Telfer North Super Project
The Telfer North Super Project (TNSP) situated north of the giant 27 Moz Telfer gold mine comprises five granted Exploration Licences E45/3435 (Citadel), E45/3398 (Radi Hills), E45/3396 (Mt Morris), E45/3397 (Yarrie East) and E45/3436 (Wallal) and Exploration Licence applications E45/3523 (Bulgamulgardy) and E45/3631(Ted Bore) forming two contiguous project areas referred to as Wallal and Citadel. The tenements cover a variety of exploration target types considered to have potential to host concealed Proterozoic world-class/giant ore deposits within Paterson Orogen Proterozoic basement.
The targets lie within the Canning Basin Anketell Shelf and Wallal Platform regions where cover is interpreted to be relatively thin (100-400m). Principal exploration targets identified to date within the TNSP comprise:
- The Radi Hills IOCG target/ Gravity Anomaly “bullseye” 5 mGal gravity high;
- The Mt Morris IOCG target, a large coincident magnetic and 2mGal gravity high;
- The Citadel doubly-plunging anticline gold target (a “Telfer Dome” look-alike)and
- The Yarrie East Cu/Ni/PGE massive sulphide target.
Drilling is planned for all the exploration targets in mid 2011.
Radi Hills
Radi Hills is located within granted Venus Exploration Licence E45/3398 located approximately 207 kilometres north-northwest of Telfer within the Canning Basin Wallal Platform in a region where Venus interprets the Wallal Platform sedimentary cover to be relatively thin (<500m). Gravity survey results show that the Radi Hills magnetic high has a coincident “bullseye” 5 mGal gravity high typical of Iron oxide-Copper-Gold deposits. Geophysical consultants Resource Potentials have modelled the gravity high as a northwest-striking 3km x 2km body centred between two discrete magnetic anomalies. The gravity anomaly amplitude is comparable to other large IOCG deposits such as Prominent Hill (Pre discovery).
Mt Morris
The results of the recently completed gravity survey at Mt Morris IOCG/base metal target* indicates three discrete 2 mGal gravity highs typical of Iron oxide-Copper-Gold deposits. Geophysical consultants Resource Potentials have modelled the gravity high as North-South striking three discrete gravity highs over a length of approximately 7km and over a width of 2km. The gravity anomaly amplitudes are comparable to other IOCG deposits e.g. Carapateena, Ernest Henry and Eloise. Review of historical exploration drilling by BHP in 1993/1994 (Davis,1994) shows that the drillhole ANN1 intersected Proterozoic basement at 256m with the hole ending at 360m. The hole was drilled to the south-west of the southern gravity anomaly and it did not test the gravity anomaly. The drill hole encountered fractured granitic basement with pegmatitic lenses. Minor sulphides were encountered and the geological environment is regarded to be very encouraging for IOCG type deposits.
Newcrest’s drillhole MR0602 is located on the central gravity anomaly, but did not intersected basement. The drilling was abandoned at 165m due to running sands (Wright and Stewart, 2007). It is also located on the flank of a magnetic feature visible in the regional magnetic (400m line spaced) data and has not effectively tested either the magnetic or gravity response. The remainders of the holes in this region were all too shallow and did not reach basement. Resource Potential’s 3D depth modelling (gravity inversion modelling) on the VMC Bouguer gravity anomaly has been conducted and indicates a depth to the source to be approximately 250m for the southern gravity anomaly, 275m for the central gravity anomaly and 310m for the northern gravity anomaly. This compares well to the drill results at ANN1 and modelling completed by BHP on gravity and ground magnetics over two regional traverses close to ANN1.
The shallow depth to basement as proven by the BHP drilling and as indicated by the geophysical modelling makes drill testing of the Mt Morris gravity targets an eminently feasible proposition for the Company.
Citadel
Venus structural interpretation of newly acquired aeromagnetic imagery over the Citadel Project area of Telfer North Super Project (granted E45/3435 has identified a second prominent doubly-plunging anticline similar to the structure hosting the giant 27 million ounce (Moz) Telfer gold deposit, the “Telfer Dome”. The Citadel North Dome” is located 172 kilometres north-northwest of Telfer and is interpreted by Venus to be hosted by Proterozoic basement beneath relatively thin Canning Basin sediments of the Anketell Shelf.
The Citadel North Dome is interpreted by Venus to be an eight kilometre long doubly-plunging anticline form within an interpreted dextral transpressional structural setting characterising the proterozoic Paterson Orogen of Western Australia. The Giant 27 Moz Telfer gold deposit is hosted by such a structure, and anticline structures are known to host other world-class gold ore bodies like the giant 40 Moz Homestake gold deposit within the USA where much of the gold mineralisation is hosted by Banded Iron Formation (BIF). The strongly magnetic unit at Citadel evident from the aeromagnetic image may also be BIF.
Grated Venus Exploration Licences E45/3435 “Citadel” was originally applied for during 2009 to cover a large interpreted doubly-plunging anticline evident from state-wide aeromagnetics. This structure is now referred to as the Citadel South Dome. Citadel covers an extensive area of increased magnetic response that to the south in the Telfer region correlates with magnetite- bearing granites (Figure 1). The increase regional magnetic response at Citadel may be originating from Granite intrusions at depth, a geological setting that is considered by Venus to be favourable for gold mineralisation (gold mineralisation at Telfer is generally interpreted to be sourced from a syn-tectonic granite at depth).
Yarrie East
Recently completed geophysical surveys (aeromagnetic and gravity) over the Yarrie East project area in the Telfer North Super Project area have been interpreted by Geophysical Consultants Resource Potentials. From the geophysical data they have identified a number of north-northwest trending en-echelon responses, some that are coincident with gravity anomalies. Resource Potentials believe the anomalies represent layered ultramafic and are considered prospective for Cu/Ni/PGE massive sulphides.