Annual report for EL 25505 'Marqua'for the period 15 March 2008 to 14 March 2009

Abstract

This is the second annual report on AusQuest's 'Marqua' exploration title, EL 25505. This tenement was granted on 15.3.07 for a period of 6 years. The tenement covers a potential iron oxide - copper - gold target revealed in coincident gravity/magnetics anomalies in new NTGS data and follow up gravity data collected by Ausquest in October 2007 and reported last year. The Marqua title EL 25505, was one of three licence applications made by AusQuest based on new ground gravity data in the East Arunta Survey of the NTGS, released in 2006. The exploration target of this title application is iron-oxide - copper - gold (IOCG) mineralisation of the Olympic Dam, Prominent Hill and Carrapateena style from the Gawler Province of South Australia. Such deposits are typically associated with co-incident gravity/aeromagnetic anomalies caused by the haematite - magnetite alteration envelopes of the Cu - Au - U mineralisation. The aeromagnetics coverage of the 1983 Huckitta East NTGS survey (500 m line separation) showed a near coincident magnetic anomaly centred slightly west of the gravity anomaly. Separate granite stocks in the Marqua and Mount Dobbie tenements have comparable magnetic character. At Mount Dobbie, about 40 km to the southeast of the Marqua tenement, granite of broadly similar age to that of the IOCG - associated Hiltaba Suite in South Australia has been dated. From the above criteria, the Marqua gravity/magnetic anomalies were identified as a potential IOCG target, worthy of title acquisition and a program of follow-up exploration. Based on the gravity and magnetic modelling, a low level detection (ppb) regolith geochemical (soils) programme was planned and completed over a single coincident gravity and magnetic anomaly in the north central portion of EL 25505. Large scale mapping of potential phosphate stratigraphy was completed in the adjoining tenement as part of the concurrent field assessment programme. Results indicate that there is little to no anomalous response in the soils. This may be due to a possible transported sample medium. Geochemical (rock and regolith) sampling results are appended. A drilling programme to assess the bedrock geochemistry and to fully assess the target is currently being reviewed.