Exploration for copper mineralisation within an area centred immediately north-northeast of Kapunda has as its initial objective to find shallow deposits of oxide and carbonate ores similar to those mined historically at Burra and Kapunda, focussing mainly on the many known historic small copper workings recorded for this part of the northern Mount Lofty Ranges. But the company's main long-term objective is to discover hidden economic large primary deposits of sediment-hosted, stratiform copper sulphide mineralisation within favourable structural and lithological settings. Copper Range began its work on the subject licence in 2005/2006 by doing an office-based interpretation of aerial photographs, Aster satellite imagery and aeromagnetic data, looking for evidence of alteration features, probably arising from past crustal fluid movements related to significant, basin bounding structures which cut across stratigraphy, which could be pointers to the nearby existence of epigenetic copper mineralisation that may have formed in reactive strata and at dilatant sites along the structures. Use of these modern remote sensing methods had already been tried in other parts of the Adelaide Fold Belt and proven by the company to generate targets that are not related to known mineralisation, and thus have not been explored in the past. On EL 3451, one promising such altered zone was identified within the Tapley Hill Formation (THF) bedrock outcrops at the Benita prospect, east of Hansborough, near the abandoned historic Benita copper mine for which no geologically useful records are available. 2 grab rock chip samples were collected from this zone in February 2006 and sent for assaying for a wide ranging suite of pathfinder elements. Copper Range also carried out an exhaustive literature review and a structural mapping programme in the Kapunda mine district during 2007/2008, as the company attempted to build an understanding of factors controlling the mineralisation style within this historic mine. The aim was to propose a genetic model for Kapunda-style mineralisation which could be applied to exploration within Copper Range’s Eudunda and Burra Project tenements. During the second licence year, Martin I'ons, a consultant from Ions Photogeological Services, was retained to undertake a wider regional structural interpretation of the southern Adelaide Fold Belt in conjunction with geologists from Copper Range. It was expected that this regional interpretation would generate additional drilling targets. I'ons also helped Copper Range to build its conceptual model for the formation of copper mineralisation at the Kapunda deposit. It was inferred that the known high grade and disseminated lower grade mineralisation there had been deposited in places where the host rocks were sufficiently porous and permeable to allow for the passage of Cu-bearing hydrothermal fluids. In areas along strike from the historic mine lodes, the most prospective lithological horizons were thought to be the sandstones and dolomites of the Brighton Limestone and Etina Formation, with targeted deep drilling investigation of these rocks needed where structural events affecting them such as faulting and folding should have concentrated such fluid flow. In addition, the new metallogenesis model required that an appropriate stratabound reductant should be present for causing precipitation of sulphides, which in the case of both formations was anhydrite. The licensee's ongoing literature research also unearthed information about a previously unrecorded copper prospect located within EL 3451 near its southern boundary, only 10 km east-northeast of Kapunda. This prospect has been named 'Illawarra', after the mixed farming property on which it is located. Copper mineralisation shows were discovered there in 1973 by the property's owner, Brian Shannon, who while plowing a paddock unearthed float boulders of Tapley Hill Formation that were liberally coated with malachite and chrysocolla. He promptly took out a private mine lease on the property (PM 249), and then, with the advice and technical assistance of mining personnel from the then local copper producer Samin based in Burra, he carried out bulldozer trenching of four subparallel costeans to evaluate the concealed bedrock. The results of channel sampling done in the costeans were of too low a grade to be of interest to Samin. The wall rock was seen to be iron-stained and variably veined dolomitic siltstone, carrying a maximum intercept of 5 m @ 0.5% Cu. Mr Shannon subsequently approached North Ltd, who showed interest enough to conduct a brief surface geochemical survey across the occurrence area, and who assisted him in his step-out shallow tractor auger drilling evaluation efforts by giving the loan of a more sophisticated small drilling rig. The following completion of a number of test holes up to 17 m deep in the period until 1980 disclosed that the mineralised zone is at least 9 m wide and 80 m long, and lies on a NW orientated fault zone. Drill cuttings assays returned up to 4.2% Cu over a 4 m depth interval. Because North was not really interested in the prospect's potential, Mr Shannon ceased his work, and the open trenches were filled in. When Copper Range found the above informal discovery/appraisal records in the archive of Adelaide Chemical Company in late 2007, and subsequently inspected the occurrence in the field, it became evident that the work done there was too limited in scope, and of doubtful quality as to rigor of past sampling, to allow the find's significance to continue to be ignored. During their visit the company's geologists collected 11 specimens of the mineralised float material exposed in the trench back-fill, and these were thin sectioned and examined petrographically to describe the composition and host lithology to the copper minerals, including comments on mineral paragenesis and later diagenesis. During the third licence year, the work undertaken by Copper Range on EL 3451 comprised accurate grid-based soil geochemical sampling and the conduct of an induced polarisation geophysical survey at the Illawarra prospect. Early in 2008, 77 soil samples were collected along 6 traverses spaced 100 m apart, with 20 m between sample sites on each traverse. The soil assay results outlined a NNE trending linear anomaly of >50 ppm Cu which appeared to widen markedly and remain open going southwards. During April 2008, two 800 m long east-west dipole-dipole IP profiles were read 200 m apart, with one profile on either side of the known mineralised zone where the costeans had been dug. The recorder station spacing was 50 m. A moderately conductive body was detected underlying the surface soil geochemical anomaly peaks, having chargeability characteristics which could represent a buried mass of sulphide mineralisation with associated silica alteration. However, a proposed test drilling programme of 4 holes for 500 m could not be started at Illawarra due to the commencement of cereal cropping by a sharefarmer, as well as the licensee's inability to reach a compensation agreement with the property owner and Private Mine leaseholder, David Shannon, to allow it to proceed. A review of the Eudunda Project licences' regional geology made during late 2008 by a USA-based consultant geologist, Jon Thorson, also generated another prospect – the Tarnma Anticline prospect which straddles EL 3451 and the adjacent EL 3972 to the north, also held by Copper Range. This conceptual target was based on Thorson’s global experience with studying sandstone-hosted copper mineralsation, particularly in the Paradox Basin of Utah. The anticline had originally been promoted in 1996 by Ian Dyson (cf. MESA Journal 3, p:41-48) as evidence of an unbreached diapir located mid-way between the Kapunda and Burra copper deposits. He had noted that it contains strongly disrupted Burra Group strata overlying its central axis, which include Skillogalee Dolomite carbonate beds showing signs of hydrothermal alteration. During November 2008, the Tarnma Anticline was mapped by Copper Range and 19 samples of silica-veined, variably brecciated and iron/manganese stained siltstone and sandstone were collected for assaying. 10 samples returned slightly elevated copper values and very minor anomalism in a few other pathfinder elements. Copper Range decided that, at this prospect, these weak indicators of geochemical dispersion from a putative blind orebody were not worthy of follow-up in the currently depressed economic climate. During 2009, no field work was done on EL 3451. A further review by Copper Range of its copper mineralisation potential suggested that there was a diminished chance for it to host a significant copper deposit. The company therefore began a separate review to gauge the licence's iron ore potential. After Phoenix Copper Ltd assumed management of the licence late in 2009, that company only carried out reconnaissance soil geochemical sampling during August 2010 and June 2011 using two different hand-held portable XRF analytical tools, with a total 1327 sites being analysed for 34 elements. Some of the soil sampling traverses were located to re-sample several previously reported surface geochemical anomalies of interest to Phoenix. The resulting raw digital FPXRF data is presented in the final report for renewed EL 4626, accompanied by three maps which respectively depict the surface distribution of above-threshold values for copper, arsenic and phosphorus.