Olary (latterly part of the Olary Project). Annual reports and final report to licence full surrender, for the period 21/1/2008 to 20/01/2015.
Published: 01 Apr 1915 Created: 12 Nov 2024 Revised: 12 Nov 2024

A large area located immediately south and south-west of Olary has been explored initially for possible economic buried primary epithermal to mesothermal copper-gold and gold only mineralisation that might have formed in Adelaidean and older...

A large area located immediately south and south-west of Olary has been explored initially for possible economic buried primary epithermal to mesothermal copper-gold and gold only mineralisation that might have formed in Adelaidean and older bedrock, and later was explored for stratabound iron ore in the Adelaidean cover sediments. During the first licence year, Helix Resources undertook regional soil calcrete geochemical sampling (44 x minus 40 mesh fraction auger cuttings samples) plus rock chip grab sampling (20 samples) and related reconnaissance mapping/geological assessment of historical prospects, which disclosed several anomalies in gold and base metals located close to and trending into the company's eastwards adjoining EL 3956 Devenborough Downs. Lithologically and structurally controlled thin and sparse vein style mineralisation associated with slip planes on lithological boundaries and on secondary fracture planes was identified in the Junction mine area, which it was surmised may be similar to Telfer style mineralisation and would probably have been formed during Delamerian Orogeny deformation events. In October 2008, UTS Geophysics was contracted by Helix Resources to fly a low level airborne magnetic/radiometric/DTM survey over ELs 3956 and 4022 along north-south lines 100 m apart, using a nominal 40 m sensor height above the ground surface. Total coverage amounted to 10,465 line km, of which about half was over the north-eastern end of the subject EL 4022. The survey data were processed by Southern Geoscience Consultants in Perth, WA. No work was done on EL 4022 during its second and third years. Interest in the copper-gold potential of the licence area had waned because Helix formed the view that the known mineralised veins were too narrow, had only limited strike extent and were erratically distributed. Increased interest in the known magnetite bearing facies positions of the Pualco Tillite as a possible source of iron ore led the company to review the licence area's potential for this commodity. Favourable topography seen within EL 4022 also engendered a study by the company into selecting optimal transport routes and infrastructure placement to assist in assessing the economics of any potential mining project. A detailed digital terrain model (DTM), generated during the acquisition of the 2008 detailed airborne survey, was used in combination with maps of existing infrastructure and the local hydrological catchment features to determine an initial suitable corridor/s for rail/conveyor/haul road infrastructure. No field work occurred during the fourth licence year. However, at this time Helix commenced its own programme of iron ore exploration through a newly set up and wholly owned subsidiary company, Olary Magnetite Pty Ltd. The Neoproterozoic Braemar Ironstone facies rocks were targeted by: - making a 2D interpretation of aeromagnetic data to assess magnetic anomalies and to estimate their possible volumes/exploration targets for magnetite - enriched material. Bodies of interest were defined as needing to be >500 m long, 100 m wide (from drill-based evidence obtained on EL 3956) and lying within 100 m depth below surface; - investigating forward and inversion modelling and alternate geophysical processing methodologies as a means to map the buried magnetite facies rocks. It was concluded that the substantial remanence issues present locally would render such processing of the magnetic data ineffective and misleading; and - assessing the results of Olary Magnetite's recent 11 hole, 1534 m regional reconnaissance RC drilling done on the adjoining EL 3956, to provide likely Fe grade and thickness parameters to apply to scoping the potential on EL 4022. Midway through 2013, during licence Year 5, Olary Magnetite was purchased by Lodestone Equities Limited and was subsequently managed by that company's subsidiary Braemar Iron Pty Ltd. The new project owner determined that the magnetite potential of EL 4022/5327 was low, and consequently no further work was carried out for the two years that elapsed prior to full surrender of tenure. Over this period Braemar identified an infrastructure corridor that it would prefer to use for any future magnetite development that might be made outside EL 5327, this involving a proposed slurry pipeline which would run directly to the coast.

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About this record

Record No mesac25674
Topic Geoscientific Information
Type of Resource Document
Category Type
Document Type Mineral Company Report - Mineral Exploration
Contributor UTS Geophysics Pty Ltd
Sponsor Helix Resources Ltd
Tenement
Tenement Holder Helix Resources Ltd;Lodestone Mines Pty Ltd
Operator Olary Magnetite Pty Ltd;Braemar Iron Pty Ltd
Geological Province
Mine Name
Stratigraphy
Commodity
Notes
Notes: Project joint annual reports for the period 21/1/2012 to 20/1/2014 are stored separately in Env 12361.
Geographic Locality: Benda Range;Oulnina Station;Wawirra Creek;Maldorky Hills;Ulupa Hill;Copperlinka Creek;Mindaltie Syncline;Junction...

Notes: Project joint annual reports for the period 21/1/2012 to 20/1/2014 are stored separately in Env 12361. Geographic Locality: Benda Range;Oulnina Station;Wawirra Creek;Maldorky Hills;Ulupa Hill;Copperlinka Creek;Mindaltie Syncline;Junction Anticline;1995 AGSO BHEi Area 1ii Aerial Magnetic Survey;1995 AGSO BHEi Area 1ii Aerial Radioactivity Survey;2008 Olary Aerial Magnetic Survey [part];2008 Olary Aerial Radioactivity Survey [part];2008 Olary Aerial DTM Survey [part] Doc No: Env 11768

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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/mesac25674
Citation Whitehead, S.;Johnson, C.;England, G.L. 1915. Olary (latterly part of the Olary Project). Annual reports and final report to licence full surrender, for the period 21/1/2008 to 20/01/2015. Mineral Company Report - Mineral Exploration
https://pid.sarig.sa.gov.au/document/mesac25674

Technical information

Status
Maintenance and Update Frequency
Geographic Reference GDA2020 (EPSG:7844)
Geo bounding box {"type":"Polygon","coordinates":[[[140,-33],[141,-33],[141,-32],[140,-32],[140,-33]]]}
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