Partial relinquishment report for EL 22478 Roper 1, for period 10 August 2006 to 09 August 2007

Abstract

Exploration Licences 22478, 22479 and 22480 were granted on 10th August 2001 to Mr G Fanning under an Agreement with Exploration & Resource Development Pty Ltd (ERD), a Darwin based resource sector company. ERD Pty Ltd is the designated Project Manager. A 12 month waiver of the 50% relinquishment due at completion of tenure year 2 (9th August 2003) was requested and accepted by the NT Department of Business, Industry & Development (DBIRD) with effect 8th July 2003. Following rationalisation of tenure holding, 215 sub-blocks (EL 22478), 238 sub-blocks (EL 22479) and 221 sub-blocks (EL 22480) were submitted for relinquishment to DBIRD on 1st July 2004. The relinquished portions of EL 22478, 22479 and 22480 cover approximately 2,230 sq km of parts of Roper Group stratigraphy in the Bauhinia Shelf and Arnhem Shelf tectonic elements of the western McArthur Basin. Tenement acquisition was based on perceived prospectivity for heavy minerals (HM) liberated from eroded dolerite sills which intrude the Roper Group sediments at various stratigraphic horizons. On 01st August 2007 a 2 year exploration license renewal application was made with the Department for EL 22478 to secure the measured resource it contains while EL22479 and EL22480 were surrendered and application to regain the tenements will be made at the completion of the moratorium. In 2007 EL 22478 has effectively been reduced to 8 sub blocks with an area of 26.7 sq km thereby relinquishing 206 sub blocks of the Exploration License. This report will deal with the 206 sub blocks of EL 22478 surrendered. Exploration activities within the relinquished portions included: - Reconnaissance phase helicopter-supported collection of shallow soil and surficial lag samples at two mapped dolerite localities in northern EL 22478. The soil samples reported 2% to 16% heavy mineral panned concentrates while the selective lag samples returned 3% to 43% concentrates. All cons were dominated by titanomagnetite assemblages. The targeted regolithic soils were thin, dominantly apron terraces to relatively fresh dolerite subcrop. - A series of small backhoe excavations to one metre depths further testing dolerite regolith targets was completed with collection of representative 15kg channel samples from the pit walls, cumulating in 35 samples from EL 22478 . Low tenor heavy mineral concentrates report from all of the samples.