REGIONAL EXPLORATION During the year, as forecast, Marengo increased its exploration effort within the Yandera tenement area. A highlight of the year was the completion of an airborne geophysical survey over approximately 40% of the Yandera project area. This new magnetic and radiometric data will be combined with the data flown in late 2009 together with public data, flown during 2007, as part of the European Union’s mining sector support program. This data will assist in targeting future regional programs, and aid target generation in the Company’s north western tenement areas.
McMillan and Malone (1960) reported calcareous veins in Dengaru Creek, these assayed 4 dwts. of gold per ton but were not assayed for copper. McMillan and Malone also reported alluvial gold mining in the vicinity of Yanderra but this has now ceased. All samples from the current investigation were check-assayed for gold and silver. Silver was present in most samples and ranged up to 7.16 dwts. per ton. There were only trace amounts of gold. Attention is drawn to a copper anomaly which was noted by Dow and Dekker (1964). They carried out a program of stream sediment sampling in conjunction with their regional mapping; the following is extracted from their report; ^ The most anomalous sample was taken 2 miles downstream from the Yandera Copper Prospect, and it contained 300 ppm copper. The stream has a steep gradient, and most of the sediment collected was silt size, so it is likely that the high Copper value is due to detrital material transported from the mineralized area, and not to absorption of copper by clay. The anomaly is important, because it shows that copper mineralization can be detected by the method up to 2 miles downstream in an area of high rainfall and steep streams." CONCLUSIONS AND ft_i;OOKLMATIONS. The preliminary investigation has shown that there is copper mineralization, in the form of disseminated sulphides, over a con- siderable area in the Yandera-Gogumbagu area. The leaching of primary sulphites, and the subsequent deposition of carbonates has created several areas of intense and spectacular green staining. The systematic sampling of the two areas of most intense disseainated sulphide mineralization produced results which average 0.153i , copper. From the assay results and the general mineralization pattern it is concluded that the prospect (Plateg) may not constitute a low-grade- high tonnage proposition. The more confined area on Omora Hill, where the alteration of primary sulphides in a brecciated zone has given rise to an area of prominent green copper carbonates, remains of interest. The system- atic evaluation of this hill remains to be done and the present indications are that this rather confined locality does contain mineralization of a higher grade than that exposed in Morgaru Creek. The mineralization pattern, with letasomatic alteration of the host granodiorite and secondary enrichment, is favoured for "porphyry copper" tyre mineralization. The lateral and vertical extent of this area of brecciated granodiorite is completely unknown and warrants investigation. Considerable prospecting and development work could be carried out on Omora Hill at low cost, and it is suggested that systematic geochemical sampling on a grid pattern over this area might serve to delineate anomalies which could then be investigated by pitting and costeaning, and finally, if preliminary indications warrant it, by a diamond drilling program.
Yes Christo,all those years ago,with some very rudimentary scientific analysis Yandera was discovered.
The genie,is now out of the bottle in terms of where management have now looked to increase MMC's SP. Exploration no less,a value will have to be attributed towards the exploration,particularly with Les's,"several Yandera look a likes"comment.
Please note the valuation in particular the exploration component.
Its worth remembering we've gone from a 5 percent figure, to fourty percent in terms of our permit area. I would think a very large exploration budget will be necessary to fully determine the prospectivety of the expanded area. To date we've spent circa $150 million on Yandera alone,the key question is how many multiples of this amount for the additional 35 percent of our permit area now under exploration? Management wont be able to hide this activity now.
It goes without saying Christo,when Yandera is up and running,with profit around $600 million annually,we can only go one way,with our new discoveries,yes,its ridiculously early,but I'm calling it.
LOL,I wonder what was in the 2009 survey,that they didn't release.
Raider
MMC Price at posting:
12.5¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held