EL27413, EL27617 and EL27618, 3rd Annual and final report for Wave Hill for the year ended 24 July 2012 GR215/11

Abstract

The Wave Hill Project is located approximately 300km southwest of Katherine in the Northern Territory. The region is dominated by the Cambrian-age Antrim Plateau Volcanics which are part of the Kalkarindji Flood Basalt Province. The Kalkarindji Volcanic Group is considered to be analogous to the Nadezhdinsky series (Norilsk basalts) which host the world?s largest Ni-Cu-PGE deposits at Norilsk in Russia. Exploration activities conducted by Proto Resources and Investments Ltd (Proto) are based on the possibility of the Antrim Plateau Volcanics hosting economic 'Norilsk-style' Ni-Cu-PGE mineralisation. Jones (2010). Work by ProtoResources and Investments Ltd on the Wave Hill Exploration Licences has included: Regional re-imaging of available data; ZTEM survey over part of EL 27618; Queensland University of Technology and Open University (UK) review concluded that the Kalkarindji Continental Flood Basalts needed a comprehensive assessment to conclude whether they represent a potential Norilsk type analogue; Interpretation of the ZTEM Airborne survey over EL 27618; and FLTEM ground geophysics survey and interpretation over EL 27618. Proto Resources considered the exploration across the Wave Hill group of ELs to be necessarily linked in order to generate meaningful targets for follow up work. It was important to keep these ELs contiguous to support Mike Widdowson?s (in association with the Open University/QUT) vulcanology work. However assessment by the Collaboration Team indicated that there was little likely hood of a major Ni-Cu-PGE discovery in the Wave Hill region. The region was considered to high risk and costly to maintain with little potential for return so the decision was made surrender the Exploration Licences.