The Territory’s exploration boom – highlights and challenges

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


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


2011/12 – $210.4 million



Gold

Uranium

Other

Fe

Gold

Uranium

Fe

Other


Gold

Uranium

Other

Fe

Diamonds

CuBase metals


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


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



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


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



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




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


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


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


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


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


• 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



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


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


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


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


Map of shale oil/gas basins, Geoscience Australia


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


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


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


March 19-20 2013,

Alice Springs Convention Centre

Annual Geoscience

Exploration Seminar (AGES)

The Territory’s exploration boom – highlights and challenges

Technology

The Territory’s exploration boom – highlights and challenges