Lady Alice Mines was successful in receiving funding in the third round of The Accelerated Discovery Initiative (ADI). This funding was provided to allow for the assessment of Controlled Source Audio-Magnetotellurics (CSAMT) and Loupe TEM ground...
Lady Alice Mines was successful in receiving funding in the third round of The Accelerated Discovery Initiative (ADI). This funding was provided to allow for the assessment of Controlled Source Audio-Magnetotellurics (CSAMT) and Loupe TEM ground geophysical survey methods at the Clarke Prospect of the Central Gawler Gold Province. CSAMT is a low impact ground exploration method that utilises a transmitter that releases controlled electrical signals into the ground while at the receiver site 6-8 km away, receiver lines measure the induced electrical and magnetic fields to provide geophysical information about the survey area the depth of investigation of this method was planned to penetrate to 300-400 m for this survey. Loupe TEM is a ground based transient electromagnetic survey method. This method is designed to provide information on the near surface ground conductivity. This survey method provides a depth of investigation of 30-50 m in the survey area with a fast data acquisition and small crew required. These two geophysical methods were selected to assess their capability to provide predrilling, low environmental impact information that would allow for the more effective design of exploration drill programs and reduce environmental impacts of exploration. The use of both CSAMT and Loupe TEM methods over the same area was planned to compare the exploration potential of these methods for structurally hosted hydrothermal gold and clay hosted rare earths. The Clarke Prospect of the Central Gawler Gold Province was considered a good candidate to assess these exploration tools and help progress the exploration for gold and clay hosted rare earths in the Central Gawler Gold Province. On ground activities completed through the ADI funding included: • An ADI Co-funded CSAMT Survey at the Clarke Prospect for 12.6-line km over 9 lines. • An ADI Co-funded Loupe TEM at the Clarke Prospect for 28.2-line km over 24 lines. Results of the Loupe TEM survey demonstrated that the depth of the cover could be identified; that the depth to fresh basement could be identified in areas where the depth of investigation was adequate, and that the basement geological domains could be identified in section and depth slices. A north-northeast trending feature identified in the survey along with a west-east trending feature coincide with the known rare earth mineralisation, while known gold appears to coincide with a weaker west-east trending feature. During the initial part of the CSAMT survey, it was identified that high conductivity was restricting the depth of investigation to 60-70 m. It was decided to incorporate passive MT readings to allow for the planned depth of investigation while maintaining the higher resolution information from the CSAMT data at shallower depths. These data were merged for modelling. The CSAMT data was effective in delineating the location and dip of regional un-mineralised structures, second order mineralised structures and the depth to fresh basement. The depth of investigation of 300-400 m allows for the interpretation of dip on structures into the basement and the complete coverage of the depth to fresh basement. This new data allows for the re-interpretation of the AEM datasets in the targeting of additional zones for drill testing. The zones identified do not rely on the correct formation of calcrete and are independent of weathering features that were required for the current suite of targets. The combination of the Loupe TEM and CSAMT surveys at Clarke provided complementary data, with features identified at overlapping depths showing strong similarities, particularly accounting for variations in survey line spacing variations. These features align with previously identified regional AEM features, and increases the confidence that the features are real.
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