Partial relinquishment report EL 24453 Bigrlyi Surrounds Ngalia Regional Project 6 February 2006 to 8 January 2016

Abstract

Exploration Licence 24453 (Bigrlyi Surrounds) is part of the 100% owned Energy Metals Ltd (EME) Ngalia Regional Project situated approximately 360km northwest of Alice Springs and surrounding the Bigrlyi Uranium Project (Kerr and Liu, 2015). EL 24453 was granted on 6 February 2006. A partial reduction (reducing the EL by 85 blocks or 43% of the original area) was approved on 8 January 2016. This report covers exploration activities that occurred on the surrendered area during Energy Metals period of tenure. The tenement covers areas of granitic and metamorphic basement of the Aileron Province in the north and east. Areas of Vaughan Springs Quartzite (basal Naglia Basin) crop out along the prominent Treuer Range in the western part of the tenement, and in plateau country to the south. Mount Eclipse Sandstone and underlying formations, often under sand cover in the south, occupies the remainder of the tenement. Exploration activities on the relinquished blocks were limited by a number of Aboriginal sites of heritage significance within which ground disturbing works including drilling were either not permitted or restricted. Exploration work on the relinquished blocks over Energy Metals? period of tenure included ground reconnaissance surveys, several heritage surveys, an aerial geophysical radiometric and magnetic survey with interpretation (2007), a ground radiometric survey (2008), and a project review (2015). The ground radiometric survey was designed to test for radiometric anomalies along the inferred northeast extension of the Waite Creek thrust fault system in basement terrain. However, radiometric anomalies were found to be associated with a dominance of Th relative to U, with low assessed potential for the presence of a uranium mineralised system. Following further assessment in 2015, parts of the tenement were considered to be non-prospective for uranium and were relinquished.