A dispersed three-part licence area located on the plains between Lake Callabonna and Lake Frome, and centred approximately 33 km east of Parabarana Hill, is being explored for possible economic primary gold and base metal deposits associated with interpreted now deeply buried igneous intrusive and extrusive (volcanic maar) complexes within Proterozoic basement. The principal target is Olympic Dam style iron oxide - associated copper-gold (IOCG) mineralisation, with attention also being given to any other potentially significant types of base and precious metal or diamond occurrences which the basement rocks might contain. Allender Exploration, as initial licence manager, performed a regional geophysical data compilation and interpretation during 1999, as well as some on-ground confirmation of magnetic anomalies via magnetometer traverses, plus a field reconnaissance of remote sensing - interpreted structural features, and then consulted with the other licence partners to plan a technical programme which would address several anomalies seen in the northern and southern portions of EL 2579. No field work ensued during licence Year 2, while a joint venture arrangement with PlatSearch was being finalised by the licensees. This JV formally commenced during March 2000. The central Area B, lying NNW of Lake Cootabarlow, and two northern marginal sections of the principal Area A of the original licence, were relinquished on 26/1/2001. Field work on the reduced EL area, funded by PlatSearch, started during August 2001 with the acquisition of a ground magnetic survey, utilising multiple line passes along an irregular grid pattern, to confirm the size and extent of the Skeleton regional aeromagnetic anomaly, located in the southernmost Area C portion of the licence, about 20 km east of Lake Elder. The source of this large but isolated "bullseye" magnetic anomaly, of ~330 nT magnitude, which appeared to have developed at the intersection of a major NNW trending magnetic lineament with a NE-SW trending structure, was then modelled by Jim Allender as a moderately magnetic north-west plunging pipe-like ?volcanic breccia body with horizontal dimensions of around 1 km x 3 km, which lies about 250 m below the surface. During November 2001 a vertical rotary mud precollar hole was drilled into the Skeleton anomaly described above, which the joint ventures had called the Dolores East prospect. QBE1 entered Proterozoic basement at 307 m depth, immediately beneath the Cenozoic and Mesozoic cover sequence. A short bottomhole NQ core was cut over the depth interval 308.5-311.5 m, recovering basement material described as intensely weathered, strongly altered and mostly brecciated felsic volcanic to subvolcanic rocks, e.g. rhyolite, basalt, andesite and porphyritic microsyenite, containing minor sulphides that included trace chalcopyrite. Assaying of samples of these confirmed basement rocks gave a maximum copper value of 82 ppm Cu. Another drill rig completed diamond drilling of the Dolores East target during February-March 2002, deepening QBE1 to a depth of 504 m. The entire drilled basement section was found to consist of volcanic breccia beds, which are anomalous in copper, averaging 655 ppm Cu over the full 192 m wide interval from 312-504 m depth. This interval includes intercepts of 3 m @ 0.6% and 1 m @ 1.17% Cu made between 458 and 461 m depth. Mineragraphic examinations made by consultants Ian Pontifex and Alan Purvis revealed that the copper (as chalcopyrite) in the drill core occurs mostly in samples that contain haematite, or in the case of the 459 m deep sample with 1.17% Cu, where carbonate appears to have replaced bundles of earlier fine platy haematite. The core is also anomalous in palladium (max 22 ppm Pd), platinum (max 9 ppm Pt), tellurium (max 4 ppm Te) and zinc (max 582 ppm Zn). A distinct, ~10 m thick weathered section is present at the top of the basement in QBE1, manifest as a soft earthy haematite zone overlying a bleached pallid zone. The underlying brecciated and altered volcanic rocks range in composition from felsic/intermediate to mafic, with the mafic lithologies generally emplaced as dykes, although there are some basalt flows. Overall the rock composition is consistent with a moderately alkaline magma suite. Petrographic studies of the core concluded that the gross textural and compositional nature of the basement breccias is suggestive of their origin in a volcanic vent complex. Hydrothermal alteration to the rock materials appeared to be strong, reflecting once pervasive fluid flow. Haematite is abundant, and K-feldspar and albite are present in the alteration assemblage, suggesting fluid compositions capable of transporting significant base and precious metals. Mineralogically, the Quinyambie breccia pipe seemed to have many similarities with described deposit host units in known IOCG provinces, including • abundant albite and/or K-feldspar • local development of scapolite, suggesting highly saline brines • a combination of calc-silicates with oxides and albite • carbonate-albite-apatite-haematite-magnetite associations. Because there was a strong chance of finding economic IOCG mineralisation somewhere nearby within the volcanic complex, the JV consortium decided to conduct a detailed ground gravity survey across the Dolores East prospect to refine their targeting of a follow-up drillhole to QBE1. 358 stations were read by Allender Exploration during June 2002. The results showed that a discrete 1.5 mGal amplitude residual gravity anomaly roughly coincides with the Dolores East magnetic anomaly. A second, 1 mGal gravity anomaly was also evident in the survey dataset, at a location centred approximately 1.5 km south-east of Dolores East, and this was named Pudding Lake. Check and fill-in gravity readings were subsequently obtained to better define both anomalies for planned further drilling. No field work was performed during Year 5 of EL 2579 because of the consortium's participation in fresh joint venture negotiations with experienced IOCG explorers, the aim being to thereby accelerate the pace of regional exploration of the group's tenements through additional gravity acquisition and prospect drilling. A joint venture agreement applicable to the renewed EL 3197 was signed with Red Metal Ltd on 29/3/2004, leaving that company as the new operator for the joint venture. Work by Red Metal began during November 2004 with the conduct of semi-regional gravity surveys totalling 764 stations, which were centred on interpreted IOCG magmatic centres, with readings taken at 200 m intervals along lines spaced 800 m apart. This new gravity data was merged with existing PlatSearch and PIRSA regional data. The wider dataset highlighted the regional significance of the long-recognised, very high 19 mGal gravity response lately referred to as the Super Nova anomaly (was formerly called Pudding Dam anomaly), located at the far western side of the northern block of EL 3197, which coincides with a magnetic low and is located between two regionally significant, craton scale faults trending north-west and north-east. Red Metal thought that Super Nova was a prime IOCG target because the low to flat magnetic response there and the magnitude of the gravity anomaly are very similar to geophysical signatures observed and modelled over the Olympic Dam deposit. A previous drillhole (Seltrust Mining's SPH1) located about 2 km north-west of the low magnetic zone had intersected intense epidote-altered metasediment over broad zones in basement below 413 m depth. Early in 2005, Red Metal applied for and was granted $99,000 from PIRSA made available under the State Government’s PACE Initiative Year 4 support to industry, to drill test the Super Nova IOCG target with one vertical rotary mud/diamond drillhole programmed for between 600-900 m depth. With regard to exploring the southern block of EL 3197, Red Metal thought that the existing gravity data over the Dolores East prospect was inadequate for deciding the position of another drillhole. Therefore a re-survey of the prospect gravity response was performed on a 100 m x 400 m grid spacing (212 stations). Modelling of the data confirmed the coincidence of the magnetic high with the gravity high. It was concluded that the target appeared to have been adequately tested by DDH QBE1. The PACE-subsidised drillhole at the Super Nova target was precollared in May 2005 using a rotary mud rig, being drilled to 427.5 m depth which including 1.5 m of BQ bottomhole coring. This hole, SNDH-0501, terminated in a scapolitic carbonate rock (? Wywyana Formation metasomatised Neoproterozoic limestone) containing pyrite and native copper traces. Further gravity surveying in the northern block of EL 3197 was carried out during March and June 2005, when 705 stations were read over the Super Nova gravity anomaly, at 200 m intervals along lines spaced 400 m apart, as part of a larger 1548 station survey coverage which also extended onto the westerly adjoining EL 3001. During September 2005, an attempt was made by Tom Browne Drilling to extend the precollar of SNDH-0501 completed by Thompson Drilling, which because of poor ground conditions had not been cased to the bottom. Unfortunately, unstable Tertiary sediments continually collapsed while flushing the hole in preparation for commencing diamond drilling, and so the hole had to be abandoned. Two other drillholes already completed by Red Metal on adjacent tenements, which had intersected much greater intervals of rock types similar to those found at the base of the Super Nova precollar, led the company to think that the scapolitic rock represents basement. Neither hole had shown indications of hydrothermal brecciation or mineralisation. Their geology had shown that the gravity anomalies were probably related to basement highs. [Red Metal shortly afterward completed a second PACE-subsidised drillhole into the western portion of this large gravity anomaly, at a site within the Quasar Resources consortium's adjoining Mount Yerila EL 3001, to test the Red Giant prospect located 3 kms to the west-northwest of SNDH-0501 on an identical geophysical target (a large wavelength 19 mGal gravity anomaly coincident with a magnetic low). The technically successful drillhole, RGDH-0501, penetrated a continuous interval of moderately dense (estimated S.G. 2.9-3.2) quartz - feldspar - calcite metasediments, which have been overprinted by strong metasomatic calc-silicate ± garnet alteration, from 434.6 m to a final hole depth of 752.3 m. Results obtained from the Red Giant and Super Nova holes suggest that the source of the regional gravity anomaly is most likely due to a regional basement high of dense calc-silicate - rich rocks, rather than it being caused by discrete shallower high density mineralised bodies. The intense calc-silicate - feldspar - magnetite alteration seen in RGDH-0501 is typical of the early regional Na-Fe-Ca-K alteration seen in other prospective IOCG terrains around the world, and although not mineralised, has helped bolster the regional IOCG potential of the northern Curnamona district.] During March 2006, an infill gravity survey of 56 stations was acquired over a gravity anomaly located in the east of the tenement's northern block, which extends onto Paladin Resources' adjoining Lake Callabonna EL 3078, where an additional 211 stations were acquired. Field work completed by Red Metal during Year 3 of EL 3197 (2006-2007) comprised: • aircore drilling (25 vertical holes totalling 697 m) during June 2006, mainly as short traverses along the northern side of Hamilton Creek, to evaluate whether potential exists for finding calcrete-style uranium mineralisation in buried Quaternary fluvial channel sediments. The Quaternary channels intersected mostly contain thin deposits of sands and gravels, but have no significant accumulations of valley-fill calcrete favourable for uranium mineralisation. • rotary mud precollar drilling of hole QBE2 was carried out to 318.5 m depth during July 2006, at a location on the Dolores East prospect aproximately 250 m north-northwest of previous drillhole QBE1. At the bottom of the pre-collar stage, this second hole entered basement consisting of a volcanic hydrothermal breccia pipe containing visible low-grade copper within a siderite-sericite-haematite alteration assemblage. Field work completed by Red Metal during Year 4 of EL 3197 (2007-2008) comprised: • diamond drilling in QBE2 during September 2007, which deepened the hole to 501.7 m. Logging of the drill core indicated that this hole had penetrated a similar volcanic breccia sequence to that found in QBE1. A visual estimate of copper minerals present in the core was low, and consequently assaying of drill core samples was not done. A review of the remaining IOCG mineralisation potential at the Dolores East prospect will be conducted shortly. • flying of a 370 line km airborne REPTEM survey during November 2007, over the western portion of the licence area, aimed at mapping Tertiary faults and inferred associated deeper buried palaeochannels which could be prospective for sedimentary uranium mineralisation. Flight lines were orientated north-south at 2 km and 500 m spacing. During licence Year 10, Red Metal undertook processing and interpretation of the airborne EM survey data, and from there planned a further campaign of rotary mud drilling to test Tertiary sedimentary uranium targets. Field inspections of the proposed drill sites were conducted with Native Title parties; the drilling was scheduled to start in July 2009.