An extensive covered area centred ~100 km north of Leigh Creek and lying immediately west of the exposed basement rocks of the Mount Painter Inlier is being explored for possible Mount Isa style stratiform or Mississippi Valley type stratabound lead-zinc-silver and other base metal mineralisation hosted by Sturtian shales, particularly those of the Tapley Hill Formation, with attention being directed initially at historic abandoned shallow underground mine workings which were opened up along the Gladstone Fault in limonitic brecciated shales. During the first licence year, field reconnaissance geological mapping and surface geochemical sampling were conducted on 20 of these past workings in April and June 2012, with 118 grab rock chip samples of in situ gossan and of mullock heap materials being selected for assaying. Overall, this sampled past worked ground encompasses five mineralised fault breccia zones running roughly north-south that are up to 1.5 km long and cover an east-west extent of about 8 km. The probable locations of other less obvious but recorded former mine sites were mapped using Earth satellite imagery, and these were to be visited at a later date. Initial best assay results were maxima of 567 ppm Ag and up to 15.11% combined Pb + Zn. In August 2012, part of a detailed helicopter-borne aerial magnetic/radiometric survey was flown for Core Exploration (Core) along east-west flight lines spaced either 50 m or 25 m apart, using a 30 m sensor mean terrain clearance height. Inspection of the resulting processed aeromagnetic data identified the known mineralised fault structures as corresponding to magnetic lows, and within the broader licence area, multiple repeats of anomalies matching those of the known faults were recognised, thus enhancing the perceived base metal prospectivity of this currently under-explored region. During licence Year 2, Core undertook further geological mapping and rock chip geochemical sampling (20 samples collected and laboratory assayed). 10 of the rock chip samples consisting of very fine grained silty metasediments showing veining and brecciation were submitted for an expert petrological examination, which was asked to focus on their sulphide ore mineral and rock alteration mineral paragenetic relationships and compositional characteristics, to gain insight about the nature over time of the brecciating hydrothermal fluid(s)' chemistry. Roger Taylor found that the main mineralising sequence seems to have commenced with an introduction of iron rich carbonate (presumably siderite), followed by one to three more stages which were all carbonate dominated and became less iron-rich with time. Emplacement of the mesothermal sulphide assemblage was interpreted to have happened as one main stage, and a metamorphic driven mineralising model was favoured as the cause. The specimens were said to all exhibit multiple re-fractures involving brittle style tectonics. An analogy was drawn to the famous, structurally controlled Coeur d’Alene district (Idaho, USA) high-silver network vein style of lead-zinc mineralisation formed in the west-central Rocky Mountains. During licence Year 3, exploration work comprised: - the conduct of systematic soil geochemical sampling via in situ portable XRF spectrometric scans, and related geological mapping; - performing channel sampling over known gossans at the Great Gladstone and Big Hill prospects; - undertaking aboriginal cultural heritage protection work area clearance surveys; and - commencing a lode appraisal diamond drilling campaign in September-October 2015 (still ongoing at the end of this reporting period), with 6 angled holes drilled at the Great North Eastern, Great Gladstone and Big Hill mine prospects for a total penetration of 1043.2 m. All holes were fully HQ/NQ2 cored from the surface. Selected intervals in the recovered drill cores were sampled for laboratory assaying and petrological studies. This campaign represented the first drilling ever done in the area lying to the west of Mount Saturday. It was partly funded by the SA Government through the grant of a PACE Initiative Year 8 collaborative drilling project subsidy, as approved project DPY8-21 (see Env 12979 for the project's final report). Over the period May to July 2015, 1276 seived soil and rock outcrop samples were spectrometrically scanned in situ using Niton portable XRF analytical instruments, on a nominal 50 m x 100 m sample spacing. This work disclosed an untested lead-rich gossan lying ~700 m north-west of the Big Hill mine, that returned rock chip pXRF values of up to 12.93% Pb and 1.22% Zn. Handheld XRF instrumental analysis of channel samlpes taken from known mineralised gossans at Great Gladstone and Big Hill returned maximum values of 109 g/t Ag and 7.40% Pb + Zn over a 2 m interval within the 2 km long outcropping shear zone at Great Gladstone. Observations on geological setting combined with metal assemblage that Core has made from its six drill cores so far obtained at Yerelina suggest affinities with a structurally influenced, sediment hosted, carbonate rich, low-temperature silver-lead-zinc mineralisation forming system (MVT to Mount Isa-type). During licence Year 4, Core did no work. During licence Year 5, efforts were focused on identifying a SEDEX or Mississippi Style target for drilling south and east of the previous drilling program. Exploration work completed in the reporting period included: • A 7-day reconnaissance geological mapping (December 2016) and rock chip sampling (33). • The systematic application of soil geochemical sampling (2157 readings) via handheld pXRF analysis over an area identified as attractive for base metal mineralisation. • Rock chip sampling (161) of selected prospective units of the Tapley Hill Formation for geochemical analysis using the handheld pXRF. • Validation of select samples to verify select pXRF result with laboratory-based analysis. All exploration activities were undertaken over areas of Tapley Hill Formation shales and slates and the Serle Conglomerate. The program was designed to test two main areas: the Southern Block to test the upper upper Tapley Hill Fm adjacent to the contact with the overlying Yankaninna Formation, where lenses of boulder/conglomerate beds are known to outcrop with above-background base metals geochemistry (e.g. >500ppm Zn), and the Northern Block to test the geochemical response of the Serle Conglomerate Fm, which underlies the Tapley Hill Fm, but forms the core of an anticline which is host to numerous outcropping occurrences of mineralisation within the Tapley Hill Fm. Sampling on the Southern Block was completed on 25 m spacing along E-W lines 200 m apart with 100 m spaced infill lines, while sampling on the Northern Block was on 50 m spacing along E-W lines 200 m apart. The pXRF survey over the Southern Block was successful in identifying numerous zones of elevated base metal geochemistry. The most notable zone of Zn (+/-Pb +/- Cu) anomalism occurs over a strike length of 1600 m and is up to 300 m wide in parts and is broadly coincident with the contact between the Tapley Hill Fm and overlying Yankaninna Fm. The geochemical response from the Northern block was subdued in comparison, with mean zinc values of 49.6 ppm, however two broad zones of geochemical anomalism were identified associated with areas of Fe-Mn altered rock, some of which retuned Ag values between 30-70 ppm (samples collected for conventional laboratory analysis). Mapping and the soil and rock chip geochemical program contributed valuable information and demonstrated the presence of base-metal anomalous carbonate-siliciclastics that are considered consistent with both SEDEX- and Mississippi Valley- style base metal settings. During licence Year 6 no technical work was undertaken and as such no technical report was submitted.