Annual Report on exploration licence 3144, 1986.

Abstract

During the annual period to March 1, 1986 the writer visited the locality and conducted further geological and logistical assessment of the commercial viability of a large scale Barites mining and milling project based at Kirrkimbie Yard, Inverway Station and using some ore mined from the Bingy Bingy Springs area of EL 3144. Previous assessments in the early 1970's resulted in an attempt by the company, South Australian Barytes Pty Ltd to establish a viable mining operation on site to supply ore to a milling plant in Wyndham Western Australia from the Kirrkimbie Yard area in EL 3239 some 40 km to the east. For reasons primarily relating to overriding political and economic factors, this project was abandoned in 1973. These factors are improving slowly, primarily due to the increase in oil exploration activity in the Bonaparte Gulf and Timor Sea areas immediately to the north and the Canning Basin in the south west. Market studies are now continuing with the view to studying the possibility of exporting large tonnages of crude ore to Singapore. Oil exploration in general is expected to decline or stay static in the short term following the fall in world oil prices. A further geological and ore reserve assessment of the area is being made and the attached report 'up-dates' these figures and provides a basis for further mine cost evaluation studies.