Norfolk
The Norfolk Project comprises three EPM applications situated 60km southwest of the Century Zinc mine in the Mt Isa Block. Norfolk East (EPM 16465), Norfolk West (EPM 16467) and Norfolk South (EPM 16466) cover a total area of 761km2. Syrah has been notified by the Queensland Department of Mines that there are no impediments to the granting of these permits and they should be issued in August 2008.
Geological setting
The Norfolk Project lies in the far northwest Mt Isa block where it is covered by carbonates of the Cambrian Georgina Basin. The interpreted basement to the Cambrian is thought to be the Isa Superbasins ranging in age from ca 1700 Ma to ca 1590 Ma. Previous drilling in the Norfolk Project area indicates that the Cambrian sediments are locally over 400m thick.
Exploration Potential
There is potential for the discovery of base metals, either as deposits in the Cambrian cover or deposits in the Proterozoic basement. There is also potential for the discovery of phosphate in the Georgina Basin Cambrian carbonate rocks.
The project area has been the subject of limited exploration activity to date with most work completed by Ashton Mining in the 1980’s (exploring for diamonds) and CRA in the late 1980’s (exploring for base and precious metals).
In the project area, cover carbonates overlie a 20km diameter circular feature visible on regional airborne magnetics. The circular feature is cut by a regional linear feature in the NE part of the project area.
The circular structure is possibly the result of an impact event, and may have initiated mobilisation of sulphides in the Proterozoic basement rocks. Further, it is possible that rebound may have brought the prospective Proterozoic rocks closer to the land surface.
The NW-SE trending regional lineament cutting across the circular structure could mark a zone which facilitated transport of mineralised fluids into favourable host stratigraphy. However, the nature of the basement sequence at Norfolk is not known.
Present day geophysical exploration techniques offer scope to assist the siting of drill holes on conceptual basement or cover-related targets.
Proposed Exploration Program
Syrah intends initially to explore the Isa Super Basin sequence below the Cambrian in the area of the circular structure for base metal deposits. Preliminary geophysical analysis is to be conducted to define structures on the margin of the circular feature to define drill targets. Drilling the core of the structure may also be proposed.
