RVD309 – BCD Metals Pty Ltd – EL3019
 |
| |||||
Product description:AbstractExploration Licence EL 3019 (Ararat – 147 graticules) is located approximately 200km west of Melbourne. This tenement is part of the Ararat Project, and is accessible via the Western Highway. BCD Metals Pty Ltd (BCD), the current manager, is earning a 75% interest in the Ararat Project from Range River Gold Ltd by spending $1,000,000 on exploration over 4 years. The Ararat Project lies within the Stawell Structural Zone and has been identified by past explorers and BCD Metals to potentially host numerous >5Moz Stawell type gold deposits. Gold was discovered in the Stawell Belt in the 1850’s and has an endowment of over 10Moz’s. Gold production has come from both hard rock and alluvial sources with about 70% of production coming from the later source. Previous explorers in the area include Pennzoil, Centaur Mining, North Limited, WMC, CRA, Range River, and more recently Newcrest Mining. The focus of the exploration program that was partially funded RVD3 grant was located south of Ararat. This region produced over 100koz’s of alluvial gold beneath Tertiary cover. No hard rock source was ever identified and remains the target of future exploration. The host rock (Cambrian volcanic and associated sediments) is extensively covered by up to 40m of hard Newer Volcanics (Tertiary Basalt) and 20m of coarse alluvial gravels (alluvial gold source). Grassroots type exploration is more expensive when exploring through cover sequences as cheaper techniques such as mapping and soils sampling are ineffective. Exploration resorts to more expensive techniques such as geophysics or drilling. Diamond drilling is thought to be the most effective, but also the most expensive way of penetrating the cover sequence and testing the Paleozoic bedrock. Geophysical methods such as magnetics and IP are ineffective through this cover, however, Leviathan Resources identified that detailed gravity surveys could successfully identify buried (beneath Newer Volcanics) Basalt domes at Glenfine, south of Ballarat and at Westmere, further south of Ararat. Newcrest conducted detailed gravity surveys on EL3019 in 2006. The survey successfully defined a narrow corridor of gravity anomalies interpreted to represent the continuation of the Stawell Basalt domes beneath cover to the south. The most northern gravity anomaly, the Langi Logan prospect, was diamond drilled by Newcrest Mining Pty Ltd in 2007. This drillhole confirmed the conceptual model via intersecting a Stawell-like basalt dome and associated mineralization on its southwestern flank. Drilling of this target with a single diamond drillhole (RCDAR179) intersected 2m @ 9.2g/t gold on the south-western flank of a Cambrian Basalt dome. This drillhole confirmed the gravity anomaly to be a Cambrian Basalt dome and that mineralization was present on the flank. Newcrest did not drill test any further gravity anomalies identified from this survey. BCD Metals Pty Ltd was awarded an RVD3 Grant of $66k to partially fund a 2 diamond drillhole program targeting untested gravity anomalies interpreted as buried “Magdala Basalt domes” (Stawell Gold deposit) beneath thick Tertiary cover south of Ararat. BCD Metals understands the high risk-reward nature of exploring in this region, but with the financial assistance of the RVD3 Grant, BCD Metals can confirm the conceptual model and fast-track the prospectivity of the Stawell Gold Belt undercover. Further to this, the GSV has identified this region as geothermally anomalous. A collaborative effort between the GSV and BCD Metals will allow geothermal measurements to be taken from these drillholes and develop a better regional geothermal atlas for Victoria. Download The downloadable version of the final report is supplied in PDF format: RVD309 G37939 EL3019 Final Report (PDF 1.1MB) The accompanying figures are available for download in a compressed ZIP folder: RVD309 G37939 EL3019 Figures (ZIP 2.0MB) The data package is available for download in a compressed ZIP folder: RVD309 G37939 EL3019 Data Package (ZIP 10.2MB) Please be patient when downloading large files as this might take some time depending on your internet connection. | ||||||
