Unaly Hill (E57/420), Western Australia –Vanadium- Magnetite-Titanium
The Unaly Hill Project (E57/420) is situated some 500km north east of Perth, Western Australia and is a single tenement covering over 13 kilometres of the strike length of the regionally significant Youanmi Fault. This structure represents the boundary between the Murchison Province and the Southern Cross Province of the Youanmi Terrane of the Yilgarn Craton. Immediately west of the Fault is the Atley Igneous Complex.
The figure below shows the location of the project and highlights the significant gold deposits on trend.
During the year Black Ridge Mining NL (BRD) carried out a third round of geochemical MMI soil sampling at the company’s Unaly Hill Project. This program followed two previous surveys, carried out during December 2014 and June 2015, which highlighted several multi-element anomalies, notably gold, nickel and vanadium-iron-titanium.
The third round of MMI sampling has provided further confirmation and resolution of the known gold anomaly. The gold anomaly is hosted within several lithologies including tholeiitic basalt, amygdaloidal basalt, pyroxenites, and gneiss, in the structurally complex area adjacent to the regional scale Youanmi Fault. The gold is related to north-north-east trending brittle/ductile shears and north east sinistral cross faults and related quartz veining.
The map below shows the significant gold anomalies within the tenement that will be targeted going forward.
Other highly prospective anomalies present at the project include nickel-cobalt in an area with a high magnesium response and several target zones where iron, vanadium, and titanium are coincident. These anomalies, many of which are concealed beneath transported overburden, are thought to be related to vanadiferous titanomagnetite. These are magmatic differentiates that occur within the Atley Igneous Complex, a layered mafic and ultramafic intrusion.
Following the MMI data analysis which highlighted the multi-commodity potential of the project, a geologic review and forward work program plan was completed. The immediate future will focus on the high amplitude gold soil anomalies found within the tenement as well as initial rock chip sampling for minerals where swarms of potential pegmatites occur.
Subsequent to the end of the financial year the field work was carried out. The work included structural geological mapping of anomalies and rock chip sampling of structures and veins. Potential sites for strategically targeted reverse circulation ("RC") drilling were scouted. Following the field work a Program of Work ("POW") was submitted to the DMP and approved and drilling commenced. Whilst in the field several of the granitic pegmatite and aplite units previously identified at Unaly Hill were examined and sampled for their mineral bearing potential. These samples are currently being prepared for analysis.
Resource Imaging Technology (Seismo-Electric)
During the financial year the Company acquired the first PL14 Seismo-Electric exploration technology systems under its exclusive licensing agreement. Following this the developer of the Seismo-Electric PL14 technology joined BRD technical personnel in Perth for theoretical and field training.
To initiate the promotion of this new technology an industry seminar was held for the oil and gas sector which was well attended by companies, the media as well as universities.
Throughout the year the Company continued to advance the resource imaging technology it has under exclusive license by engaging with the oil and gas industry and meeting with government departments in order to be able to facilitate land access for companies wishing to utilise the technology as well as to highlight the advanced technologies capabilities and benefits for use in Australia. The small footprint and minimal disturbance as well as the powerful risk reduction capabilities of the technology make it an ideal tool for exploration and appraisal.
Significant interest is being shown by companies to include the use of the technology in upcoming work programs in order to advance their acreage and reduce the uncertainty around undrilled prospects.
Three immediate markets have emerged where the technology can be utilised and adds significant value; water resources, hydrocarbon resources and environmental resources.
During the year the Company undertook field trials on Empire Oil & Gas (EOG) 100% owned acreage in the Perth Basin. The results of these trials were very encouraging and provide valuable data in regards to acquisition in the basin. The results are currently held under confidentiality.
BRD acknowledges the foresight shown by EOG in being the first company in Australia to pioneer the trials of the technology. Use of the technology is rapidly gaining momentum in the US with a growing number of successful results defining hydrocarbon accumulations.
The Company also successfully field trialled the technology at a deep aquifer monitoring borehole provided by the Western Australian Department of Water.
The figure below shows profiles attained using the Company’s resource imaging technology which is a surface geophysical technology, that is, these profiles are created without drilling a well providing a virtual drilling log response.
It can be seen from the comparison that the technology is correlating well with resistive fluids (fresh water, oil or gas) contained in the sandstone reservoirs. Not only can these profiles be correlated with existing logs from well bores but they also provide additional geologic information in the form of hydraulic conductivity and derived porosity.
