EL 9747 Bonney Well 2, Final report 7 September 2001-6 September 2004

Abstract

Exploration Licence 9747 Bonney Well 2 was taken up to explore for gold within the Skinner Anticline in the Davenport Ranges, south southeast of Tennant Creek. Work on EL 9747 was conducted in conjunction with similar exploration activitys on the adjacent EL 9708 Bonney Well 1. This report summarises the exploration completed on EL 9747 during its three years of tenure, from 7th September 2001 to 6th September 2004. The Licence covers 28 one-minute graticular blocks (89.8km2) and was granted to Giants Reef Exploration Pty Ltd (GRE) on 7th September 2001 for a period of 6 years. EL 9747 is situated on the Murray Downs Station (Perpetual Pastoral Lease 1139), with a narrow east-west strip along the northern boundary of the Licence area falling within Singleton Station (Perpetual Pastoral lease 1022). Geologically, EL 9747 is within the Davenport Province of the Tennant Inlier. The well-exposed Palaeoproterozoic basement of the Davenport Province consists of lower greenschist facies sandstones, bimodal volcanics and minor carbonates of the Hatches Creek Group. Two separate deformational events have resulted in a regional fold pattern of domes and saddles with northwesterly-trending axes. EL 9747 covers part of the Skinner Anticline, which has some features in common with the auriferous dome structures in the Paterson Province of Western Australia. A literature review in the fist year of tenure revealed the presence of anomalous gold values derived from stream sediment sampling. These reported anomalies had not been followed up. The Licence area is under a Native Title Claim and is known to have many sites of importance to the local Aboriginal people. The proposed work program submitted to the CLC was accepted with the proviso that sites of Aboriginal significance would first need to be located and exclusion zones drawn around them. By the end of the second year of tenure of EL 9747, the proposed sampling by a 4x4 vehicle had not been carried out, due to GRE's commitments on development drilling at it's Chariot gold deposit and regional exploration elsewhere in the Tennant Creek Goldfield. In the first year of the tenure, geochemical sampling revealed the presence of anomalous gold values. However, geological assessment of the area showed that EL was located outside the traditional Tennant Creek Goldfield and host rocks are not indicative of typical Tennant Creek Au-Cu-Bi mineralisation. The area is Aboriginal Land and access appears to be difficult and costly. Further, the area is located away from Tennant Creek and the Warrego processing plants. In view of the prevailing situation, and remoteness, EL potential was downgraded.