Little Doris Project

M 38/916 & P 38/2878 (Birimian Gold 100%)

Introduction

The Little Doris project is composed of one mining lease application, M 38/916, and one granted prospecting license, P 38/2878, covering approximately 9.24 hectares. The project is located on the Duketon Greenstone belt, 56 kilometres to the north of Laverton in the Northeastern Goldfields of Western Australia and covers the historical workings at 'Little Doris' (see Figure A).

Location & Access

M 38/916 & P 38/2878 is located 760 kilometres to the northeast of Perth and 56 kilometres to the north of Laverton (see Figure B).

The project is accessed via the Laverton-Bandya road, then by the track connecting the King of Creation & Cox Find mines.

Previous Mining & Exploration

The 'Little Doris' mine was in production between 1898 and 1907 and was of particularly high-grade, being over 42 gpt Au. The presence of this high-grade mineralisation provides strong encouragement for continued exploration, especially for repetitions or extensions to the historically mined system.

The Little Doris prospect was explored as part of the Erlistoun-Baneygo regional project, held by Cominco Exploration Pty Ltd. Exploration was undertaken for copper, zinc & nickel, between 1966 and 1973. An extensive work programme was executed and included geological mapping, geophysics, stream sediment, soil/auger geochemistry and percussion drilling; unfortunately little of this exploration actually covered the Little Doris project area.

More recently the Little Doris prospect was explored between 1982 and 1991 by a number of companies. Delta Gold NL explored the area of the historical workings between 1983 and 1985. Delta drilled a programme of 12 RAB holes (six of which terminated in the historical stopes) and 4 RC holes, the most promising result being from LDR 015 of 4m @ 6.48 gpt Au. Techomin Australia NL followed up the Delta Gold drilling in 1986, with a programme of 4 RC holes.

Geological Settings

Regional Geology

The Little Doris project is located in the Northeastern Goldfields of Western Australia and covers an area within the northeastern quadrant of the Mount Varden 1:100 000 GSWA Map Sheet. The project geology is mapped as a sequence of sub to outcropping mafic and sedimentary stratigraphy, with increasing colluvium and alluvium in the north. The tenements lie on the eastern side of the Mt. Varden Transfer, a region fault structure (see Fig 7.1).

Prospect Geology

The Little Doris gold mine exploited a quartz reef in Archaean metasediments and metavolcanics. The 'greenstone' host rocks form the eastern limb of a major synclinal structure, the Erlistoun Syncline, extending northwards from Laverton.

The mine stratigraphy consists of shale units and interbedded ultramafic, mafic, intermediate and felsic volcanics. Ultramafic rocks form part of the western footwall sequence, and are predominantly talc-carbonate rocks. Mafic and intermediate volcanics, including chlorite schist's, predominate in outcrop. The strike of the stratigraphy is about 345–350° and dips are sub-vertical but appear to dip steeply to the east in the mine area.

Mineralisation & Resource Potential

The 'Little Doris' workings were mined between 1898 and 1907, with a reported production of 1080 tonnes at 42.88 gpt Au (1489 oz). Gold mineralisation occurs in quartz lenses occupying a shear zone cross cutting chlorite schist and shale units, some up to 10–12 metres wide within a metabasalt. The schist has been reported to be 'full of small irregular quartz veins, most of which carry fair gold, all running with the foliation of the schists and dipping with them to the west'.

The main quartz reef at Little Doris varies in thickness from 1.5 metres down to 'a mere thread' and locally pinches out 'in a few feet' – both vertically and laterally. Gold grades in the quartz are variable, which is a common occurrence in areas of high-grade mineralisation.

Further drilling is required to delineate the auriferous quartz veining at Little Doris, which hosts high-grade gold mineralisation.