Bridging report MLN's 809, 884-892; 993, 1000, 1027, 1053, 1062, MCN's 1014-1015; 1231-1232; 3422; 4299; 4860-4861 Burnside Project - Howley Group 1 January 2010 to 15 February 2011

Abstract

The Howley Group of tenements is one of the most significant projects within Crocodile Gold Australia's port folio. It is located approximately 140km SSE of Darwin, NT. The tenements cover the southern sector of the Howley Anticline, an economically important fold structure that hosts many gold mines and prospects. These include the important Cosmopolitan Howley mine (Cosmo Deep) and its satellites including the Phantom, Chinese No. 1, Chinese No. 2, Mottrams, Chinese South and Big Howley. Most have been the subject of historic underground and more recently, open pit mining. The Howley group covers a sector of the Howley Anticline, a macroscopic, west convex arcuate, asymmetric fold structure that has been mapped over a distance of 30 km from the Cosmo Howley gold mine in the south to Mount Paqualin in the north. Within the Howley area the fold has a moderate NW plunge (50 degrees, locally up to 75 degrees). This plunge reverses to southerly in the Bridge Creek area. Parallel fold axes lie east and west of the Howley structure, and there is evidence of strike-extensive SW-dipping thrust faulting affecting the tenement area. At the Cosmo mine the west limb of the fold dips moderately west while the east limb dips steep east at surface and passes through vertical to steep overturned at depth. Both limbs of the Howley Anticline, particularly the higher grade sub vertical northeast limb, and the axis of the fold have been mined by shallow underground methods and recently by open pit. Mineralised shoots plunge north-westerly within the favoured litho-structural setting, sub parallel to the local plunge of the Howley Anticline. The principal mineralisation at Cosmo Howley is hosted by the Koolpin Formation, which is divided into Lower, Middle and Upper Members. The Lower Member is up to 250 m thick and consists of carbonaceous and micaceous mudstone and siltstone. The prospective Middle Member consists mainly of inter-bedded, carbonaceous mudstone, mudstone and iron formation (10-15% FeO including iron sulphide), and attains a thickness of up to 100m. The Upper Member consists of carbonaceous mudstone and varies in thickness from 50m-150m. Gold is found at various horizons within the Middle Koolpin but significant economic mineralisation has so far been confined to the uppermost ironstone and mudstone units known locally as I5, M4 and I4. An extensive drilling program was conducted over the Howley group of tenements with 19 diamond holes and 209 RC holes drilled for a total of 46,199.46 metres. Results from the drilling were used to update mineralisation and geological wireframes, which were then used to update the Greater Howley and Cosmo Deeps resource models. During the next reporting period, work on the Howley group of tenements will include a campaign of approximately 5,000m of RC drilling, most of which will focus around the Cosmo deposit, and this will include both surface and underground drilling. The recent update of the Cosmo Deeps resource model identified the Cosmo Deeps Western Lode as an area that requires further drilling. Results from the drilling will be used to update geological and mineral wireframes which will then be used to update the Cosmo Deeps resource model, with the aim being to increase ore resources and reserves.