Orientation and regional reconnaissance stream sediment geochemical surveying (1438 samples) of early Marinoan shallow marine carbonate strata, carried out over a wide area surrounding the historic Billy Springs lead-zinc mine, failed to locate any significant base metal anomalism at stratigraphic levels comparable to the setting of that deposit. Detailed prospecting of the near-mine area in the slightly deformed nose of the Billy Spring Syncline, via auger soil sampling and limited shallow rotary percussion drilling (5 holes for a total penetration of 750 feet), also failed to find an expected continuation to known mineralisation either near or beneath the existing worked-out high grade surface occurrences.