Sixth Annual Technical Report GR275/18 incorporating EL 28291, EL 29675, EL 28893, EL 28896 and EL 30385 for the period 9 February 2017 to 8 February 2018

Abstract

Australian Ilmenite Resources Pty Ltd (AIR) is an independent ilmenite developer focused on the ilmenite and magnetite-bearing regolith derived from the weathering of dolerite sills in the Roper Gulf Shire. Its primary asset is the Roper Heavy Minerals Project (the 'Project') that straddles the Roper Highway about 120km east of Mataranka, and 475km south-east of Darwin, in the Northern Territory (NT), Australia. There are three reporting groups within the AIR's tenements portfolio: GR274, GR275 and GR276. GR275 lies in the southern part of the Project area and is accessed by road from Darwin via the Stuart and Roper Highways a trip of 550km. This is the sixth GR275 Annual Group Technical Report that covers the activities for EL 28291, EL 29675, EL 28893, EL 28896 and EL 30385 for the period 9 February 2017 to 8 February 2018. EL 30385 is an addition to the group as it went from application to granted during the previous reporting period. These activities, limited to EL 28291 during the reporting period, include parts of SILL80 that is the largest known ilmenite resource of the Group that underlies MLs 27422 and 29042 and extends into the surrounding EL 28291. The Project lies in Mesoproterozoic sediments of the Roper Group in the central-western Bauhinia Shelf of the McArthur Basin that has been previously been explored for heavy minerals, iron ore, base metals, uranium and diamonds. Sediments of the Maiwok Subgroup in the Project area have been extensively intruded by flat lying late Proterozoic sills of Derim Derim Dolerite containing minor amounts of primary accessory ilmenite, titanomagnetite and magnetite. During prolonged weathering these heavy minerals have been released from the dolerite sills as they become exposed. They are now concentrated at or near the surface within pisolitic, clay-rich ferruginous regolith and black soils in potentially economic concentrations. Compilation of existing ERD regional exploration data and an assessment of the titanomagnetite-ilmenite character of the sills and sill groups throughout the Project shows that regolith derived from the sills in the upper part of the stratigraphy tends to be ilmenite-rich. These sills are thought to be younger and that this is related to the crystallization history of the source magmas. This suggests that regolith derived sills in the upper part of the Maiwok Subgroup is more prospective AIR and its predecessor ERD have undertaken little exploration of the licenses of GR275 except for EL 28291 and instead focused expenditure on mining infrastructure, process plant and trial mining located within the 2 MLs surrounded by EL 28291. In early 2014 AIR received additional funding to undertake further exploration throughout its tenements and in May 2014 AIR reaffirmed with DME its intention to rationalise its land holdings by prioritising areas for further exploration and relinquishing others. By late July 2014 AIR had undertaken a desktop analysis and commenced planning for reconnaissance field work on tenements of GR275. On 28th July 2014 Janna Robertson and Scott Kershaw of KordaMentha were appointed as Receivers and Managers of AIR ('the Receivers'). This placed the Regional Exploration and Resource Assessment Program and expenditure on hold although the Receivers continued to manage AIR on a business as usual basis and continue to liaise with the DME. Exploration was subsequently confined to EL 28291 and the enclosed MLs. Regional reconnaissance mapping and sampling of EL 28291 in 2014, in progress prior to the appointment of the Receivers, had initially identified four prospective areas of heavy mineral-bearing regolith in the western part of the EL. In order to enhance the property for sale AIR undertook a comprehensive resource definition drilling and sampling program of ML 27422 and exploration drilling of the 4 prospective areas on EL 28291 referred to as Blocks 1, 2, 3 and 4 during the period October-November 2014. Details of the drilling, sampling, sample processing and resource modelling were reported last period. In 2014 reconnaissance exploration in the central and northeast parts of EL 28291 outlined further extensive areas of heavy mineral-bearing regolith for further exploration and stream sediment sampling identified extensive multi-element Ti-Ni- Co-Cr-V-Zr-Hf-Nb-La-Ce-Th-Cu-Pb-Zn-Ag-Au-Mg-Mn anomalies in the Stow Hill-Tor Ridge, Fly Creek, Shortcut and Jabiru Hill areas. Exploration of GR275 in 2015 was limited to geological mapping of selected areas of heavy mineral-bearing regolith in the central parts of EL 28291 and shallow, 1m depth, broad-spaced hand auger sampling to provide material for an initial estimation of ilmenite content and an indication of regolith thickness. Further stream sediment samples were also collected to test for ilmenite and other commodities that included infill of the areas of the 2014 stream sediment anomalies. Two reconnaissance mapping traverses were also completed across part of the Stow Hill-Tor Ridge Anomaly. One hundred and three regolith samples and 97 stream sediment samples were stored and are still awaiting approval for processing and assay. The geological mapping has resulted in a clearer understanding of the regolith and a detailed geological map was produced from this work. AIR was purchased by MacMines in April 2016 and the company has concentrated its resources on refurbishing and recommissioning the heavy mineral wet plant on MLs 27422 and 29042 and prioritised reconnaissance mapping and regolith sampling on the surrounding EL 28291 of GR275 in advance of more comprehensive resource definition work to develop additional economic ilmenite resources. Exploration work on GR275 in 2016 was therefore limited to EL 28291 and comprised geological mapping and shallow, 1m depth, broad-spaced hand auger sampling of mostly Black Soil regolith north of the Roper Highway on Flying Fox Station and south of the highway on Namul Namul Station, east of Block 1 Exploration Target. One hundred and thirty five auger samples were collected and have been stored along with the samples from 2015 awaiting approval for mineral processing. There was no on-ground exploration by AIR of the other licenses of GR275 this reporting period. AIR has now expanded its exploration programs to include all commodities and although the conclusions and recommendations for exploration as proposed previously are essentially unchanged they have been updated to include this.