Projects
Tunkillia Project - South Australia
Helix Resources Limited 45%, Mungana Goldmines Limited 55% , excluding uranium rightsEL44953, EL4596 and EL4812
Project Summary
♦ Resource inventory of 800,000oz Au and 1,600,000oz Ag.♦ In January 2012 Mungana Goldmines Ltd (MUX) agreed to purchase the JV management company MinVen Pty Ltd and its equity interest in the gold and basemetal rights of the Tunkillia JV from Minotaur Exploration [MEP] for $6M.
♦ A joint venture committee meeting held in late 4Q11 has approved a program budget of $3M for the 2012 calendar year. Proposed work includes ~11,000m of drilling - RC/DDH (8,400m) & RAB (3,000m), including resource/reserve drillout at Area 223 and testing regional targets. Feasibility studies, with environmental baseline assessments and native title negotiations are also planned. In-situ leaching work previously proposed by MEP has been terminated in favour of a more conventional approach.
♦ Helix welcomes the sale of MEP’s interest to a cashed up, production focused entity who shares Helix’s view regarding development of the project in a strong gold market. Helix has elected to dilute for the 2012 program to concentrate funds on Projects owned 100% or managed by Helix. But in doing so, Helix will only dilute from ~45% to ~35% JV equity in the gold and basemetal rights, has the opportunity to contribute once more development focused information comes to hand and retains ownership of the tenements and uranium rights.
Project Background
Helix discovered the project in the mid 1990’s while exploring for gold under cover in the Gawler Craton of South Australia.The Tunkillia discovery, which was announced in late 1996, was one of the first gold discoveries in the Gawler Craton and the 20 square kilometre Tunkillia Prospect remains the largest robust gold-in-calcrete anomaly in the region.
Subsequent exploration as follows:
| 1998 - 2002 |
JV with Acacia/Anglogold funding. |
| 2003 |
Helix acquired Acacia/Anglogold JV interest to hold 100% of project. |
| 2003 - 2004 |
Helix drill out Area 223 Prospect for 720,000 oz Au. |
| 2005 - 2012 | Helix accept Minotaur (MEP) offer to expend $5M for 51% JV interest. |
| 2009 | MEP release updated Resource 800,000oz Au plus 1.6Moz Ag. |
| 2012 | Mungana (MUX) purchase MEP subsidary which is JV manager and 55% JV equity holder for +/- $6M. |
| MUX target to be 'Production ready in 2014' for open pit and 2Mtp.a. CIP plant. |
Geology
The Gawler Craton is broadly divided into three main geological units, Archaean crystalline basement, highly deformed Palaeoproterozoic metasediments and granites, and less deformed Mesoproterozoic volcanics, clastic sediments and granite. Almost all gold and copper mineralisation found in the Gawler Craton is directly associated with Mesoproterozoic magmatism.The host rocks to the Tunkillia prospect are medium- to coarse-grained granitoids of the Tunkillia Suite, that have been intensely sheared and brecciated within the Yarlbrinda Shear Zone.
In a regional context, the Tunkillia area shows evidence of extensive alteration. Large zones of demagnetisation (alteration of primary magnetite to ilmenite) are observed in aeromagnetic images, from which Helix defined a western and eastern demagnetised zone within the northern Yarlbrinda Shear Zone. Area 223 is located within the western demagnetised zone along which large volumes of fluid were focused, particularly along the margins of the shear zone producing the gold deposit and alteration.
At the prospect scale, gold mineralisation at Tunkillia is associated with zones of intense sericite alteration, and quartz and sulphide veining.
Resources
| Oxide: | 5.7Mt @ 1.3g/t for 230,000 oz Gold (0.5g/t cutoff) | ||
| Measured: |
1.2Mt @ 1.8 g/t Au | 66,000oz | |
| Indicated: |
2.0Mt @ 1.3g/t Au | 86,000oz | |
| Inferred: |
2.5Mt @ 1.0g/t Au | 77,000oz | |
| Primary | 8.6Mt @ 2.1g/t for 570,000 oz Gold (1.0g/t cutoff) | ||
| Indicated: |
4.2Mt @ 2.0 g/t Au | 270,000oz | |
| Inferred: |
4.4Mt @ 2.1 g/t Au | 300,000oz | |
| 8.6Mt @ 5.7g/t for 1,600,000 oz Silver (estimated for blocks with >1g/t Au) | |||
| Indicated: |
4.2Mt @ 5.7g/t Ag | 770,000oz | |
| Inferred: |
4.4Mt @ 5.7g/t Ag | 810,000oz | |
Higher grade intersections are generally spatially associated with a highly weathered mafic dyke which strikes approximately grid N-S through Area 223.
