Wave Hill EL 22812 Final Feport for the period October 2001 to September 2005

Abstract

The Wave Hill tenement, E22812, formed part of AusQuest Limited's broader WANT Antrim Project which involved exploration for Noril'sk-style Ni-Cu-PGE sulphide deposits. Geochemical evidence from whole rock analyses of Antrim basalts show that they are markedly depleted in Ni, Cu, and PGE throughout the province and throughout the stratigraphic section. Analytical data also show that the basalts are strongly contaminated by crustal material. Basalts associated with the giant Noril'sk Ni-Cu-PGE sulphide deposits also show these geochemical features which are intimately tied to the magmatic ore forming processes. As at Noril'sk, the Antrim basalts were extruded through flat lying epicontinental sedimentary sequences that include some sulphur-bearing mudrocks and other highly reactive sedimentary lithologies. Contamination of the magma by these rocks may have been the trigger for sulphur saturation and sulphide formation within the basaltic melt. As at Noril'sk such sulphides may be concentrated in trap sites within the magma plumbing system within the sedimentary successions immediately below the Antrim basalt sequence. Interpretation of available geological and geophysical data over the Antrim Province identified a NNW trending gravity/structural corridor to the west of the Wave Hill tenement as a potential feeder zone as well as ENE trending structures such as the Neave Fault as potential fissure eruption sites. Deeper magnetic anomalies located close to these structures potentially reflect intrusions near the base of the basalts related to the outpouring of the Antrim basalts. The Wave Hill tenement (EL 22812) covers one such target along the Neave Fault that is modelled on the basis of magnetic data as a sill-like mafic intrusive at depth of ~500m. Sixteen line km of in-loop transient electromagnetic surveying on 4 traverses were completed over the interpreted sill. No sub-surface conductors were identified and the decision was made to surrender the tenement.