An area centred ~25 km south-east of Olary township is being explored for possible economic buried IOCG type and gold-only mineralisation, as well as for possible stratiform Broken Hill type lead-zinc-silver occurrences, and latterly also, for...
An area centred ~25 km south-east of Olary township is being explored for possible economic buried IOCG type and gold-only mineralisation, as well as for possible stratiform Broken Hill type lead-zinc-silver occurrences, and latterly also, for Radium Hill type primary bedrock-hosted uranium mineralisation. Locally, the copper-gold targets being sought are any with features resembling those of Portia, Kalkaroo and White Dam, whilst other important features to be looked for are those belonging to Cloncurry style deposits such as Ernest Henry and Osborne. During licence year 1, work undertaken by grant licensee Havilah Resources ("Havilah") consisted of the acquisition and evaluation of previous exploration data, field inspections and limited sampling of old mine dumps. Assaying of samples of pyritic vein quartz taken from dumps at the Luxemburg mine returned low gold values ranging from 1.2 to 3.05 ppm Au, plus strongly anomalous copper up to 1.32% Cu. However, it was thought that the gold values obtained are unlikely to be representative of the overall grade of the source gold-bearing quartz veins. No field work was done during licence Year 2. Activities undertaken were instead related to ground checking areas suitable for inclusion in a acreage partial relinquishment, while at the same time, Havilah was involved in protracted farm-in negotiations with an adjacent tenement holder, which at the end of the year had not come to fruition. During licence Year 3, Havilah drilled 4 southwards inclined RC holes with a total penetration of 357 m at the Luxemburg Goldfield, to test the quartz reefs. The reefs were tested near where they intersect the amphibolite/granite country rock contact, which was interpreted to be the most favourable site for past development of competency contrast, dilation and mineralisation, as supported by the location of the major historical workings. Drill cuttings sample assay results were generally very low. The most notable but still low grade results were obtained from the Queen Bee Reef in hole CURC-001, where maximum values of 1 m @ 0.65 g/t Au and 1 m @ 1.7% Cu were returned. The reefs appeared to be generally very thin, with average down hole mineralised intercept widths of only 1 to 2 m, and a maximum intersection that was 4 m wide. The thickness and grades of the reefs tested suggests that the Luxemburg Goldfield has very little economic potential, and consequently no further work is planned for there. During licence Year 4, Havilah carried out reconnaissance field trips in the southern part of EL 2986, and made an extensive revision to its GIS database content for this area in light of the perceived uranium exploration potential that it saw near Radium Hill, and to reflect likewise the potential for Mutooroo style Cu-Co deposits. However, these activities did not result in the creation of any new reportable scientific data. During licence Year 5, exploratory drilling that had been planned to occur during early 2007 to investigate separate inferred basement uranium and Mutooroo style Cu-Co prospects did not eventuate. Drilling then being done on Havilah's other tenements, and a shortage of drill rigs, had caused the EL 2986 RC drilling program to fall behind schedule. In the August 2007 annual report it was forecast to commence in September 2007 at the earliest. Because of a recent rise in uranium prices, Havilah's prime exploration focus had become shifted onto bedrock uranium mineralisation which might occur along strike from Radium Hill. New such targets were generated early in 2007, to be the subjects of the upcoming orientation drill testing.
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