An area surrounding the Algebuckina Inlier of the Proterozoic Peake and Denison Ranges, which is centred approximately 50 km south-east of Oodnadatta, is being explored for possible roll-front style sedimentary uranium deposits that may have...
An area surrounding the Algebuckina Inlier of the Proterozoic Peake and Denison Ranges, which is centred approximately 50 km south-east of Oodnadatta, is being explored for possible roll-front style sedimentary uranium deposits that may have formed within oxidised Mesozoic sandstones which rest unconformably on the Proterozoic basement, since the latter comprise some rocks known to have high background levels of contained uranium. Because combined high uranium-thorium radiometric anomalies in the basement do not appear to have been followed up by previous companies, there is also believed to be good potential for finding a granite-hosted bulk tonnage uranium deposit similar to that being exploited in Namibia by the Rossing mine. During licence Year 1, Red Metal completed a review of the previous exploration within the area. An infill gravity survey of 255 stations read at 100 m intervals along lines spaced 400 m apart was acquired during April 2004 over a basement magnetic anomaly where historic shallow drilling had identified copper mineralisation within dolerite (holes ALAC002-005). An orientation geochemical survey was conducted by sampling fine fraction soils and coarse fraction ferruginous lag, both where weathered Mesozoic rocks overly basement copper mineralisation detected in historic drillholes, and over the historic Algebuckina gold workings. The results of this survey were inconclusive. In addition to the mapped Algebuckina gold workings, the review of historic literature revealed the existence of past alluvial gold workings along the western flanks of Mount Kingston and Mount Kingston North. Regional BLEG stream sediment samples (36) and follow-up rock chip samples (40) were collected in this area. The BLEG results confirmed the gold content of the streams, however, rock chip sampling of the basement rocks failed to identify a source for the gold. It was noted that cobbles from the Algebuckina Sandstone were consistently found in the streams with high gold values, suggesting that the source for this placer gold is related to gold enrichment at the base of the Algebuckina Sandstone. An oxidised and ferruginous sandstone unit at the base of this formation was found to contain elevated levels of uranium, palladium, nickel and lead, implying that oxidised fluids had moved through it, enriching its trace element content. Granitic rocks sampled by Uranerz (Env. 02381) had returned primary uranium values ranging from 115 ppm up to 3320 ppm U3O8, with the highest values being associated with weathered surfaces. This observation also suggested to Red Metal that uranium is mobile in the weathered environment. Deep historic drillholes which penetrated into the Algebuckina Sandstone showed it to contain pyrite and organic matter in some areas. Field observation and a review of the historic drilling identified thick sequences of oxidised Algebuckina Sandstone flanking the radiogenic basement rocks. In May 2006, during licence Year 2, Red Metal acquired a second infill gravity survey, of 188 stations read at 200 m intervals along lines spaced 400 m apart. The survey was designed to investigate whether dense mafic/ultramafic rocks prospective for nickel sulphides might exist along the buried western edge of the Denison Inlier. In December 2006 and February 2007, during licence Year 3, Red Metal conducted shallow rotary mud drilling of 12 vertical holes for a total penetration of 704 m to test the secondary uranium mineralisation potential of onlapping Mesozoic sandstones. The stratigraphic succession intersected consists of thin Quaternary soil and ferricrete up to 5 m thick which overlies Cretaceous Bulldog Shale, Cretaceous Cadna-owie Formation and Jurassic Algebuckina Sandstone sediments deposited on weathered granitic or schistose basement. Most of the holes intersected both the target units of Cadna-Owie Formation and Algebuckina Sandstone, and were then extended into kaolinitic saprolite and saprock within the Adelaidean and Mesoproterozoic basement. In hole AG07-14, a 4 m wide zone of anomalous gamma log radiation measuring up to 10 x background (i.e. up to 498 counts per second) was intersected in weathered clay-rich saprolite underlying the Mesozoic sedimentary sequence. AG07-29, a step-out hole drilled 500 m west of AG07-14, then also encountered an 8 m wide anomalously radioactive zone within the basement saprock which was measured to have 4 x background. Chemical assays made on drill chip samples collected at 2 m intervals across the high gamma log reading intervals returned a best result of 2 m @ 213 ppm U plus 329 ppm V from 34 m depth in hole AG07-14. Enrichments in nickel and copper accompany the uranium. Red Metal regarded the anomalous drill results as encouraging, because they supported the model of enrichment processes being active immediately below the Mesozoic sedimentary sequences within the underlying weathered basement rocks. During licence Year 4, activity began with the flying of a 505 line km airborne TEM survey during September 2007 over the south-western half of EL 3226, that was designed to map concealed basement topography and thereby disclose potential sedimentary uranium trap sites for drill testing. Additional shallow vertical rotary mud drilling was then undertaken during October 2007 and was continued again during April 2008, making the overall campaign total 17 holes for 795.5 m. Two of the holes (AG08-51 and AG08-52) were drilled as precollars on two basement gravity anomaly IOCG targets located to the south of Mount Harvey, while the other 15 continued testing the sedimentary uranium potential of the Mesozoic sequence. In the main the same sedimentary sequence as before was intersected, while lithologies of the underlying weathered basement comprised phyllite, muscovite schist, amphibolite and granite. In general only background level gamma ray log responses were recorded for the Cadna-owie Formation and the Algebuckina Sandstone. Red Metal noted a tendency for the Algebuckina Sandstone to have a subdued gamma response when compared to the Cadna-owie Formation and basement intercepts. Assays of drill chip samples, collected at 2 m intervals from a few narrow sediment and saprolite zones showing moderately elevated radiation levels, returned a best result of 2 m @ 44 ppm U from the basal Cadna-owie Formation depth interval 22-24 m in hole AG-07-41, which is located about 600 m east of mineralised hole AG07-14. However, a high thorium value is associated with this uranium content. The saprolitic granite samples assayed from this hole and two other holes located along strike nearby have moderately high uranium contents, but in these samples too thorium is also high. It was decided that no further testing of the sedimentary uranium potential would be worthwhile. During December 2007, Red Metal acquired a third semi-detailed gravity survey on EL 3226, as part of exploration for possible basement-hosted IOCG or other epithermal base metal mineralisation. 878 stations were read on three grids at either 200 m x 400 m or 200 m x 800 m station spacings, to delineate a large complex gravity high located south of Mount Harvey, plus two smaller highs seen south and south-west of Mount Denison. Rotary mud holes AG08-51 and AG08-52 completed during April 2008 were in part intended to be precollars for planned future diamond drillholes to test the source(s) of these gravity anomalies.
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