Annual tenement summary report for the period 23 December 2010 to 22 December 2011 for EL 27437

Abstract

EL 27437 is one of three tenements collectively known as The Victoria River project (also including EL 27306 and EL 27307). Vehicle excess to the project area was very good but the lack of access to the Mn occurrences required the use of helicopter support. The tenement was visited twice during the reporting period; once during June 2011 and once within September 2011. The first field visit did not identify any manganese occurrences. Within EL 27437 there are two historical Mn occurrences (Battle Creek 1 and 2). Both of these sites were visited during the September field campaign, but only Battle Creek 2 was confidently confirmed. Battle Creek 2 prospect contains flat lying limestone with rafts' of high grade manganese. The mineralisation was mapped for ~640 metres. Several samples were collected from the creek and %Mn values ranged from 49.52 to 2.38. The highest manganese values are also relatively high in Ag, Cu and Pb. The limestone from Battle Creek 2 was deposited in a shallow marine environment which is the same environment as seen at the Groote Eylandt manganese mine in the Northern Territory. The Battle Creek 1 Mn occurrence consists of a low hill with significant Mn staining on the ground, termite mounds and outcropping rock. Several rock and soil sediments were collected and identified elevated Mn in the soil samples. Further work is required in order to better understand the depositional nature of the manganese in this region. A greater understanding of the control on mineralisation will facilitate any future exploration in the region. The Victoria River project area is a significant manganese prospect.