Final Report for EL 2370 Rabbit Flat for the period 25 March 1988 to 2 April 2003 Tanami Project

Abstract

Situated in the centre of Normandy NFM's Tanami tenement holding, the Rabbit Flat Exploration Licence (EL 2370) is separated into two areas due to several phases of relinquishment. Area 1 is centred 50km northwest of The Granites Gold Mine, whereas Area 2 is centred approximately 30kms north west of the Granites Gold Mine. (Refer Figure 1) Gold was reported in the Smoke Hills and Cave Hills areas (Figure 2) by the explorer Davidson at the turn of the century. After grant of EL 2370 in 1988, Normandy NFM commenced work with a scout vacuum drill program to collect samples from areas under shallow transported cover. The resultant anomalous areas were identified as an anomaly number - Anomalies 11, 12 and 13 (Anomaly 13 was subsequently named Challenger 1). The Titania prospect also originated from this program of drilling, after a single point anomalous alluvium sample was followed up. Other anomalous areas identified on Figure 2 evolved after investigation of aeromagnetic anomalies. Little work proceeded at a reconnaissance level until 1995 when a program of lag sampling was undertaken in the southern portion of Area 1 in preparation for determining ground suitable for relinquishment. This program of sampling was extended to the north of Area 1 in 1996, an area known as the Challenger-Rabbit Flat Belt. Surficial sampling identified an area of interest 2km northeast of the Rabbit Flat Roadhouse, which was later RAB drilled and a 150ppb gold anomaly was defined for a strike length of 110m. The best intersection of 8m @ 560ppb included 3m @ 2.58g/t from 15m (returned from C1B1189). This area subsequently became the Golconda prospect area. The acquisition of detailed aeromagnetics over the northern portion of Area 1 in 1995 enabled targeting of Tanami Mine style gold mineralisation in brittle fractured basalts. Selected ground magnetic surveys and RAB drilling of these targets in 1996 provided encouragement 3km west/northwest of the Challenger grid, where several 3m intersections of up to 66ppb gold were returned. This area later became the Karnak prospect area. Completion in 1998 of reconnaissance scale (500 x 500m) lag coverage over Area 2 and the southern half of Area 1 of EL 2370 generated numerous single and multiple point anomalies, one of these was the Hardtail prospect in the south of Area 1. Subsequent follow-up lagging in Area 2 defined Verified Lag Anomalies (VLA's) 19 & 20. In addition, 37 structural targets were generated from aeromagnetic data in the southern half of Area 1 of EL 2370. A ground magnetic traverse was conducted across each of these targets, as well as a close-spaced lag traverse. In 1999, the single and multiple-point lag anomalies generated in 1998 were followed up by media-specific and/or close-spaced lag and minor CRC sampling. VLA's 19 & 20 in Area 2 were also vacuum and RAB drilled respectively to assess the regolith conditions and bedrock geochemistry. Scout RAB holes were also drilled across most of the 37 magnetic targets. Amongst these were targets in the region between the Redeye and Titania prospect areas. Work completed during the 2000 field season included a grid based, but still relatively wide spaced (800m x 400m) Aircore drilling program designed as a follow-up to encouraging results found between the Titania and Redeye prospect areas. From this work, an area approximately 2kms long by 1kms wide from which regionally anomalous gold (>100ppb Au) and arsenic (>100ppm As) were obtained from drilling derived samples became known as the Isis prospect area. Prospect-scale soil sampling surveys at Hardtail and Golconda were completed and drilling at the Smoke Hills West prospect area intersected zones of subeconomic mineralisation, up to 0.2ppm. In 2001 after a review of the coverage of geochemical sampling within the Rabbit Flat, a number of areas were identified as having coverage that was considered inadequate and therefore in need of further work. These areas, although not defined as prospect areas, have been given names as means of providing ease of reference. These areas have been called 'Golconda South-East' 'Ptearaway Regional' and 'Smoke Hills North'. At Rainmaker, two traverses along which more soil samples were collected were then completed over the areas of the Rainmaker prospect where the highest gold results from the reconnaissance soil survey were obtained and three lag samples were also collected. Three drill traverses were also completed in an effort to determine the source. There was one prospect sale soil survey completed at Golconda, as well as a re-analysis of some prospect scale soil samples based upon a review of results. There was also a RAB drilling program designed to test for extensions of the mineralisation found to date. At Hardtail work completed included extending the coverage of soil sampling to try and close off the gold and arsenic soil anomalies found during the 2000 soil sampling survey. This was followed by a short RAB drilling program, designed to test the bedrock underneath the gold and arsenic soil anomalies found during earlier soil surveys. Work completed at Isis during the 2001 field season initially included a soil sampling survey and infill aircore drilling over two of the three areas which had been highlighted as having potential for hosting gold mineralisation during the previous field season. Review of the subsequent results lead to two further rounds of infill RAB and aircore drilling and one RC/diamond hole. At Redeye exploration was based on geochemistry data obtained from RAB drilling completed in previous years. This work included an orientation soil sampling survey and RAB drilling. At Tyred Flats work involved a soil sampling survey covering areas to the north west and south east of the original gridded area in an effort to locate mineralisation in the areas around which all previous work had taken place. In 2002 at the Rainmaker prospect, limited drilling was undertaken on a 10km2 area of Au soil anomalism defined in 2001. Drilling intersected prospective rock units that appear to be part of the Dead Bullock Formation, fine grained pelite and schist with associated graphitic units. The drilling has defined encouraging reconnaissance scale Au results (1 - 3m @ 0.1 - 0.2 ppm Au) at shallow depths (<15m) which may be indicative of higher grade mineralisation laterally or at depth. No work was completed during 2003.