An area of the Stuart Shelf located between Pernatty Lagoon and the Beda Arm of Lake Torrens, with its western boundary lying 15 km east of the historic Mount Gunson copper mining field, is being explored for possible economic basement-hosted IOCG mineralisation of Olympic Dam type and also for Tunkillia style gold-only mineralisation. Information about the pre-Adelaidean rock units including Gawler Craton crystalline basement rocks is known only from 20+ previously drilled deep holes which were drilled during the 1970s by the Seltrust-Geopeko-Carpentaria joint venture and by Western Mining Corp. During the first licence year, available drillhole data were studied in order to determine the depth to basement, in particular the depth of prospective Gawler Range Volcanics rocks. A field reconnaissance visit was made and some calcrete geochemical grab samples were collected along fence lines and tracks. These did not return any anomalous gold values, but did contain anomalous copper. Existing vintage BMR 1962 regional aeromagnetic survey data were studied to interpret structuring along a WNW-trending magnetic ridge crossing the centre of the licence area, but the wide flight line spacing did not permit meaningful resolution of individual magnetic highs on this ridge. 798 square km or ~46% of the original licence area, consisting of places where the sedimentary cover was judged to be too deep to allow for efficient exploration of the basement, were partially relinquished by Havilah Resources in November 1997. During licence Year 2, Havilah purchased directly from survey contractor Kevron Geophysics the imaged aeromagnetic data for the SAEI B15 area's 400 m spaced flight line coverage that had previously been acquired for Mines and Energy SA in 1995, but had not been released to the public. It was evident that these later data added significant detail to the broad features discernable in the BMR's old survey data, so the licensee contracted Jim Allender to perform a depth slice analysis on them with a view to identifying deep-seated structures and obtaining magnetic source depth estimates for the main anomalies. Whilst examining the radiometric data obtained by the SAEI B17 survey, it was observed that the total count response in the Red Lake location was noticeably elevated, rising to almost 4 times background. The radiation increase was spread across all three measured channels. But other salt lakes in the district, including Pernatty Lagoon, showed no such response. To further investigate the atypical feature, Havilah conducted a ground radiometric survey of Red Lake using a scintillometer borrowed from PIRSA, and this confirmed the anomaly, with background readings from the sand dunes surrounding the lake averaging 65-70 counts per second, whereas over the lake bed, readings on the same scale averaged 250-260 cps. It was found that clayey Tregolana Sandstone present very near surface both in the lake bed and around its edges underneath the dune sand was producing the radiometric response. Samples of the unit were taken for assaying for uranium, thorium and potassium, but did not return significant values. During licence Year 3, Havilah engaged Cowan Geodata Services to carry out a magnetic source depth estimation and structural analysis using the 400 m line spaced aeromagnetic data. Two of its main conclusions were that a) the magnetic basement lies at >1 km depth over most of the licence area, and b) depth estimates obtained for the Gairdner dykes indicate a complex pattern of local basement highs and lows, which it was thought might result from horst and graben structures or erosion by palaeochannels. A recommendation was made to integrate the magnetic interpretation with available geological and gravity data, to lessen the ambiguity associated with the former. Havilah undertook this work using a Vulcan 3D modelling database, and found that the magnetic and gravity highs generally coincide with the shallowest basement as found by past drilling. However, a number of magnetic features remained undrilled. During licence Year 4, no field work was carried out while the matter of three separate Native Title claims over the area was dealt with. Further modelling of the aeromagnetic data was undertaken, plus compilation and modelling of all existing gravity data obtained from PIRSA records. Based on this, plans were made to acquire a semi-detailed gravity survey over the entire licence area, as existing data indicated a significant gravity ridge running through the center of the tenement. During licence Year 5, Havilah sought and obtained land access clearances from all of the Native Title claimant representatives after taking them on site inspections to the company's target areas. Thereafter the ground gravity survey of 913 stations was conducted in May 2002 on a 1 km x 500 m grid covering all of EL 2373, with readings closed in to 250 m station spacing across the central part of the main gravity ridge. This feature was shown to have an amplitude of more than 10 mGal, and to have lateral dimensions of 20 km x 5 km. Late in June 2002 an initial vertical exploratory percussion drillhole, RCP1, was drilled by Havilah to a total depth of 456 m to test an offset in the magnetic pattern (inferred fault dilational zone) that is situated on the flank of the above-described gravity ridge. The hole encountered the Gawler Range Volcanics rocks at 402 m depth, which contain enough fine-grained magnetite to explain the targeted magnetic anomaly. These rocks are weakly and typically haematite-chlorite-sericite altered, but it was thought are not enough altered to indicate that they form part of a mineralised system. Immediately afterwards a second vertical exploratory percussion hole was drilled to 266 m from a collar location just west of the central axis of the gravity ridge, to test a linear magnetic high. It passed through the same cover sequence, but encountered the Gawler Range Volcanics roughly 200 m shallower than in RCP 1. Havilah interpreted this result to mean that the gravity ridge is almost certainly caused by a fault-bounded topographic ridge of dense Gawler Craton basement rocks. As in RCP 1, the Gawler Range Volcanics in RCP2 showed no obvious signs of mineralisation or related alteration. Selected drill cuttings samples from both holes were submitted for assay, but no significant values were returned.