An area in the eastern Mugrave Ranges centred ~75 km south-east of Kulgera is being explored for possible buried economic magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE mineralisation hosted by inferred Proterozoic Giles Complex layered ultramafic intrusions, and also for...
An area in the eastern Mugrave Ranges centred ~75 km south-east of Kulgera is being explored for possible buried economic magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE mineralisation hosted by inferred Proterozoic Giles Complex layered ultramafic intrusions, and also for possible epigenetic silver-gold-rare earth element mineralisation that may have formed within the granites of the Pitjantjatjara Supersuite. No field work was done during the first licence year. Depending on reaching a satisfactory conclusion to Native Title land access negotiations currently underway, licence operator Woomera Exploration Limited (WEX) intended to try to identify potential Giles Complex intrusions from existing geophysical data and then to conduct soil geochemical sampling over them. It also aimed to resample areas where mineralisation had been reported by DMITRE from a 1999-2001 TEiSA bedrock stratigraphic drilling programme (cf. RB 2012/00008 and RB 2013/00011). No field work was done during licence Year 2. During licence Year 3, WEX compiled and researched data and reports produced by the GSSA and previous explorers, and used this information to identify twelve exploration targets within the Alcurra Project region. They were selected primarily on the basis of RC drillhole sample assay results, rock chip assay results, and on their proximity to interpreted remanent magnetic trends seen in vector filtered residual magnetic intensity data. These targets were expected to represent buried intrusive mafic/ultramafic rocks similar to those that host the Nebo, Babel and Succoth Cu-Ni-PGE deposits located further to the west in the Musgrave Province. Four of them, Targets 8 to 11, lay within the subject EL 5287 Mount Irwin, and their selection criteria are given. During licence Year 4, WEX made plans to perform RC exploratory drilling on Targets 8 and 10, selecting sites for five >100-150 m deep vertical holes. During licence Year 5, Native Title Mining Agreements for all of the Alcurra Project tenements were executed between WEX, licensee Norsa and the Tjayuwara Native Aboriginal Corp. (TUAC), and an aboriginal heritage protection site clearance survey was conducted with participation by the TUAC Board of Directors. Six of the target areas were cleared, allowing for drilling to proceed on them, and 14 RC holes for ~4000 m were then programmed. A moving loop ground EM survey was begun over them to gather data to use to help pinpoint optimum locations for the eventual drill collars. During licence Year 6, the first of renewed EL 6180 Mount Irwin, a 28.8 line km moving loop ground EM survey was acquired at the Walsh prospect. Readings were taken at 200 m station intervals along six north-south traverses 800 m apart. However, strong IP effects originating within weathered cover sediments prevented the survey results from proving useful for mapping possible sulphide occurrences in the buried mafic igneous rocks believed to be present there. Despite this problem, a single inclined RC drillhole, RC18WAL001, was completed to a total depth of 228 m during November 2018 to test a structurally complex zone in the buried basement that displayed remanent magnetism and a possible conductive but very muted MLEM response. From the top of basement at ~50 m downhole to ~130 m downhole, the drill bit encountered weakly magnetic granitoid rocks which had been cut by several mafic dyke/sill bodies, and then entered a massive and slightly magnetite-rich gabbro, but no significant mineralisation was seen. Portable XRF spectrochemical scanning of 1-metre interval drill cuttings detected patchy elevated nickel, copper and chromium at various depths. During licence Year 7, no field work was done. Selected 6-metre composite drill cuttings samples from RC18WAL001 were submitted for laboratory multi-element assaying. In addition, two selected samples of the granitoid igneous rock unit encountered were sent for petrographic examination to assess their potential for containing primary metallic mineralisation. Although exhibiting moderate retrograde alteration, this massive interpreted I-type monzogranite contains no microscopically visible economic mineralisation. Up to 3% magmatic magnetite occurs in both samples, with minor associated lamellar intergrown ilmenite. No other work was done on EL 6180 during the following year, before a decision was made to allow its tenure to lapse at Year 8 expiry.
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