Annual Report on Maud Creek ELs year ending December 1987.

Abstract

CSR Limited conducted, at its sole expense, an exploration programme for gold mineralisation within the Maud Creek area near Katherine. The exploration covered five exploration licences namely, 4913, 4914, 4874 and 4716, all of which were granted to CSR Limited. Exploration in 1987 comprised interpretation of airborne geophysics, soil and rock geochemistry and petrological studies. The interpretation of the airborne geophysics over the Chessman Prospect located several magnetic anomalies worthy of drill testing. A soil sampling programme comprising 480 samples in the Dorothy Creek area (E.L. 4913) failed to locate anolalous gold in soils. Copper and arsenic were, however, found to be anomalous within portions of the 'Nippers Nob' prospect. Additional selective rock-chip geochemistry confirmed the presence of anomalous gold and copper in the area, but low soil geochemistry has downgraded the potential for extensions to the gold-bearing lithologies. An IP survey was undertaken over the Nippers Nob grid which confirmed results obtained by the NTGS in early 1980 and indicates a concentration of (copper-bearing) sulphides in the central portion of the grid. Petrographic studies on drill cuttings from the Chessman Prospect confirmed earlier interpretation of the epithermal origin of the gold. The programme conducted during 1987 confirmed the potential of the area and a drilling programme will be required to test the economic potential of both Nippers Nob and the Chessman Prospect.