Annual report Pedestal Hills, November 1987 to November 1988

Abstract

Exploration Licence 5421 covers an area of 1562 square kilometres in the Granites-Tanami region of the Northern Territory. The area is underlain by rocks of the Granites-Tanami Block, which are considered to be highly prospective for gold mineralization due to the recent discovery of significant resources at the nearby Granites and Tanami gold mines and the lack of previous systematic exploration. The area was chosen because Bureau of Mineral Resources aeromagnetics shows a number of anomalies occur in the licence area. Gold mineralisation at both The Granites and Tanami mines are associated with magnetic lithologies (Ireland and Mayer, 1984; Nicholson, in prep). Geological mapping indicates that the magnetic ridges in the licence area are probably sourced by Lower Proterzoic sediments stratigraphically close to The Granites gold mine host unit. These prospective rocks are overlain by Permian and Tertiary sediments. The overlying rocks are generally 50 to 100 metres thick, apart from an area in the extreme north of the licence area where they are thinner. Further exploration wilt locate the magnetic anomalies on the ground and confirm their relationship to the stratigraphy. Drilling will test the structurally most favourable zones.