EL 22537 Box Hole Base Metal Project Annual report

Abstract

The Box Hole lead-zinc project is located approximately 250 km north-east of Alice Springs. The project area occurs within the Southern Georgina Basin, a Neoproterozoic to Palaeozoic (approx 850 to 355 Ma) intracratonic basin that was originally part of the lager Centralian Superbasin and extends east into Queensland. The exploration model is that of an MVT deposit. Between 24 June 2008 and 6 July 2008, 94 RAB holes were drilled at the Box Hole Project for a total of 4,155 metres. Results for the RAB drilling were received during the current reporting period, with a number of significant results being obtained, including 12m at 2.8 percent Zn (includes 1m at 14.7 percent Zn), returned from a gravity target in the southern part of the project area. Other significant results include 5m at 3.21 percent Zn and 1 percent Pb in hole HDB079, and 5m at 1.8 percent Zn in HDB029 Mineralisation is generally associated with silicified dolostone, and appears to be controlled by north and north-west trending fault sets that may have acted as feeders to mineralising fluids. Often there is a strong correlation with Pb and or Zn mineralisation and Ba, particularly in the northern part of the mineralised area. A notable exception is hole HDB045, where mineralisation is associated with siltstone. HDB045 is also unusual in that the mineralisation is wider than other intercepts, and has the highest zinc grade. It is also interesting to note that the strike of the mineralisation changes from northwest to north in this area. The 2008 drill program identified at least six areas that warrant further investigation. While most of the mineralised intercepts were only one to two metres wide, three of the holes (HDB0029, HDB045, and HDB079) intersected significant mineralisation having widths of between five and twelve metres. Infilling to the north and south of HDB045 has still left mineralisation open to the south; however the mineralisation within HDB091 drilled to the south of HDB045 is restricted to a one metre intercept of 4.94 percent Zn. Other than the one gravity target previously mentioned, the geophysical targeting methods did not produce any blind discoveries, with most of the significant results being returned from holes targeting surface (or down-dip extensions to) mineralisation defined by mapping or soil and rock geochemistry. The geophysics did however assist with the geological interpretation. A number of the gravity and IP targets were not tested by RAB drilling, either due to them being too deep to be drilled by RAB, or considered to be of a lower priority at the time. It is now concluded that the IP anomalies are likely to be due to conductive black shales, however there are several untested gravity targets worth considering for RC drilling. There is still considerable potential for ?blind? MVT deposits to exist at depth, however targeting these is problematic as the black shales appear to greatly limit the effectiveness of electrical geophysical methods such as VTEM and IP.