MinEx CRC have successfully completed a 1750m drill hole (known as NDI Carrara 1) at a location near the Northern Territory/Queensland border, approximately 250km north-west of Mount Isa.
The NDI Carrara 1 hole was designed to capture geological and stratigraphic information from a previously unknown sedimentary basin, and to assess the basin for potential to host energy and mineral resources. Initial results indicate the drill hole intersected rocks of the Georgina Basin, possibly the South Nicholson Basin, and terminated in the Paleoproterozoic Isa Super basin package.
Dr Andrew Heap, Chief of the Minerals, Energy and Groundwater Division at Geoscience Australia said the aims of the NDI program strongly support the organisation’s work in the region. “Geoscience Australia is pleased to partner with MinEx CRC on the completion of the first stratigraphic borehole to test this frontier sub-basin, recently discovered in seismic data acquired during the Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program,” he said. “The borehole has already provided intriguing results, with analysis of some samples already underway at Geoscience Australia’s labs."
Ian Scrimgeour, Executive Director of the Northern Territory Geological Survey (NTGS) said the drill hole will help geologists understand the relationship between various basins and the Lawn Hill Platform. “The relationship between the resource-rich Beetaloo Sub-basin and McArthur Basin with the underexplored South Nicholson Basin and Lawn Hill Platform has long been speculated,” he said. “Carrara-1 will be crucial in answering this question and improving the understanding of the mineral and petroleum potential of this greenfields area.”
A detailed suite of in situ petro physical logs were acquired during the drilling program and a variety of measurements will be undertaken on the physical samples, including age dating and geochemical analyses to better characterise the stratigraphy and resource potential of the region.
MinEx CRC has also successfully completed the East Tennant drilling campaign which includes a 10 hole, 4000m program to assess the mineral potential of basement rocks in the region.
“The East Tennant drilling campaign was designed to test stratigraphic and structural interpretations and assess the mineral potential of basement rocks to the east of the Tennant Creek mineral field,” MinEx CRC CEO, Andrew Bailey said.
Ian Scrimgeour, Executive Director NTGS said the East Tennant NDI drill core provides an exciting opportunity to understand the potential of the underexplored Barkly area. “The range of ancillary datasets that have been acquired during the drilling campaign, coupled with the ongoing research activities on the drill core, will transform the understanding of minerals systems in the region,” he said. “NTGS is delighted to provide value-add datasets with the acquisition of hyperspectral data and high-resolution imaging of the drill core through our HyLogger instrument.”
Results from both campaigns will be released throughout 2021.
For further information on the objectives and outcomes from the NDI, visit the MinEx CRC website.