EPM 16021 Petford Final Report for the Period 23 January 2008 to 22

Final Report EPM 16021 Petford

EPM 16021 Petford Final Report

For the Period 23 January 2008 to 22 January 2009

Author: T Pilcher,

Tenement Holder: Auzex Resources Limited (100%)

Submitted: R Mustard

Date: 6 February 2009

Distribution Auzex Resources Limited, Brisbane 1

Kenex Knowledge Systems Ltd, Perth 1

Queensland Department of Mines and Energy 1

Final Report EPM 16021 Petford

Contents

1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...... 2 1.1 Introduction...... 2 1.2 Tenure Information ...... 2 1.3 Blocks and Sub-blocks ...... 2 1.4 Location and Access ...... 3 1.5 Exploration Rationale ...... 4 2 REGIONAL SETTING ...... 4 3 LOCAL SETTING ...... 7 4 PREVIOUS EXPLORATION WORK...... 8 4.1 Historical (1880-1960) ...... 8 4.2 Modern Exploration (1960-Present) ...... 8 5 AUZEX RESOURCES EXPLORATION WORK...... 9 5.1.1 Data Compilation and Review...... 9 5.1.2 Prospectivity Modelling ...... 9 5.1.3 Prospecting and Mapping ...... 9 5.1.4 Conclusions...... 9 5.2 Statement of Compliance and Surrender ...... 10 6 REFERENCES...... 11

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Block and sub-block identification of EPM 14797...... 3 Figure 2: Petford EPM Location Map ...... 4 Figure 3: Petford EPM. Schematic geology modified from Queensland Geological Mapping (polygonised vector) Data Regional & 1:100000 Sheet area: Chillagoe. The Petford Granite pluton shown in deep pink underlies the majority ...... 7

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Petford Project

1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Petford EPM 16021 is located in the northeast of the Georgetown Region, approximately 50 kilometres northwest of Mount Garnet Township in North-Queensland. The tenement is owned 100% by Auzex Resources Limited (Auzex) and was granted on the 23 January 2008 for a two year tenure.

This permit covers part of one of the target areas in Queensland that has all the geological variables required for granite-gold systems, including known mineral occurrences in granite, evidence of granite fractionation, granite composition associated with granite gold systems and a geological association that is most conducive for producing granite-gold mineralisation. Mineral occurrences associated with these intrusions contain a wide range of metals that include Au, Mo, Sn, W, Cu and Bi. Tin has been mined in the Herberton-Mt Garnet district since the 1880s and has in recent years with improvement in price become more prospective.

Two days in November 2008 were spent prospecting the tenement for indications of mineralisation, in particular greisen alteration as seen in the nearby Khartoum permit. Prospecting covered E-W traverses (totalling 17 line-km) across the central southern portion of the permit. There were no indications of greisen alteration and mapping revealed only a single 100m long 2 m wide quartz breccia with no visible mineralisation.

Compliance with proposed Year 1 program of data compilation, prospectivity analysis and ground-checking has been fulfilled and the area deemed unprospective. Therefore the Petford EPM has been surrendered in full after the first year.

1.1 Introduction The Petford EPM 16021 tenement is located 40 km northwest of Mount Garnet Township in North Queensland. The project area contains a few recorded historical workings most of which have targeted hard-rock fluorspar, molybdenum, tin or tungsten. Alluvial tin were exploited mainly by small syndicates or individuals for more than 100 years from initial discovery in the late 1880s through to the mid-1980s. Declining economics for tin then brought mining to a standstill in 1983. Modern exploration from the 1990s focused on the gold potential of the region and it has been only recently with better tin prices that the focus has returned to tin.

1.2 Tenure Information The Petford EPM application was lodged with the Queensland Department of Mines and Energy on the 1 December 2006 and subsequently granted as Exploration Permit for Minerals Number EPM 16021 on 23 January 2008 for a period of two years. Annual expenditure commitments and sub-blocks reductions were set by the Department at:

Years 1-2 - $ 30,000 full retention 11 sub-blocks

1.3 Blocks and Sub-blocks Petford EPM 16021 consists of 11 sub-blocks within the Townsville 1:1,000,000 Block Identification Map as shown in Figure 1.

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FIGURE 1: BLOCK AND SUB-BLOCK IDENTIFICATION OF EPM 16021

Exploration of the Petford project is being undertaken wholly by Auzex Resources Limited.

1.4 Location and Access The southern edge of Petford EPM 16021 tenement is located approximately 35km northwest of Mount Garnet which is located on the Kennedy Highway at the southern edge of the Atherton Tableland. Mount Garnet is about 105 kilometres south-west of Cairns and 350 kilometres northwest of Townsville (see Figure 2).

Access from Mt Garnet is via well maintained gravel roads to Petford and then rough station and former mining access tracks. Alternative access to the tenement is via the formed gravel Herberton-Petford road which passes through Irvinebank and Emuford or the sealed Mareeba- Dimbulah-Chillagoe road which passes Petford.

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FIGURE 2: PETFORD EPM LOCATION MAP

1.5 Exploration Rationale Carboniferous to Permian (330-300Ma) I-type and A-type volcanic and plutonic rocks are extensively distributed throughout the project area and are part of the Kennedy Igneous Province. These granites are one of the best worldwide examples of highly evolved I-type granites developed on a large scale and contain several prospective supersuites.

Current digital data only has been used for this study. No digitizing of historic data or collection of new data has been done. The data discovery and acquisition for this phase of the targeting project has identified significant gaps in digital geological information, especially petrography, geology and geochemistry, in the prospective granite plutons. The data are appropriate for use at a regional scale, but are too broadly spaced for detailed prospect-scale targeting work.

2 REGIONAL SETTING

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The early-middle Paleozoic Hodgkinson Province succession forms the northern part of the Tasman Fold Belt. The province is the most extensive element in the Cairns Region, where it forms a belt about 500km long and up to ~150km wide. It is separated from the coeval Broken River Province to the south by Carboniferous-Permian igneous rocks of the Kennedy Province and the northwest-trending part of the Palmerville Fault. Lithologies consist dominantly of sandstone, greywacke and siltstone with limestones occurring along the western margin. To the west, the Palmerville Fault defines the boundary with the Proterozoic high-grade metamorphic and associated intrusive rocks of the Dargalong and Yambo Inliers.

The Dargalong Inlier is intruded by numerous Early Silurian leucogranitoid bodies grouped together as the Blackman Gap Complex. Both the Dargalong and adjacent Hodgkinson Province are also intruded by numerous granite plutons, of Late-Carboniferous-Permian age. These are mainly I-type and A-type volcanic and plutonic rocks which belong to the west-northwest- trending, intraplate Townsville – Mornington Island belt. This belt is part of the Kennedy Province. Three major I-type supersuites and one minor I type supersuite have been identified, namely the Almaden, Ootan, O’Briens Creek, and Claret Creek Supersuites (Champion, 1991)

The O'Briens Creek Supersuite in the region consists of highly fractionated characteristically pale pink to white, alkali-feldspar-rich biotite granites, leucogranites and microgranites, some of which are porphyritic and some of which are miarolitic. The supersuite includes the Go Sam and Nettle Suites of Johnston (1984), the Emu Suite of Pollard (1984, 1988) and Witt (1985), and the Herberton Suite of Clarke (1990). Small bodies of relatively felsic (mostly fractionated), fine grained, commonly miarolitic and/or porphyritic, granite are abundant; some of these contain topaz and/or fluorite.

Plutons of the O'Briens Creek Supersuite have intruded the Etheridge Group, Dargalong and McDevitt Metamorphics (Paleoproterozoic), and the Blackman Gap Complex; and the Hodkinson Formation. They have been intruded by granites of the Ootann and Claret Creek Supersuites, and are overlain (or faulted against) volcanic rocks of the Featherbed Group, Nanyeta, Boxwood, Slaughter Yard, Pratt, Glen Gordon and Walsh Bluff Volcanics.

Alteration, especially greisenisation, is extensive and most, if not all O’Briens Creek Supersuite rocks, contain some Sn ± W± Mo and F mineralisation. Most of the tin mineralisation in the Herberton, Irvinebank, Emuford, Mt Garnet and Tate River areas is intimately associated with granites of this supersuite. The tin mineralisation occurs mainly in veins, pipes and breccias within shear zones and fractures in Hodgkinson province sediments adjacent to granite contacts and in veins, pipes and disseminated deposits in granite or at the contact with Hodgkinson sediments. Estimated total production from the Herberton-Mt Garnet Tinfield is more than 150,000 tonnes of cassiterite concentrate with close to half (70,000 tonnes) mined from primary lode deposits.

The Ootann Supersuite is the most extensive of the Carboniferous- Permian granite supersuites of North Queensland, occupying a large proportion of the Tate Batholith in the northeast of the Georgetown Region, and also large proportions of the (eastern) Tate Batholith and Herberton Batholith in the adjacent Cairns Region. It crops out over a total area of more than 5,000km2. Rocks of the Ootann Supersuite are much more varied than those of the O'Briens Creek Supersuite: they range from hornblende-biotite granodiorite to biotite leucogranite in composition (biotite granite is predominant), from fine to very coarse in grainsize (most rocks are medium to coarse-grained), and from equigranular to strongly and/or abundantly porphyritic. Smaller bodies tend to be finer-grained, more porphyritic, and less felsic than larger ones. Significant W-Mo-Bi mineralisation in the Bamford Hill and Wolfram Camp areas is contained in and related to highly fractionated granites of the Ootan Supersuite.

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The late Paleozoic granites are predominantly medium to high-level intrusions. The late Paleozoic igneous activity also involved extensive subaerial volcanism. The volcanic sequences are dominated by rocks of felsic composition- mainly rhyolitic ignimbrites. Mafic volcanics are rare by comparison. The Featherbed Volcanic Group (Late Carboniferous to Early Permian) is by far the most extensive of the volcanic sequences. The volcanics are preserved in cauldron subsidence areas or sag structures. Most plutons are surrounded by relatively narrow contact metamorphic aureoles.

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3 LOCAL SETTING The basement geology in the Emuford to Petford area consists of sandstones and mudstones of the Devonian Hodgkinson Formation. The sediments are intruded by granites of the Ootan and O’Briens Creek Supersuites. Pollard (1984, 1988) subdivided the granites in the Emuford area into two main types based on grain size and field relationships (Donchak and Bultitude, 1994): early granites and late-stage granites; the Emuford Granite being the most extensive of the early granites.

Granite and diorite and associated volcanics assigned to the Ootan Supersuite form part of the Gurrumba Ring Complex and Petford Granite that underlies much of the Petford tenement see Figure 3.

The project area contains a few recorded historical workings most of which have targeted hard- rock fluorspar, molybdenum, tin or tungsten. Alluvial tin were exploited mainly by small syndicates or individuals for more than 100 years from initial discovery in the late 1880s through to the mid-1980s. Declining economics for tin then brought mining to a standstill in 1983. Modern exploration from the 1990s focused on the gold potential of the region and it has been only recently with better tin prices that the focus has returned to tin.

FIGURE 3: PETFORD EPM. SCHEMATIC GEOLOGY MODIFIED FROM QUEENSLAND GEOLOGICAL MAPPING (POLYGONISED VECTOR) DATA REGIONAL & 1:100000 SHEET AREA: CHILLAGOE. THE PETFORD GRANITE PLUTON SHOWN IN DEEP PINK UNDERLIES THE MAJORITY OF THE PERMIT.

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4 PREVIOUS EXPLORATION WORK

4.1 Historical (1880-1960) Pollard (1984) reports that alluvial cassiterite was first discovered in the Herbert River in 1879 and the Great Northern Mine at Herberton was discovered the following year. Tin was discovered in the Emuford area in the 1880s. The major alluvial production came from the Mt Garnet area, which has an extensive history of bucket-wheel dredging. Total production from the Herberton-Emuford-Mt Garnet region is estimated at 150,000 tonnes of tin concentrates with the bulk of production from primary sources sourced from the Herberton Hill and Irvinebank.

After World War 1 following a market collapse, intermittent mining continued in the Herberton Tinfield.

4.2 Modern Exploration (1960-Present) In the 1960s slowing tin production led to steady rises in tin price (Bain and Draper, 1997). The period from 1960 to 1983 was a period of active tin mining in the Herberton-Irvinebank-Petford area. 1966 saw 3 batteries operating in the tinfield at Herberton, Irvinebank and Emuford servicing the numerous small to medium scale mining operations. Mining at Sunnymount (Tommy Burns mine ) immediately west of the Petford EPM continued into the 1980s. In the period 1976-1981 the Emuford district was a significant producer of alluvial cassiterite, peak production in the order of 600 tonnes of concentrates per annum (Pollard, 1984).

The area was subject to Departmental Reserve 42D which restricted exploration licences over the Herberton-Emuford Tinfield. Since the 1960s exploration was undertaken by individuals and small syndicates including Mareeba Mining and Exploration and Loloma. Larger explorers included North Broken Hill/Geopeko, Great Northern Mining, BHP, AOG and Comalco. These companies proceeded on the basis of options to joint venture with smaller operators into the tightly held mining leases.

In 1992 the Departmental Reserve 42D covering the tinfield was opened to applications for Exploration Permits for Minerals (EPMs) due to the declining economics for tin mining. Explorations Permits were then granted to Renison Ltd, in the Petford-Irvinebank area near the eastern edges of the current Auzex Petford permit area, exploring for base metals. Reported targeted commodities included Au and base metals as well as tin with the main area of interest the Callao Shaft Pb-Zn prospect area near Hales Siding under a JV arrangement over MLA 20085 with Magnet Group. The host sequence to mineralisation consists mainly of coarse- grained conglomerates with interbedded sandstone units which dip steeply and strike between north-northwest and north-northeast. Alteration and mineralisation are widespread throughout the conglomerates and occasional in the sandstone units. The program culminated in 6 hole diamond drilling program at Callao Shaft Pb prospect, however core assays returned very low gold results and some high base metal values.

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5 AUZEX RESOURCES EXPLORATION WORK

5.1 2008 Work Program

5.1.1 Data Compilation and Review The Queensland Government digital geology maps were acquired and local geology from company reports integrated in the initial compilation. Magnetic, radiometric and satellite grid images were acquired and geo-referenced. A geochemical data compilation was undertaken covering exploration leases. The geochemical data was obtained from Geoscience Australia and open file company reports.

5.1.2 Prospectivity Modelling A prospectivity model was created for the North Queensland Target Area to highlight areas with promising potential for granite gold mineralisation, similar to the Kidston deposit.

The key geological concepts included for the GIS prospectivity modelling in this analysis included:

Relationship to granite lithology

Relationship to granite texture

Relationship to granite series

Relationship to granite age

Relationship to granite geochemistry

Proximity to major faults and relationship to fault orientation

Correlation with density of quartz veins

Correlation with density of faults

Proximity to aplite or pegmatite dykes or veins

Correlation with As, Au, Bi, Cu, Mo, Sn, U and W in exploration geochemical surveys

A training data set was subset from the mineral occurrence database consisting of Bi-W-Mo-U-Au mineral occurrences. The training dataset consists of 130 occurrences, including the world class Kidston Mine.

There were very good correlations with Bi, Mo and W mineral occurrence data and geochemistry. Au stream sediment geochemistry averaged into stream catchments gave a good spatial correlation suggesting the area has some spatial relationship between Au mineralisation and Bi, Mo and W mineral occurrences as predicted by the granite gold mineralisation model.

Indicators of granite fractionation such as Rb/Sr ratios and presence of pegmatites and aplites gave good spatial correlations with mineralisation. The best predictor of mineralisation however is the presence of alteration in granites. Mapping focused around known mineralisation, however, may have biased the correlation.

National scale gravity and magnetic data provided good spatial correlations with mineralisation in the expected ranges for granite gold mineralisation.

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Prospectivity modelling, using weights of evidence techniques, was carried out over the target area of interest at approximately 1:250,000 scale using:

Alteration mapped in granite.

Granite lithology.

Presence of Bi mineralisation.

Presence of Mo mineralisation.

National Scale Gravity.

Relationship to NE trending faults.

Bi Stream Geochemistry.

National Scale Magnetic data.

Bi Granite Geochemistry.

U Stream Geochemistry

Au Stream Geochemistry

Mo Granite Geochemistry.

The granite gold prospectivity model of the North Queensland Target Area identified fourteen prospective target areas including the Irvinebank-Emuford-Petford area.

5.1.3 Prospecting and Mapping Two days in November 2008 were spent prospecting the tenement for indications of mineralisation, in particular greisen alteration as seen in the nearby Khartoum permit. Prospecting covered E-W traverses (totalling 17 line-km) across the central southern portion of the permit. There were no indications of greisen alteration and mapping revealed only a single 100m long 2 m wide quartz breccia with no visible mineralisation.

5.1.4 Conclusions Based on prospecting, the Petford tenement is considered unprospective for granite-related mineralisation and recommended for surrender.

5.2 Statement of Compliance and Surrender Compliance with proposed Year 1 program of data compilation, prospectivity analysis and ground-checking has been fulfilled and the area deemed unprospective. Therefore the Petford EPM has been surrendered in full after the first year.

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6 REFERENCES Blake, D, 1972: Regional and economic geology of the Herberton/Mt Garnet area- Herberton tinfield, North Queensland. BMR Bulletin 124.

Bain, J.H.C. and Draper, J.J., 1997: North Queensland Geology, Australian Geological Survey Organisation Bulletin 240, and Queensland Department of Mines and Energy Queensland Geology 9.

Champion, 1991 Champion, D.C., 1991: Petrogenesis of the felsic granitoids of far north Queensland. Ph. D. Thesis, Australian National University, Canberra (unpublished).

Donchak, P.J.T. and Bultitude, R.J. (1994) Geology of the Atherton 1:250000 Sheet area. Department of Minerals and Energy Queensland.

Department of Minerals and Energy (2007) Queensland Geological Mapping (polygonised vector) Data Regional & 1:100000 Sheet areas: Atherton, Ravenshoe, Chillagoe and Bullock Creek

Garrad, P.D. & Bultitude, R.J., 1999: Geology, mining history and mineralisation of the Hodgkinson and Kennedy Provinces, Cairns Region, North Queensland. Queensland Minerals and Energy Review Series, Queensland Department of Mines

Pollard, P. (1984): Granites and associated tin-tungsten mineralisation in the Emuford District, Northeast Queensland, Australia. Ph. D. Thesis, James Cook University, Townsville (unpublished).

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