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The Territory’s exploration boom:
highlights and challenges
Ian Scrimgeour
Director, Northern Territory Geological Survey
NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Mining the Territory, September 19, 2012
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
The end of the exploration boom?
• Exploration expenditure down 20% in first half of 2012
• Small explorers finding it difficult to raise capital
• Potential mining developments reliant on raising money for capex
But….
• A number of existing projects progressing well
• New mineral provinces emerging
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
2011/12 – $210.4 million
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Gold
Uranium
Other
Fe
Gold
Uranium
Fe
Other
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Gold
Uranium
Other
Fe
Diamonds
CuBase metals
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Increase in the Territory’s JORC resource
inventory since January 2011
Copper - >350,000t Cu
Gold – >5 Moz Au
Iron Ore – 528 Mt of ore @ 40-45% Fe
Including 47 Mt @ 57-58% Fe
Phosphate – 730 Mt of ore (at 10% cut-off)
Uranium – 34 Mlb U3O8
Rare earths – 490,000t REO
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Kentor Gold Ltd - Jervois
• 11.9 Mt @ 1.3% Cu, 25.2g/t Ag
• Feasibility study underway
Reward: 72m @ 3.27% Cu, 1.16g/t Au, 51.3g/t Ag
Bellbird : 6m @ 1.2% Cu, 12.43g/t Au, 10.3g/t Ag
Green Parrot: 4.3m @ 8.49% Pb, 1.70% Cu, 1.02%
Zn, 362g/t Ag
Copper in the eastern Arunta Region
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Copper in the eastern Arunta Region
Kidman Resources – Home of Bullion
5m @ 6.5%Cu, 53g/t Ag, 2.75% Zn,
0.63% Pb, 0.61 g/t Au
4m @ 4.7% Cu, 84.6g/t Ag, 5.1% Zn,
1.3% Pb, 0.52g/t Au
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Mithril Resources Ltd – Illogwa IOCG
• Greenfields discovery of potential new regional-
scale iron-oxide Cu-Au (IOCG) system in
southeastern Arunta, following up NTGS mapping
• Drilling in progress, assays pending
Copper in the eastern Arunta Region
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
New copper-gold discoveries using HeliTEM
Mineralisation in shear zones with quartz-chlorite-sulfide veins
Monitor - 27m @ 1.75% Cu including 6m @ 3.53% Cu,
- 15m @ 5.05% Cu
- 12m @ 16.9 g/t Au, 2.00% Cu
Goanna - 15m @ 4.19% Cu, 8.13 g/t Au
- 26m @ 4.75% Cu
Company: Emmerson Resources Ltd
Gecko and Orlando
2.46 Mt @ 2.1% Cu
Gecko mine corridor Cu-Au
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Gold – Pine Creek
Burnside-Union Reefs
Company: Crocodile Gold
• Cosmo Deeps now in production
• High-grade resources
discovered beneath Union Reefs
– potential for underground
development
Mount Todd
Company: Vista Gold
• 52 m @ 2.84 g/t Au incl.
14 m @ 7.66 g/t Au
• Now over 7 Moz in measured
and indicated resources
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
5.1Mt @ 4.5g/t Au
750,000 ounce gold resource beneath
existing pit
Significant potential to be a >1Moz gold
deposit
New resource at Ripcord, 2.5 km to the
south
Company: Tanami Gold NL
Groundrush Au
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
1.67 Mt @ 7.95 g/t Au (300 g/t top cut)
1.67 Mt @ 10.5 g/t Au (no top cut)
High-grade vein-hosted deposit with
potential to be a low-cost mining operation
with a simple gravity extraction process
New discoveries in area (eg Golden
Hind) show potential for size of system to
increase
Company: ABM Resources
Old Pirate Au
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Western Desert Resources: Roper Bar
Total resource: 352 Mt @ 40.2% Fe
Includes 28Mt @ 57.3% Fe
• DSO production planned in 2013
• Export through Bing Bong port
Sherwin Iron: Hodgson Downs, Mt Sherwin
Total resource: 488 Mt @ 41.7% Fe
Includes 33.8Mt @ 57.4% Fe
• Planning export via railway? - 2013-14
Iron ore – Roper iron field
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Uranium
$29.0M in expenditure in 2011/12 (down from $41.9M
in 2010/11)
Western Arnhem Land
• Significant exploration at Wellington Range
(Cameco) and Tin Camp Creek (Alligator Energy)
Murphy Inlier area
• Laramide enters $10M JV with Rio Tinto
Central Australia
• Discovery of significant uranium mineralisation in
Cenozoic palaeochannels through central Australia
(Thundelarra Exploration and Toro Energy)
• Maiden JORC resource at Angela (Paladin-
Cameco)
10.7 Mt @ 0.13% U3O8
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
• newly announced discovery (AGES 2012)
• in hanging wall of structure at
unconformity
• associated with NNW-trending, NE-
dipping structure
• mineralisation extends into sandstone
Hole WRD0084:
12.2 m @ 1.1% U3O8 followed by
20.2m @ 5.2% U3O8
incl. 0.5m @ 27.8% U3O8
Angularli project
Company: Cameco Australia
Mark King at collar
to Hole WRD0084
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Significant emerging projects
TUC Resources Ltd: Stromberg
Stromberg – discovery of high-value heavy rare
earth elements (yttrium and dysprosium)
Arafura Resources: Nolans Bore
Major resource upgrade
46Mt @ 2.5% REO, 11% P2O5, 0.02% U3O8
55% in Measured and Indicated category
Crossland Uranium Mines: Charley Creek
Potential for development of mining of alluvial
sand for production of a REE-bearing concentrate
387 Mt @ 295ppm REO, including 17% HREE in
xenotime
Rare earth elements
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Wonarah
Company: Minemakers Ltd
782 Mt @ 18% P2O5 incl. 66 Mt @ 28% P2O5
Barrow Creek 1
Company: Rum Jungle Resources
New discovery of near-surface high-grade phosphate
Maiden Resource: 253 Mt @ 15% P2O5
80 km from railway
Mineralisation extends into NuPower Resources’
Arganara tenement: 310 Mt @ 15% P2O5
Phosphate and potash
Karinga Creek potash
Company: Rum Jungle Resources
Potential for production of potash (K- and Mg-salts)
from rechargeable brines
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
160 Mt @ 0.3% V2O5 , 5.0% TiO2, 23% Fe
Concentrate: >1.2% V205, 18% Ti02, 55% Fe
Mount Peake V-Ti-Fe project
Company: TNG Ltd
Mafic-hosted vanadium magnetite
Potential production of V205, FeV, Fe2O3
and TiO2 through patented
hydrometallurgical technique
July 2012 Pre-Feasibility Study:
20-year mine life (2.5 Mtpa increasing to
5 Mtpa) with life-of-mine revenue of $12B.
Agreement signed with Chinese company
(ECE) for investment and development of
Mount Peake
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Surprise -1
Company: Central Petroleum
• 400 barrels per day of light sweet crude
• First new flow of onshore oil in the Territory for
50 years
Onshore petroleum
• Massive interest in onshore
unconventional petroleum
Glyde-1 lateral
Company: Armour Energy
• In McArthur Basin near Boroloola
• flows equivalent to around 4 million standard
cubic feet of gas per day
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Map of shale oil/gas basins, Geoscience Australia
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Challenges for greenfields
exploration
• Difficulties in raising funds for
greenfields exploration
• Rising costs of discovery, especially in
Australia
• High-risk nature of undercover
exploration
Role of Government is to lower the risk
and cost of discovery relative to other
jurisdictions
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
NT Government support for exploration
Ongoing geoscience programs to attract and support
exploration
• East Amadeus gravity survey released this week
• Ongoing programs in Arunta, new project starting in Amadeus
• Improved online access to NTGS data and reports and
exploration company reports
Collaborative funding of greenfields exploration
• Round 5 of Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations underway
• Round 6 applications due by early April 2013
Assistance for explorers in attracting investment
• International investment attraction in key markets such as
China, Japan and Korea
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Summary
• Exploration has been at record levels, but may have peaked
• Greenfields exploration suffering from difficulty in fundraising
• Gold is the Territory’s most important commodity for exploration
• Iron ore, copper and rare earths continue to increase in importance
• Onshore petroleum has the potential to be a major new industry
• The Territory Government continues to strongly support exploration
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NORTHERN TERRITORY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
March 19-20 2013,
Alice Springs Convention Centre
Annual Geoscience
Exploration Seminar (AGES)