Rocks Reef Project

North Queensland

Overview

The Rocks Reef Project is located 52km west of Chillagoe. Access is via the sealed Burke Development Road, the gravel Rookwood-Blackdown Road and there after via local gravel roads to the project area.

Local Geology

Most of Exploration Permit for Minerals EPM26473 covers the Georgetown Tectonic Province. The geology on the Lyndbrook 1:100,000 sheet shows that the majority of the tenement is underlain by the Blackman Gap Complex. It has a SHRIMP date of 426+ 7Ma. The Blackman Gap Complex is also assigned an early Silurian age on the easterly adjoining Bullock Creek 1:100,000 sheets. The unit, locally named the White Springs Supersuite, is comprised of lithologies of pale grey to cream, variably foliated, medium to coarse-grained uneven-grained to megacrystic, biotite-muscovite granodiorite and granite: Also found are pegmatites, aplites and schists sometimes with meta-sedimentary pendants and inclusions.

All the significant porphyry-related mineral deposits in the Georgetown Region are associated with Carboniferous to Permian intrusive to sub-volcanic complexes. Probably the best example is the Oak River Granodiorite that is host to the Kidston gold deposit. Kidston produced 89 Mt at 1.24g/t Au (3.54 Moz) from commencement in 1985 through to closure in 2002, versus a reserve estimate at startup of 36.2 Mt at 1.74g/t Au containing 2Moz.

Copper-gold mineralisation at the Red Dome mine, northwest of Chillagoe, is closely associated with high level intrusive rhyolite microgranite that is a highly fractionated member of the Ootann Supersuite. Over the ten-year mine life to 1996, Red Dome produced 10.5 Mt at 2.1g/t Au (0.71 Moz), also recovering 29,000 tonnes of copper.

The Rocks Reef Prospect lies along a >20km NE structural trend, within an extensive quartz veined and altered porphyry. Geochemical sampling of a major anastomosing epithermal vein system highlighted anomalous gold and silver veins in a 3km by 1km area. Vein mapping identified favourable quartz vein textures with breccias, sulphides and alteration, sometimes with rhyolite porphyry. These intrude altered Dargalong Metamorphics, schist and gneiss.

Exploration Rational

It is believed the Rocks Reef tenement provides a very prospective up-side for FNR and in fact, past exploration data coupled with limited initial prospecting by FNR has already identified targets on the tenement as listed below. FNR will be focused.

China Wall: Located to the north of the tenement this is the most advanced target, in respect of exploration progress, on Rocks Reef. It was identified by the holder of EPM 18265, who drilled total of 155 air track holes along major and minor epithermal veins and structures and reported precious metal mineralization. This was followed up by FNR with rock chip and soil analysis.
Savannah Way and Single Peak: Located about 1.3km north of China Wall and about 300m apart, these anomalies have been detected by visual inspection which was followed up by rock-chip and soil sampling undertaken predominantly by FNR.

Roadside Copper: Located in the southeast of the Rocks Reef tenement, some 4.5km from China Wall, it also was identified by the holder of EPM 18265 but not progressed. The area has had preliminary exploration by FNR with analysis of rock chips and soils indicating gold, copper and associated minerals being present.
North Drift Breccia and South Drift: Located about 1km east of Roadside Copper, these two anomalies, are associated with breccia deposits, where rock chip and soil analysis has returned positive results worthy of further exploration.

Historic exploration has confirmed the presence of mineralised vein systems within the Mungana Porphyry at the China Wall prospect. Exploration will focus on confirming the presence, extent and tenor of the mineralised vein system. An initial program of RC drilling, combined with detailed structural mapping and interpretation will enable more accurate delineation of the mineralised vein system. Close spaced magnetics and gravity surveys will test for structural discontinuities and the presence of deep, hidden intrusives.

Diamond drilling will provide data for structural interpretation of the vein orientation, vein density and grade distribution.

a) Focus on mineral exploration to test and define China Wall advanced target.

b) Focus on mineral exploration to test and define Roadside Copper, North & South Drift, Savannah Way & Single Peak Target.

Rocks Reef Project