Overview
Flinders Diamonds carried out an assessment of the Prospectivity of the Gawler Craton for diamonds during the year. The following conclusions were drawn:
Being a large old craton, it is highly prospective for diamonds
A total of 28 diamonds, including a 1 carat white gem quality tetrahedral diamond, have been located on the Gawler Craton to date
A total of 11 non-diamondiferous kimberlites are known on the Gawler Craton
It is highly likely there are undiscovered diamondiferous kimberlites on the Gawler Craton.
A decision was made, to commence an exploration program for diamonds on the Gawler Craton. The difficulty in exploring the craton is its blanket of regolith and young sedimentary cover. It was therefore decided to use airborne magnetic surveys to define kimberlite targets. Initial interpretation of Government SAEI magnetics will be followed by new high-resolution helimag surveys to define drill targets. The strategy will be to search for clusters of kimberlite pipes which will make identification from initial 400 metre line-spaced survey data possible.
Location
Flinders Diamonds has already been exploring its G2 project on the Gawler Craton by “undercover drilling” and searching for trails of diamond indicator minerals. We now asses existing airborne magnetic data and test any interesting targets. Two new joint ventures have been negotiated as part of the strategy. Firstly with Tawana resources we will explore on Flinders Island and at Venus Bay. In both cases diamond indicator minerals suggest the presence of nearby kimberlite. On Flinders Island, 8 diamonds have been located, but in a previous joint venture between Tawana and De Beers, no source was discovered. Flinders Diamonds has some new ideas to test and has started by flying a detailed airborne electromagnetic survey.
The other JV is between Flinders and Tasman Resources on the central Gawler Craton. Tasman has identified a number of possible kimberlite type magnetic anomalies which Flinders Diamonds will follow up. Over time it is anticipated that other parts of the Gawler Craton will be able to be explored. |
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