Where to next for

exploration in the Territory?

Ian Scrimgeour

Executive Director, Northern Territory

Geological Survey

Exploration in the NT in 2014

• Relatively little grassroots mineral exploration

• Most exploration focussed on proving up known resources

• Low commodity prices affecting NT projects

• 19 minerals projects in various stages of feasibility or approvals

• Strong base metals results from Teena and Jervois

• Booming onshore petroleum exploration bringing new insights to NT geology

NT Government is

investing in the most

significant exploration

initiatives undertaken in

the NT

2013 –

$113.3M

2011 –

$228.4M

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Mineral exploration expenditure since 2000

Mineral ELs on which significant on-ground

exploration was reported to DME in 2013

Green = geophysics

Red = drilling

Blue = geochemistry

Notes:

1. This reflects exploration reported by industry in

technical reports submitted in 2013. Exploration

may have taken place during 2012 or 2013, and

not all exploration undertaken in 2013 is included

2. Only includes exploration on ELs, not MLs

3. Excludes petroleum exploration

Where minerals exploration is happening

Highlights in past year

• Teena zinc discovery (2013) 10 km west of McArthur

River mine (Teck-Rox JV)

• Similar deposit to McArthur River, but deep (up to 1 km)

Hole 1: 26.4m @ 13.3% Zn+Pb, from 1060m

including 8.0m @ 21.2% Zn+Pb

Hole 2: 20.1m @ 15.0% Zn+Pb from 944m

Hole 3: 16.3m @ 14.3% Zn+Pb from 905m

Hole 4: 14.9m @ 10.4% Zn+Pb from 676m

4000m drill program commencing late August

Other zinc highlights–

• Teck exercise $10M option in Reward JV

• MMG enter $10M exploration JV with Sandfire

• Teck enter JV with Brumby Resources

• Pacifico Minerals JV with Sandfire

Start of new zinc exploration boom?

Zinc resurgence in McArthur Basin

Highlights in past year

Ongoing high-grade results at Jervois

Green Parrot:

6m @ 8.55% Cu, 15.08% Pb, 10.95% Zn, 679.7g/t

Ag, 4.87g/t Au from 48 m

including 3m @ 12.38% Cu, 22.15% Pb, 16.78% Zn,

963.3g/t Ag, 1.01g/t Au

Reward:

18m @ 0.26% Cu, 16.39% Pb, 0.95% Zn, 279.1g/t

Ag, 0.13g/t Au from 33 m

including 6m @ 0.57% Cu, 37.72% Pb, 1.92% Zn,

551.5g/t Ag, 0.22g/t Au

Bellbird:

7m @ 8.22% Cu, 53.1g/t Ag, 0.23g/t Au from 56 m

Highlights in past year

Revitalisation of Tennant Creek exploration

Emmerson Resources

• $25M exploration farm-in by Evolution Mining to

underpin aggressive exploration

• Maiden resource for Goanna –

2.92 Mt at 1.8% Cu, 0.2 g/t Au

• Chariot resource 0.17 Mt at 17.4 g/t Au

• Drilling underway at Chariot and Eldorado Deeps to

increase gold resources

Blaze International-Meteoric Resources JV

• Bluebird prospect, 30 km east of Tennant Creek

• 20m at 8.17g/t Au, 0.61% Cu, 0.22% Bi from 157m

• 25m at 1.9% Cu and 0.3g/t Au from 69m including

4m at 8.99% Cu and 1.06g/t Au from 74m

• Characteristics of typical Tennant Creek style

deposit

Highlights in past year

NT’s fertiliser potential continues to grow

Rum Jungle Resources

Ammaroo

• Resource consolidated into single project

• 1.08 Bt @ 14% P2O5 (at 10% cutoff) including

338 Mt @ 18% P2O5 (at 15% cutoff)

Karinga Lakes

• Upgraded resource: 8.4 Mt K2SO4

• Equivalent to 19 Mt of schoenite

• Resources in brines in acquifers beneath salt

lakes

Highlights in past year

Gold production is up, with strong future prospects

Crocodile Gold

• Croc Gold has reduced costs and increased

production at Cosmo Deeps

• 40 koz produced in first half of 2014

• Sale and farm out of base metal and exploration

assets to Phoenix Copper

ABM Resources – Old Pirate

• Successful trial mining in late 2013

• Further high-grade veins indentified

• Agreement with Tanami Gold to utilise Coyote plant

in WA

Independence Group

• Aggressive greenfields gold exploration in Lake

Mackay area

Highlights in past year

Mount Peake project continues to progress

TNG Ltd – Mount Peake

• 160 Mt @ 0.28% V2O5 , 5.3% TiO2, 23% Fe

• Mafic-hosted vanadium magnetite

• Close to railway and gas pipeline

• Potential production of V2O5, Fe2O3 and TiO2 through

patented hydrometallurgical technique

• July 2012 Pre-Feasibility Study and updates suggest

prositive economics over 20-year mine life (2.5 Mtpa

increasing to 5 Mtpa)

• Lower cost two-stage development being considered

• Feasibility study underway

• Three agreements signed with Korean corporations

for potential financing, construction and offtake.

Ngukurr-Limmen area: Imperial Oil and Gas

• Seismic and cored wells planned

Batten Fault Zone: Armour Energy

• Continuing exploration in Borroloola area

including seismic and drilling

Beetaloo Sub-basin: Origin Energy, Sasol and

Falcon Oil and gas

• New phase of exploration to commence, focussed

on drilling

Beetaloo Sub-basin (west) : Pangaea Resources

• First two cored wells complete

• Total of 3-4 wells planned in 2014

Beetaloo Sub-basin (east) : Santos

• Very deep well planned west of Cape Crawford

McArthur Basin Gas and Oil Activity in 2014

Onshore oil and gas

The greater McArthur Basin – undercover extent

Represents over 20% of the Territory’s geology

Roper

Group +

equivalents

McArthur

Group +

equivalents

A 4 year (2014-18) $23.8M investment in growing the exploration sector

4 year extension of existing CORE initiative ($3.95M pa)

4 year program to assess shale gas and oil resources ($2.0M pa)

• New focus on understanding the Territory’s onshore petroleum potential

• Major new geoscience programs to lower risk for minerals and petroleum

exploration

• Programs to attract investment into NT resources projects

• Co-funding of industry greenfields drilling and geophysics

Creating Opportunities for Resource Exploration (CORE)

Under CORE, NTGS will take an

integrated approach to maximise

resources and skill sets to target two

zones in the NT

Northern NT - McArthur Zone

• Arnhem Province and McArthur Basin

and equivalents

Southern NT – Central Australia

• Arunta Region and Amadeus Basin

Regional approach

Southern McArthur

Gravity Survey

Southern Wiso

Gravity Survey

2013 gravity acquisition

West Amadeus Gravity Survey

• Completed August 2014

• Data available late 2014

Recent gravity acquisition

Dunmarra

(magnetic-radiometric)

Northern

McArthur

(gravity)

Southern

McArthur

(gravity)

Major programs underway in McArthur Basin

• Coverage with

fundamental geophysical

datasets

• Targeted geological

fieldwork

• Systematic analysis of

drillcore

• Interpretation of seismic

and 3D model of entire

greater McArthur Basin

• Stratigraphic characterisation and

correlation in McArthur Basin – then

Birrindudu Basin and Tomkinson Province

• Standardise analysis of field type section

and drill core – hyperspectral

McArthur Basin and correlatives

• Assessment of hydrocarbon

and metallogenic potential of

carbonaceous shale units

through standard suite

analysis

• Leading to shale gas and oil

resource assessment

• Project with CODES to

understand the potential for

the McArthur Basin to host

large scale sediment hosted

copper mineral systems

GSQ Framework Troup et al 2013

McArthur Basin and correlatives

• Geological mapping and framework

studies into the Arnhem Province

• Improve understanding of correlation

with prospective Pine Creek Orogen

• Improve the understanding of the

basement to the McArthur Basin

• 1:100k 1st ed maps and explan notes

• Undertake prospectivity analysis

Arnhem Province

• Framework studies into the

east Arunta Region with

focus on Jinka and Jervois

1:100k

Arunta Region

• Cu based mineral systems studies in the Arunta Region

• Commence with characterisation and paragenesis of the Jervois Cu-Ag-Au-

Pb-Zn deposit in east Arunta Region

• Extend to Cu±Au prospects across the Arunta Region (eg Limbla IOCG

belt, Perenti prospect, Home of Bullion, Mount Hardy)

. 1

2

3

Amadeus Basin

Large basin with proven petroleum

systems and excellent potential for base

metal deposits

• West Amadeus gravity survey –

complete basin coverage at 4km or

better

• Neoproterozoic stratigraphic

characterisation and correlation

• Extend to 1:100k mapping of central

basin

• COBRA project with CSIRO

• Scoping study of copper and base

metal systems

eg. GEMIS – geoscience.nt.gov.au/gemis

• Basic search

• Link to Advanced

Search page

• Access specific collections

• Browse index

terms for

specific results

• Register for email

notifications

• Review Download Cart and

Request Cart on all pages

Ongoing upgrades of accessibility to data

Other support for industry under CORE

Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations

• Funds 50% up to $100,000 of direct drilling or

geophysical acquisition costs for selected

greenfields projects

• Round 7, 2014/15: 13 projects funded to a value of

~$850,000

Investment Attraction

• Assisting NT companies attract investment into

projects from key markets

TNG Ltd sign

agreement with

Hyundai Steel,

July 2014

The Geology and Mineral Resources of

the Northern Territory

• first ever comprehensive overview of the

geology and resources of the NT

• definitive reference for mineral and

petroleum explorers

• 1100 pages, with more than 800 photos,

maps and figures

• 42 chapters describing each geological

province and basin descriptions of all

named geological units in the Territory,

and all major mineral deposits and

petroleum fields

Order hardcopy from the NTGS website

Digital version available online

Masood Ahmad

Summary

• The downturn in the resources sector is impacting on greenfields exploration

• There are early signs of a recovery in exploration

• Base metals is re-emerging as an important commodity for exploration

• Onshore oil and gas exploration and development is booming and yielding new

insights into NT geology

• NT Geological Survey has major programs underway to stimulate exploration in

the region through the CORE initiative