in an area located near the centre of the licence where anomalous tin had been reported from past rock chip samples, at what became known as the Ambush prospect. 15 rock chip samples collected for assay returned one significant 19 ppb Au gold anomaly from the northern end of the mapped area. In addition, 47 soil samples and one stream BLEG sample were collected. To assist with structural mapping, a ground magnetic survey with stations at 50 m intervals was also read. The prospect was seen to be a complexly folded area, with numerous pegmatites intruding calc-silicates, amphibolite, albitite and pelitic schist. The ground magnetic data bore out this surface mapping. One small outcrop of albitite with malachite was noted, similar to one found elsewhere north of the White Dam deposit. A number of traverses of 100 m spaced aircore drilling, comprising 210 holes totalling 3511 m, were drilled during 1997 across selected magnetic features, including some that extend onto EL 1938 from the White Dam prospect located on the adjoining Drew Hill EL 2688. This drilling did not disclose any bedrock gold anomalism, but anomalous copper was recorded on several traverses in the eastern part of EL 1938. During 1998, MIM continued with its regional 500 m x 500 m and infill 200 m x 200 m soil geochemical sampling and related BLEG sampling, collecting totals of 123 and 753 such samples respectively. Only 5 rock chip samples were collected, but these samples were assayed for a wider range of elements than previously. One RC drillhole was completed to 60 m depth on the Bulloo prospect. A further 95 aircore holes for 2920 m were drilled along traverses in the north-east of the licence area, infilling between earlier 100 m spaced holes which had anomalous copper, while separately, another 25 aircore holes for 584 m were drilled to look for eastward extensions to the Cu-Au mineralisation known to be present at the White Dam deposit. University of New England B.Sc.(Hons) student Andrew Chubb commenced a geological mapping on the adjoining MIM joint ventured EL 2031, looking at rocks located between the Mary mine and the White Dam prospect. To help with his stratigraphic interpretation, Andrew collected 11 rock chip samples from within the north-western part of EL 1938. His completed Honours thesis entitled "The geology of the White Dam area, Bulloo Creek Station, Olary, SA" was submitted in early 1999. Mark Derriman from Normandy Exploration spent three days in 1998 mapping regolith on EL 1938, to produce a 1:25,000 scale terrain-related map that MIM could use to calibrate its own plus historic soil geochemical data obtained at Bulloo Creek. During 1999, MIM's activities became centred on the Vertigo and Matrix prospects located in the eastern half of the recently renewed EL 2630. Prospect infill and extension soil geochemical sampling was done at 200 m x 100 m/50 m sample spacings (1434 BLEG and 205 minus 80 mesh soil samples collected and assayed). Coherent gold and copper anomalism was returned, which prompted MIM to move into the test drilling phase. Limited rock chip sampling was also done (10 samples collected at Vertigo and one at Matrix, the latter returning 1600 ppm Cu). 8 Further rock chip samples were taken in regional mapping. In February 2000, a 100m x 100 m infill soil geochemical survey was performed over Ambush prospect (156 samples). Coherent gold anomalism up to 20.6 ppb Au was found, warranting follow-up RC drilling. Between August and December 1999, MIM undertook exploratory drilling at several prospects to test the Bimba Formation. 187 vertical aircore holes for a total penetration of 3224 m were completed either at Target J (holes SB305 - SB354), Duffer (DUF1 - DUF47) or Matrix (holes MX1 - MX59; MX61 - MX91). 32 RC percussion only holes were completed at Vertigo for 1368 m, while an additional 2 RC precollared diamond holes (VGO8 & VGO11) plus 2 fully cored diamond holes (VGO22 & VGO23) were also put in at that prospect, for a total of 569.6 m. During 2000-2001, the seventh year of tenure, 92 RC percussion holes were drilled for a total of 6602 m: these were located at Vertigo prospect (VGO36 - VGO45; VGO47 - VGO55); Ambush prospect (AMB1 - AMB8); Duffer prospect (DFR1 - DFR9); Matrix prospect (MTX1 - MTX43); and Bulloo South prospect (SBL1 - SBL12). One RC precollared diamond tail hole, Vertigo prospect VGO56, was drilled for a total of 219 m. However, MIM's RC drilling in this campaign returned gold and copper anomalism that was not of a significant enough size or grade to warrant any follow-up, with the majority of gold intercepts made at prospects other than Vertigo being 1Mt for Vertigo, using 3D prospect models built in Surpac software. During 2004-2005, the eleventh licence year for Bulloo Creek, now under tenure of renewed EL 3257, 10 vertical percussion holes for 716.5 m were drilled by Exco to search for quantities of groundwater that could be used to supply the proposed open-cut gold mine at White Dam. No substantial aquifers were found in the vicinity of the mine project. Assaying of cuttings from the drillholes yielded no anomalous gold. In other exploratory work, Noranda commissioned a consultant to carry out a photogeological interpretation at 1:50,000 scale of all of the project area, besides undertaking the processing and interpretation of georeferenced Aster hyperspectral earth imagery.