South Australia

The Gawler Craton and adjoining Stuart Shelf area have been the focus of exploration efforts in South Australia since 1975 when then Western Mining Corporation discovered the giant Olympic Dam (Roxby Downs) deposit, now known to be the largest uranium deposit in the world, the largest gold deposit in Australia, and a world class copper deposit containing significant silver and rare earths as well.

Limited exposure and thick cover sequences have been severe impediments to exploration in this region but other major deposits similar in style to Olympic Dam have subsequently been discovered at Prominent Hill (2001) and Carrapateena (2005). In 2006, Carbon Energy selected a number of tenements for exploration following its review of the potential for these IOCG deposits. Since then a number of specific target areas have been defined based on a combination of gravity, magnetic imagery, mineral alteration, lithological and structural signatures. Many of these target areas are covered by thick overlying cover sequences ranging in age from Mesoproterozoic to recent. Hence, the approach has been to use detailed ground gravity and subsequent geophysical modelling to refine targets and in particular to assess the likely depth of cover over them.