Ann: Trading Halt, page-88

Alert: lots of geo jargon below.

I didn't recall AEM pre Nova and was interested to see if the exploration history was compiled and available.

Looks like information from the Geological Survey of WA about soil geochemistry and air mag pointed the way to what became the Nova-Bollinger deposit according to the article below.

Following initial RC drilling of a Sirius soil geochem anomaly a surface EM (Moving Loop) survey provided the ultimate target for Conductor 1 that became Nova. Subsequent fine tuning involved DHEM.

[Not certain if this link will work:

This is probably a well researched history of the discovery of Sirius' Nova Bollinger by Brendan Jephcott.]

If the link does not work this is how I located it:

Subsequent Airborne EM may have been used as proof of concept but unfortunately Nova-Bollinger currently remains the only economic Ni-Cu-Co-PGM discovery in the Fraser Ranges.

WA has been a very difficult environment for AEM techniques but methods are constantly improving while the sifting of time/money wasters from the rare good anomalies still remains a major issue.



To keep it bit relevant to CZI here is a similar history of discovery for Nebo-Babel.

Apologies if these references have been posted before.

This is a detailed description of the process of discovery of N-B from concepts to the present day. This link probably won't work so google as below if interested.




Also of relevance:
Porter Geo-consultancies description of Nebo Babel

A broad discussion with Nebo Babel mentioned as part of a spectrum of "Ni Cu intrusive deposits".

In both the above case histories it appears that geochemistry guided by concepts and some magnetics (Nova at least) lead to the refining of targets to be followed up by drilling and ground electromagnetics (not certain about this at N-B). AEM is not mentioned but has probably been done post discovery.

A couple of comments about some folks mentioned in the N-B history and other WA tagets.
Jon Hronsky - CZI
Rob Waugh - MGV these days and doing fairly well there.

WMC "missed" Tropicana (WMC Pleiadies) - first drill hole Au discovery 2005 IGO/AGA.

As part of the overall concept of targeting craton margins WMC drilling for Ni in 2005, near Newman, serendipitously intersected interesting gold - became Karlawinda IGO and now CMM.


Hi Chong, If nothing else the above papers will give you an idea of a couple of ways deposits have been found. There are many ways but few are simple nowadays...

The Dome Au mine in Timmins, Ontario, Canada was found (according to a story I heard) by a guy slipping on some moss covered dome shaped rock to reveal a surface laced with visible gold. It has since produced ~15Moz Au and now running out of ore after 100+ years.

Nebo Babel may be mined at a faster rate but if it gets going the whole camp N-B, Succouth, OTH??? and ??? may still be active for many many years.

GLTAH