Final surrender report for EL 23629

Abstract

The Arunta Project is located approximately 250 km NNW of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. The North Arunta Province is dominated by a series of Palaeoproterozoic sedimentary sequences intruded by granite plutons and mafic sills. Quaternary and Tertiary cover conceals large areas of bedrock in the area however the region has seen exploration for a variety of commodities including gold, base metals, iron ore, uranium and diamonds. Work by Proto Resources & Investments Ltd on EL23629 has highlighted the prospectivity of the licence area. However, for reasons related to the current market downturn the licence is to be surrendered. The Arunta Province has been explored for gold, uranium, rare earths and base metals by various companies. The province is considered prospective for a number of base metal mineralisation styles from Proterozoic stratabound Cu-Pb-Zn to skarn-related Cu-Au and Pb-Zn- Cu and acid volcanic Cu-Pb-Zn. The province hosts a number of significant base metals deposits including; Jervois 6.1Mt @ 2.1% Cu, Prospect D 3.2Mt @ 0.6% Cu & 0.2% Ni, Oonagalabi 25Mt @ 0.5% Cu & 1% Zn and Home of Bullion 0.13Mt @ 7.1% Cu, 5% Zn & 2% Pb. The area also hosts a number of sub-economic occurrences of gold, tin, tungsten, tantalum, mica, nickel, chromite and semi-precious stones. In terms of the exploration within EL23629, Falconbridge acquired GEOTEM data over the southern portion of the licence area in 2003 which defined a number of conductive targets. In the time since Proto acquired the Arunta Project from Discovery in late 2006 they have reviewed the Falconbridge data confirming the prospectivity of the surveyed area. No ground work has as yet been completed on the licence. No exploration has been completed during the current period of tenure further to the initial desktop review of the Falconbridge GEOTEM survey. No field exploration activities have occurred on the licence area. A land access agreement is currently in place with the Traditional Owners that facilitates access to EL23629. The Deed was transferred to Proto Resources and Investments Limited on 29 October 2006 however access to the licence area has not been sought the current period of tenure. Due to financial market considerations Proto has decided to surrender EL23629.