Galaxy Tank (part of the Central Gawler Project). Annual reports to licence expiry/full surrender, for the period 22/3/2006 to 10/5/2013.
Published: 16 Jul 1913 Created: 12 Nov 2024 Revised: 12 Nov 2024

Tasman Resources' ("Tasman") Central Gawler Project tenement acreage, originally comprising seven exploration licences ELs 3339 to 3345, was initially applied for on the basis of perceived prospectivity for diamonds: however, following Tasman's...

Tasman Resources' ("Tasman") Central Gawler Project tenement acreage, originally comprising seven exploration licences ELs 3339 to 3345, was initially applied for on the basis of perceived prospectivity for diamonds: however, following Tasman's conduct of extensive literature research, further potential for discovering buried gold, nickel and palaeochannel uranium mineralisation was recognised. The subject EL 3532 was applied for later on because of its perceived prospectivity for gold and, possibly, palaeochannel uranium mineralisation. Its western sub-block was chosen to cover part of the Golf Bore structural trend of Archaean gold prospects, and both licence sub-blocks were expected to contain parts of the Tertiary Garford Palaeochannel. Initial work done by Tasman consisted of follow-up calcrete sampling on the portion of Equinox Resources' former Skye gold prospect which extends onto the northern end of the Galaxy Bore tenement's western sub-block. 49 samples were collected during July 2006 at 100 m intervals along several short traverses aligned along strike. The maximum gold assay value obtained was 16.2 ppb Au, from just to the east of the Skye prospect anomaly limits as previously defined. 7 samples taken at the southern end of three traverses which Tasman sampled in this area all returned +10 ppb assays, thus broadening the low level calcrete gold anomaly mapped at Skye. Also during licence Year 1, a 1456.8 line km airborne electromagnetic and magnetic (TEMPEST) survey was flown for Tasman Resources in August 2006 by Fugro Airborne Surveys, covering an inferred portion of the broadly east-west trending Tertiary Garford Palaeochannel and its tributaries. The survey, which was flown along N-S lines spaced 1 km apart, with a sensor elevation above ground level of 120 m, was aimed at more accurately defining the palaeochannel location through detecting its ?conductive clays, channel sands and saline water. A 370 line km subset of the survey was flown over EL 3532. Data from the survey was reprocessed for Tasman Resources by Resource Potentials, and a set of conductivity depth images (CDIs) prepared. The CDI at 40 m depth (?base of Garford Palaeochannel) suggested that the interpreted location of this buried feature, which is based mainly on the location of a string of low lying salt lakes plus limited stratigraphic drilling, is essentially correct. Somewhat unexpectedly, the survey also outlined deeper palaeochannels to a maximum depth of ~140 m which, based on limited stratigraphic drilling, are likely to be of Mesozoic to Permian in age. One of these directly underlies the Garford Palaeochannel in the south-west of EL 3532, however, looking eastwards the latter diverges to the north-east whereas the older palaeochannel maintains an easterly trend. A strong NW-SE trending conductor evident in the AEM data from 70 m to 130 m depth was believed to be indicative of a Permian basin, very similar to several narrow linear troughs further to the east which host the Lake Phillipson and Penrhyn coal deposits. Stratigraphically, these coal deposits are located within the upper portions of the Mount Toondina Formation, the youngest unit deposited within the Permian Arckaringa Basin. The AEM data images also implied to Tasman that the portion of this basin lying within EL 3532 is up to 8.5 km wide. During the second licence year, Tasman undertook further interpretation of the TEMPEST AEM data, and made plans for conducting a shallow rotary mud drilling programme to test possible palaeochannel uranium (Tertiary, Jurassic) and coal (Permian) targets. Fission Energy Ltd was spun out of Tasman Resources in June 2007, and assumed the uranium rights for EL 3532. Flinders Diamonds Ltd (FDL) commenced exploring the tenement for diamonds late in 2007, under a joint venture agreement it made with Tasman because of the results that were obtained through its reprocessing and interpretation of available airborne magnetic data, which had outlined numerous potential kimberlite targets within EL 3532 and surrounding tenements. FDL intended that the highest priority targets would be investigated during April 2008 via a close spaced reading helicopter-borne magnetic survey. During April 2008, Tasman drilled and geophysically logged 17 vertical rotary mud exploratory holes for a total penetration of 945 m, all holes being sited along a rectangular traverse within the north-eastern sub-block of EL 3532 which covered a portion of each target sediment type. All of these drillholes, with the exception of hole G10, bottomed in black mudstones which most probably belong to the Permian Stuart Range Formation. Drilling indicated that the overlying Mount Toondina Formation, the host for major coal seams in the adjacent Phillipson Trough, although intersected in previous PIRSA drilling done 6 km to the north (hole CPC16), is absent in the part of EL 3532 drilled, despite there being a Permian trough containing the older unit mentioned above. This outcome was considered by Tasman to have downgraded the coal potential within EL 3532. All of the drillholes also intersected quartz sands, grits and occasional water-rounded pebbles embedded mostly in a prominent blue-grey kaolinitic clay immediately overlying the Stuart Range Formation. These sediments are interpreted to be the Jurassic Algebuckina Sandstone, which appears to have a similar distribution to the Permian mudstones and was probably deposited in the same trough. High-energy fluvial sediments of the Eocene Pidinga Formation were the main target for redox controlled, palaeochannel - hosted uranium mineralisation. These are characterised by coarse, reduced fluvial sands with lignite and pyrite concretions. Carbonaceous siltstones were found to be best developed in hole G23, but are also well developed in holes G16 to G22. Due to their apparent high organic carbon content, these siltstones were investigated for their oil shale potential by submitting 47 drill cuttings samples for laboratory TOC and Rock Eval pyrolysis determinations. The highest yielding sample from hole G23 was also studied by pyrolysis-gas chromatography to ascertain its extractable hydrocarbon composition, and the contained macerals were examined by organic petrology to estimate their rank and abundance. In terms of hydrocarbon yield, the best result of 65 kg/t came from the 5-metre composite cuttings sample taken from the depth interval 24-29 m in hole G23. Most of the higher yield samples came from drillholes that seemed to lie along an east-southeast trend. Stratigraphically, however, the higher yield intervals in general appeared not to be uniformly distributed within the carbonaceous siltstones, but occupy only narrow zones where the TOC content is often less than the maximum measured. Commissioned palynology studies performed on three cuttings samples from holes G23, G34 and G50 confirmed that black, strongly carbonaceous siltstones overlying the ?Jurassic clayey sands in holes G16 to G23 are of Eocene Pidinga Formation age. They appear to be overbank or swamp deposits formed adjacent to the main Garford channel. No significant radiometric anomalies were recorded by the downhole gamma ray logging. Later, 11 samples of groundwater encountered in some of the drillholes were sent for trace metal analysis in May 2008; no significant dissolved uranium was recorded, but elevated gold and molybdenum were present in the groundwater taken from hole G14. Also during the third licence year, it was advised to Tasman during August 2008 that co-venturer FDL had conducted some 'postage stamp' size helimag surveys, plus follow-up ground magnetic traverses, over selected aeromagnetic anomalies on EL 3532 [no relevant data is presented in the subject Envelope]; that company also examined the drill cuttings from Tasman's rotary drillholes, and sampled them for laboratory observation to try to detect any diamond indicator minerals [again none of that multi-licence reported data is presented here]. No further field work took place on EL 3532/4868 during Years 4-6, before tenure was allowed to lapse, owing to the Commonwealth Department of Defence denying access for on-ground mineral exploration activities after April 2009 to a newly created restricted access zone of the Woomera Prohibited Area that covered ~75% of the licence area.

More +

About this record

Record No mesac25301
Topic Geoscientific Information
Type of Resource Document
Category Type
Document Type Mineral Company Report - Mineral Exploration
Contributor Fugro Airborne Surveys Pty Ltd;Resource Potentials Pty Ltd;Geological Survey of South Australia. Palynology Laboratory;Amdel Ltd;Geotechnical Services Pty Ltd
Sponsor Tasman Resources NL
Tenement
Tenement Holder Tasman Resources NL;Fission Energy Ltd;Flinders Diamonds Ltd;Tasman Resources Ltd
Operator Tasman Resources NL;Fission Energy Ltd;Flinders Diamonds Ltd
Geological Province
Mine Name Golf North prospect;Skye prospect
Stratigraphy
Commodity
Notes
Notes: Includes:   - Stoian, L.M., 2008. Report on palynological analyses and dating of samples from drillholes G23, G34 and G50, Eucla Basin, South Australia (Geological Survey of South Australia consultant's report for Tasman Resources). Appx 4...

Notes: Includes: - Stoian, L.M., 2008. Report on palynological analyses and dating of samples from drillholes G23, G34 and G50, Eucla Basin, South Australia (Geological Survey of South Australia consultant's report for Tasman Resources). Appx 4 of EL 3532 third annual report to 21/3/2009. 2 pages. Geographic Locality: Great Victoria Desert;Galaxy Tank;Mabel Creek Station;Mulgathing Station;Woorong Downs Station;Wildingi Gate;Woomera Prohibited Area;Garford Palaeochannel;2006 Gawler Project Aerial EM (TEMPEST) Survey [part];2006 Gawler Project Aerial Magnetic Survey [part] Doc No: Env 11357 Drillhole: AC08G010 - AC08G026;(239758 - 239760);(311127 - 311141)

More +

Language English
Metadata Standard ISO 19115-3

Citations

Use constraints License
License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
Persistent identifier https://pid.sarig.sa.gov.au/document/mesac25301
Citation Glasson, M.J.;Cowey, D.;Stenning, L.;Hashemi, A.;Stoian, L.M. 1913. Galaxy Tank (part of the Central Gawler Project). Annual reports to licence expiry/full surrender, for the period 22/3/2006 to 10/5/2013. Mineral Company Report - Mineral Exploration
https://pid.sarig.sa.gov.au/document/mesac25301

Technical information

Status
Maintenance and Update Frequency
Geographic Reference GDA2020 (EPSG:7844)
Geo bounding box {"type":"Polygon","coordinates":[[[133.5,-30],[134.5,-30],[134.5,-29],[133.5,-29],[133.5,-30]]]}
Purpose

                    
                    

                    
                  
Lineage