GR296 Year 1 Annual report for the period 6 June 2012 to 30 August 2013 Amadeus West Project

Abstract

The Amadeus East Project lies 90km to 200km south of Alice Springs and covers an area of 5448km2 of the Amadeus Basin. The project consists of 8 granted tenements, EL 29077 to EL 29084 and this report covers the first year of exploration. While all commodities are the target for exploration the focus will be on potash related to salt dominated stratigraphy of the Amadeus Basin as well as potash and industrial salt products-minerals associated with the playa salt lakes and shallow groundwater brines. No field work has been completed on the Amadeus East Project. Work associated with this tenement has been focused on a review of previous exploration in order to plan the forward exploration programme. Only limited previous exploration has occurred across the current project area. The main target has been uranium with no prospective areas identified and no anomalous results returned. Conceptual modelling by Reward Minerals over the north east of the current project suggested potential for potash associated with stratigraphic salt layers within the Amadeus Basin although no follow-up was ever completed. The potential for Potash associated with salt layers of the Amadeus Basin should be re-evaluated. Potential industrial salt products, potash, and industrial minerals such as gypsum associated with playa salt lake has been evaluated along the Karinga Creek, immediately to the north of the south western areas of the current project area. Playa salt lakes exist within the current project and these will be evaluated in future programmes for their industrial mineral potential via the potential processing of the brines. Reprocessing of available airborne geophysical data (magnetics and radiometrics) is recommended as well as acquiring satellite imagery for detailed mapping for the regolith across the region.