Round 15 Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations program Final Report Sandover Gravity EL 32374, EL 32421, EL 32694, EL 32695, EL 32696, EL 33060

Abstract

The Sandover Project is located approximately 170km North of Alice Springs and approximately, 250km South of Tennant Creek. Currently Encounter Resources holds six (6) mineral exploration tenements within the Sandover project tenure, covering a total area of 4,672sq.km. The Sandover project sits on the Neoproterozoic-Palaeozoic Southern Georgina Basin, which unconformably overlies Meso and Paleoproterozoic rocks. The project is on the Alcoota, Mount Peake and Barrow Creek 1:250,000 scale NTGS geological map sheets. The Sandover project tenure is considered prospective for sediment-hosted copper mineralisation. The major elements of a sediment-hosted copper system are present within the Sandover Basin. Rift phase Neoproterozoic sediments of the Georgina Basin are juxtaposed against crystalline basement (Arunta block). There is recorded presence of evaporites, reduced stratigraphic units, and red-bed sequence within the Sandover Basin stratigraphy. Copper anomalies are known in the area both from outcrops (particularly the Mt Skinner area) and drillholes. Encounter has compiled existing open file geophysics and exploration data and determined that the existing gravity spacing of 4km by 4km is too broad to map the basin architecture in sufficient detail. Encounter was granted funding for the Sandover Gravity Collaborative Program of 1x1km ground gravity survey to increase the data resolution in the area to a scale required to effectively map the basin architecture, and potentially outline areas which are more prospective for copper deposition for further exploration work. The Sandover Gravity Program was acquired in two phases - the first phase took place in June 2022 and the second phase in October 2022. A total of 2529 new gravity stations were acquired using a 1 x 1km regular grid configuration. The newly acquired Sandover Gravity data showed significant improvement in data resolution compared to the existing regional gravity datasets at 4km by 4km for the Sandover Basin. The new data (merged with existing regional datasets) allowed more detailed structural interpretation of the basin's architecture. The resulting improved basin architecture resolves multiple target locations for potential reduced units in the basin to intersect long-lived basin forming structures, and/or onlap basement rocks, a key exploration concept for sediment hosted copper deposits. Encounter Resources plans to complete stratigraphic diamond drilling in 2023 to test basin architecture interpretation at compelling target locations.