sa govt funding

Just came across details of the SA govt funding , 18 companies alone in the Gawler Craton.
Also came across a Interview with Solomon from Nov (bit dated now I know )

http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/pages/minerals/initiatives/pace_press_220904.htm:sectID=2037&tempID=1


INTERVIEW: Australia's Tasman Soars On Discovery Hope

Tuesday November 23, 2004, 6:20 pm

INTERVIEW: Australia's Tasman Soars On Discovery Hope

By Ray Brindal Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

CANBERRA (Dow Jones)--Shares in Australia's Tasman Resources NL (TAS.AU) soared Tuesday on investor hopes the exploration minnow has drilled into a world-class orebody, near WMC Resources Ltd.'s (WMR.AU) massive Olympic Dam copper/gold/uranium mine.


Tasman shares opened trading at 10 Australian cents, and ran to 33 cents before settling at 31 cents, up 22.7 cents on the day, pushed by small retail investors. Volume of 57.4 million was almost 75% of Tasman's total issued shares of 77.9 million.


The rally occurred after Tasman reported that a first exploration hole at its Marathon South prospect "may have located a new large iron-oxide system, potentially mineralized and a relatively short distance from Olympic Dam," which is 24 kilometers southwest.


The hole, in previously unexplored territory, features an overburden of 550 meters and is located on the margin of a complex geological feature measuring 6 by 4 kilometers, Tasman said.


"At this stage the grade and thickness of the mineralization isn't known, nor is the overall economic significance of this result," Tasman's Executive Chairman Gregory Solomon said in a statement.


Tasman tried to use a "conservative form of words" to describe its first exploration hole, which is still drilling, he told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview.


"What we've done is we have hit the style of mineralization, we have got the same style of system" as Olympic Dam, and this is rare to find, he said.


"All of the characteristics that you see in the Olympic Dam system we are seeing within our system," he said.


The rocks in Tasman's discovery are indistinguishable from what geologists expect from within parts of the Olympic Dam orebody, he said.


Solomon said the critical path ahead for Tasman includes receiving assay results from the first exploration hole, which he hopes to get before Christmas.


Olympic Dam has come sharply into focus recently with Swiss mining group Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN) Monday unveiling a hostile A$6.35-a-share cash bid for WMC Resources, which operates Olympic Dam and world-class nickel operations in Western Australia.



-By Ray Brindal, Dow Jones Newswires, 612 6208 0902;


[email protected]