A licence area located in South Australia's Far North-west Aboriginal Lands, and centred approximately 20 km to the south-east of the Surveyor Generals Corner at the borders of Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory, has been explored by Delta Gold with joint venture partner and tenement manager Rio Tinto Exploration (RTE) as part of work planned after 1/7/1998 for a larger set of project exploration licences currently held or under application for grant within the eastern Musgrave Province. Exploration targets for the JV project are primarily massive magmatic nickel sulphide deposits possibly associated with the Proterozoic Giles Complex mafic to ultramafic intrusive rock suite, where eight such layered gabbroic bodies are known to exist within the tenement area, while related lateritic and disseminated sulphide nickel mineralisation, as well as Bushveld-style platinum group element (PGE) deposits, Broken Hill style stratiform volcanogenic base metal deposits, and diamonds in kimberlite intrusions, were also regarded as attractive targets. The Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) communities of Kalka and Pipalyatjara are located within the tenement area. Being the first mineral exploration company to investigate this region for over 25 years, RTE was very careful to liaise closely with Anangu. Work Area Clearance surveys were conducted of areas of exploration interest spread across the tenement, and arising from that the APY Traditional Owners precluded approximately one third of the licence area from first pass ground reconnaissance. RTE's exploration activities during the first licence year of EL 2584 Mount Davies included a review of historical exploration records, land access negotiations, airborne and ground based geophysical surveying, surface geochemical sampling and general geological reconnaissance. During June 1999, 2615 line km of helicopter-borne EM / magnetic / DTM data were acquired along north-south flight lines spaced 250 m apart using a 100 m sensor mean elevation above the ground surface. The EM measurements were recorded at four frequencies (1025Hz, 3125Hz, 7575Hz, and 12025Hz). Broad, moderately conductive responses were seen to be associated with several active drainage patterns that are strongly influenced by structure. One conductive zone identified within the Mount Davies intrusion appeared to be layer - parallel, and has an associated weak (100nT) magnetic response. This feature was named ‘S Valley’. A preliminary geological reconnaissance undertaken by RTE personnel in September 1999 within areas approved by the work area clearance surveys showed that the outcrop there is notably fresh, with only a thin rind of weathering observed. The exception to this is the intense laterite that has developed upon serpentinised dunite, and variable weathering within pyroxenite and websterite. For the most part pyroxenite, gabbro, norite, ademallite and basement felsic-mafic gneisses are essentially unweathered where exposed. However, geological mapping did not identify any outcropping Ni-Cu sulphides. 239 stream sediment samples, 28 base-of-slope colluvium samples, 44 rock chip samples and 50 grab samples of laterite profiles were taken for chemical analysis. In general no significant assay results were returned from media other than the laterites, in which limonitic and smectitic clay returned assays up to 3.7% Ni at Scarface and 2.7% Ni at Claude Hills, substantiating the tenor of mineralisation at these previously reported small deposits. Forty 2-3 kg blocks of preferably fresh rock were collected for petrological examination, and 12 of these samples were also sent for laboratory measurements of their density and magnetic properties. The latter properties displayed variable but significant palaeomagnetic remanence, as was expected. A single 16 kg loam bulk sample was collected near Tilun Tilun Homeland to submit for heavy mineral grain analysis, looking for possible diamond indicators. During November 1999, 3.4 line km of ground TEM readings were collected at 100 m station intervals along three traverses to confirm interpreted AEM anomalies. However, the results were unremarkable, failing to detect any anomalies attributable to massive Ni-Cu sulphide mineralisation. During licence Year 2, a brief field reconnaissance trip was made with Colin Conor from the Office of Minerals and Energy Resources (PIRSA) to assess the potential for Broken Hill style base metal (lead-zinc-silver) mineralisation within the granulite facies rocks of the Birksgate Complex. Examination of the gneissic terrain with his help identified lithologies analogous to those of the mineralised systems in the Willyama Supergroup strata at Broken Hill, thereby serving to demonstrate the potential for this type of mineralisation to occur within these Musgrave Block basement rocks. Two rock chip samples were collected of selected metamorphosed Birksgate Complex rocks, to submit for multi-element geochemical analysis. This was followed during August 2000 by the drilling of 6 exploratory vertical RC holes for a total penetration of 713 m, at the Giles Complex Pwinahole prospect in the south-west of the licence area, to test a low priority HEM survey conductivity anomaly located along the bottom contact of the Michael Hills Intrusion, that might indicate a buried massive sulphide accumulation. However, despite finding traces of chalcopyrite and pentlandite within the intruded pyroxenite and norite igneous rocks, the accompanying quantities of magnetite indicated to RTE that this composition reflects a later development in the magmatic fractionation sequence, and thus it occupies a higher position within the intrusive body. Consequently it was concluded that this drilled contact zone does not represent the basal sequence of the intrusion, so the chance of finding local massive Ni-Cu sulphide accumulations there is unlikely. During licence Year 3, no field work occurred. Activities consisted of office studies and the commissioning of a geological consultant's regional interpretation of TEiSA aeromagnetic data. The latter was intended to provide a solid geology overview and structural/tectonic framework to use for consideration of the mineral potential of the west-central Musgrave Province basement. With regard to EL 2584, and possible Giles Complex mineralisation hosts, the magnetic features studied comprise exposed and covered parts of the Claude Hills, Ewarara, Michael Hills, Hinckley Range, Kalka, Mount Davies and Gosse’s Pile intrusions. These bodies are generally massive and non-magnetic to weakly magnetic (to weakly negatively polarised), although Michael Hills and Hinckely Range do include upper well-layered, strongly magnetic sequences. As to structural features, Michael Hills appears to remain relatively intact except for faulting along its northern margin, whereas Hinckley Range is intensely sheared. The strong magnetic response at “The Hook” on the northern margin of Mount Davies is coincident with a silicic alteration cap. This coincides with minor dilational inflexions along the east-west trending shear zone separating the Mount Davies, Kalka and Hinckley Range bodies. The Gosse’s Pile body appears as a rhomboid fault boudin associated with significant dextral shear along the Scarface - Wingelinna Shear. It is likely that the block represents basal portions of the Kalka intrusion displaced approximately 20 km. Claude Hills is an elongate non-magnetic to negatively polarised magnetic sill believed to represent either an entire intrusion or just a fault slice of a larger complex. Seven features of interest were identified for consideration. These targets were re-assessed by RTE using geophysical and geochemical data previously collected. It appeared that none of the features could be highly rated. Also during the year, RTE monitored initial ctivities performed by Acclaim Exploration NL at Wingelinna, just a short distance away on the WA side of the SA/WA border. During 2001, Acclaim had secured a mining licence across the historic Ni-Co deposit and completed airborne EM surveys. This was followed by several phases of confirmation drilling at high grade zones within the known deposit. Acclaim referred to the mineralsation at Wingelinna as “oxide”, implying the derivation of chalcophile elements from weathered sulphide. No direct evidence of this has yet been presented by the company. During licence Year 4, RTE's activities were again limited to performing office studies. Some environmental monitoring of the company's previously rehabilitated drill sites at Pwinahole prospect was attempted, but was postponed due to concerns expressed by APY Traditional Owners. The Mineral Resources Group of PIRSA conducted roadside stratigraphic/exploratory drilling in the Mount Davies region, with six holes completed within EL 2584 [see RB 2003/00020]. Information gathered from these holes initiated some reassessment by RTE of the prospectivity of the basal contact zone of the Kalka Intrusion, when it was revealed that gabbro and pyroxenite occur on the northern side of the Scarface structural lineament. This area had previously been interpreted to contain concealed granulite facies Birksgate Complex rocks; now the obvious possibility arose that it might instead contain tectonically displaced slices from the base of the Kalka Intrusion. Notably also, the PIRSA drilling encountered anomalous copper mineralisation in diamond core recovered from hole DAV-13 west of Kalka. Bornite veinlets (5 m @ 0.86% Cu) were intersected marginal to a microgabbro dyke that transects the Kalka North gabbroic body. RTE continued to monitor activities conducted by Acclaim Exploration in the region. During 2002, in addition to improving the defined mineral resource at Wingellina, within JORC Code specifications, to now become 227 Mt @ 1.0% Ni and 0.07% Co, Acclaim also acquired a South Australian exploration licence (EL 2777) surrounding the subject Mount Davies EL 2584, from Austral Nickel Pty Ltd. During licence Year 5, no field work occurred. RTE conducted a final review of accumulated mineral technical data for the licence area, and early in 2004 it concluded that there were no geological, geochemical or geophysical targets remaining within EL 2584 that would realistically meet RTE’s primary exploration objective of finding a giant nickel-copper resource. Therefore it was recommended that EL 2584 should be excised from the Joint Venture. A telling factor in arriving at this decision was that ongoing fiscal compensation liabilities which would be incurred to gain access to explore the licence out-weighed the likely benefit of retaining the ground. During the period 2004 through 2007, expenditure conditions on the subject licence were suspended under an agreement made with PIRSA, so no field work occurred. RTE was involved in commercial negotiations to divest/farmout its earned interest in renewed EL 3932 Mount Davies to a bonafide third party. During licence Year 6 (2007-2008), the terms for the transfer of Rio's interest in EL 3932 were able to be agreed with a competent party, and RTE expected to have a binding agreement executed with that party prior to the end of 2008 or early in 2009. During licence Year 7, RTE’s activities were limited to effecting firstly the transfer of EL 3932 ownership from Delta Gold Limited to itself, and then completing the farm-out of a majority interest in the tenement to Austral Nickel Pty Ltd, which dealing was formally executed on 22/9/2009. Under the terms of the new joint venture agreement, Austral Nickel would sole fund and manage exploration on EL 3932 to earn an initial 51% legal and beneficial interest, by spending A$2M on the tenement within 4 years. Early in 2009, Austral Nickel had already commenced reprocessing and interpreting RTE's airborne EM survey data covering EL 3932, to help it define priority drill targets for further ground truthing and examination.