PP 39 098, Waihi Basin - Interim Progress Report 20th February - 19th August 1997

The exploration target in the permit area of 39 098 is andesite-hosted epithermal style mineralisation (of Martha Hill/Karangahake type) concealed below post-mineralisation volcanics cover within the Waihi Basin volcano-tectonic depression. Results of exploration work presented in this report include 10 BLEG (bulk leach extractable gold) stream sediment samples and 63 soil samples for MMI (mobile metal ion) analyses. Results of these analyses are included in the appendices. Streams draining the northern area including the Waitete, Mangakara and Waitekauri were all strongly anomalous, while streams in the southern and central parts are weakly anomalous. Several causes of the anomalies were proposed including contamination from mineralised material from Martha which is used as roading material, natural deposition of mineralised material (e.g. from Martha) through erosion and deposition on terraces or floodplains, or mineralisation at depth beneath cover sediments from which components including gold have been remobilised into the surface environment. Soil sampling traverses using MMI analysis indicated several anomalies in assay results but the significance of the results were difficult to assess without further coverage. It was concluded that the results were suggestive if not supportive of the possibility of mineralised units underlying covering rocks in some parts of the basin. Further work, including MMI geochemical sampling and geophysical ground profiling (gravity and resistivity), was recommended to refine possible targets based on the geochemical results and earlier remote sensing investigations.