Annual report EL 24804 Waite Creek Ngalia Regional Project period ending 15 April 2012

Abstract

The final report of the CSIRO Joint Surveys Uranium Mineral Systems Project for the Ngalia Basin, of which the Waite Creek project area is a part, was received during this period. The report was released to the public on 26 March 2012 (NTGS Record 2012-003). The project area was visited in May 2011 to investigate and document the progress of site rehabilitation following the 2009 drilling program. Drill-hole sites were difficult to distinguish from the surrounding undisturbed grasslands, no materials associated with drilling were present, and vegetation re-growth was found to be excellent. The drill sites can be regarded as being fully rehabilitated. During the field visit the nature of a prominent radiometric anomaly at 664,890E 7,501,180N was investigated. The anomaly is a clay pan of 200m diameter located approx. 1 km south of the WCAC036-058 drill line; scintillometer readings give values of about 3 to 4 times background levels. Portable XRF measurements of soil samples from this site indicate the anomaly is due to the presence of 40 to 60 ppm Th; uranium values were below detectable levels (i.e. less than 20 ppm U). Further studies in the coming period to distinguish claypan-associated radiometric anomalies, which appear to be common features in the Waite Creek area, from those associated with calcrete will enable better targeting of uranium mineralisation. Further desktop and mapping studies are required to clearly distinguish clay-pan and calcrete-associated radiometric anomalies within the present Waite Creek and palaeo-Waite Creek drainage systems.