Jean Elson Project VTEM GDC Final Report East Arunta, NT

Abstract

This Geophysics and Drilling Collaboration (GDC) grant was awarded funding of $100,000 to undertake detailed airborne Versatile Time-Domain Electromagnetic (VTEM) surveying in the underexplored East Arunta region of the Northern Territory targeting IOCG and Jervois-style BHT mineral systems. The VTEM survey, the subject of this report was designed to follow up strong results generated by Inca's 2021 GDC-funded airborne magnetic-radiometric survey at Jean Elson, which strengthened the Project's potential to host large-scale iron ore copper-gold (IOCG) systems and identified several areas with strong geological similarity to the nearby Jervois Base Metal Deposit. The survey covered four grids for a total of 315km2 flown at 200m line spacing for 1,592-line kilometres. The VTEM survey forms part of a larger geophysical targeting program undertaken by Inca at Jean Elson during 2022, which also included gravity and gradient array induced polarisation (GAIP) surveying, as shown in Figure 1. Following innovative target generation work, several standout exploration prospects notably Camel Creek, Mt Cornish, Whistling Kite, and Spinifex Pigeon have been recognised as highly prospective to host large-scale Iron Ore Copper-Gold mineralisation, reason for which these areas were chosen for VTEM surveys to evaluate the presence of deep-seated conductors that could be related to mineralisation. While these prospects host outcropping mineralisation and hydrothermal style alteration, thin but persistent sand cover is thought to likely mask additional prospective areas, indicating that an exploration program focused on geophysical surveys would be the most efficient way to advance the Jean Elson Project. VTEM is considered an excellent system to rapidly locate discrete conductive anomalies in the subsurface with the ability to map lateral and vertical variations in resistivity. Its high signal to noise ratio, depth of penetration, and high resolution makes it an ideal system to efficiently test beneath the persistent, but generally thin, sand cover, which masks much of the region. Exploration and generative work to date has made use of regional geophysical datasets, and limited historical exploration results, which have been effective for prioritising regional scale features. Higher resolution magnetic-radiometric and VTEM data recently acquired by Inca Minerals Ltd have added more valuable insights into the exploration potentials of the area. Inca's combined VTEM-gravity-GAIP GDC-funded surveys mark a progression in the Company's approach from project/regional-scale exploration during 2020-2021 (i.e., reconnaissance and AMAGRAD) to prospect-scale exploration and target generation, leading to drill testing. It is envisaged that the acquisition of detailed VTEM data will greatly assist prospect-scale vectoring that will ultimately lead to successful mineral resource discovery. The VTEM Geophysical surveying the Jervois Station. Captured data have undergone initial processing and filtering to produce various high-resolution images for GIS analysis and target generation interpretation. Additional, modelling and interpretation of the detailed VTEM data are ongoing at the time of writing and will be included in future tenure annual reports. This work aims to delineate conductive bodies in the subsurface that may relate to large scale hydrothermal mineralisation and alteration. While the East Arunta is considered highly prospective, the region remains, undeservingly, poorly explored. The Jean Elson Project is a joint venture between Inca Minerals Ltd (90%) and MRG Resources Pty Ltd (10%), with Inca the project operator. Inca Minerals and MRG Resources see great potential within this 'frontier' region with Jean Elson being one of three large scale exploration projects being advanced under joint venture. The Tenure Holders believe exploration success will significantly increase exploration focus across the broader area, with recent nearby tenure applications by other innovative junior exploration companies suggesting attention is rightfully increasing over the region.