An area consisting of two adjacent small sub-blocks located in the western Lake Cadibarrawirracanna drainage basin has been explored for possible buried economic magnesium- and sodium-sulphate salts and also for possible underlying basement-hosted...
An area consisting of two adjacent small sub-blocks located in the western Lake Cadibarrawirracanna drainage basin has been explored for possible buried economic magnesium- and sodium-sulphate salts and also for possible underlying basement-hosted iron oxide - associated copper-gold (IOCG) or iron-sulphide copper-gold (ISCG) mineralisation. Historic drilling and costeaning conducted by CRA Exploration more than 25 years ago [cf. Env 5258] had revealed significant quantities of Mg- and Na-sulphate salts forming a geologically rare and significant mineral deposit in the vicinity of Giddi Giddinna Creek. The licensee considered it likely that additional near surface occurrences of bloedite (MgSO4Na2SO4.4H2O), epsomite (MgSO4.7H2O) and hexahydrite (MgSO4.6H2O) might exist within the region. During the first licence year, work undertaken by Minotaur subsidiary BMV Properties Pty Ltd included making a desktop review of palaeochannels, brines and evaporites, researching new developments in leaching technologies, negotiating working agreements with both local Aboriginal Native Title claimant groups, and undertaking field reconnaissance visits while travelling through EL 5911 to a proposed drill site on adjacent EL 5869. Unfortunately, during a heritage survey conducted in March 2017 this nearby drill site and by extension the entire licence area was not cleared by the Antakirinja Matu-Yankunytjatjara Aboriginal Corporation for exploration access, based on the assertion that the area of interest is located within an extensive region of high cultural significance. Consequently, this assertion, by wider inference, stopped the progress of any field work on EL 5911. The dominant geomorphology in both licence areas is a regionally extensive barren gibber plain informally known as the "Moon Plain". During licence years 2 and 3, land access negotiations already underway with the Antakirinja Matu-Yankunytjatjara Aboriginal Corporation were continued firstly by Minotaur and then by Pact Renewables, a party interested in purchasing the project outright, but the failure to resolve the matter of access satisfactorily eventually led to a decision to abandon the project and to fully surrender tenure.
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