Shay Gap Iron Exploration Licence (E45/2908)
Overview
Jupiter further enhanced its position as a junior explorer with extensive iron ore leases when Shay Gap was granted in the June quarter of the reporting period. The area will form part of Jupiter’s iron ore stable of projects. The project is located immediately south of the Shay Gap, Niminharra, Sunrise Hill and Cunderline Ridge Iron Ore mines and resources.
Location
Shay Gap is located 180km east of Port Hedland and 1574 km north northeast of Perth on the BHP-Billiton railway in the Northern Pilbara Craton. The north sector project area is cut by Port Hedland Goldsworthy line, and the area is serviced by a main road, the Great Northern Highway.
History
The project lies immediately to the south of volcano-sedimentary sequence hosting numerous iron ore mines. These mines make up BHP-Billiton’s Nimingarra, Sunrise and Cundaline deposits.
Shay Gap derives its name from a pass of the same name in the nearby hills. The town itself (Shay Gap) was a company town, developed by Goldsworthy Mining Limited in the 1960's for the mining of iron ore from nearby deposits, and was gazetted in 1972.
Geology
The Archaean rocks of the north Pilbara contain iron ore deposits similar to those in the south-central iron province. An assemblage of BIFs, inter-bedded with metamorphosed sedimentary and volcanic rocks, has been intruded by granitoids. The most important iron ore deposits in this region are those of BHP Iron Ore (Goldsworthy) Limited. The main ore lens at Mount Goldsworthy extended at least 270 m below the ground level. When the economically exploitable reserves had been depleted at Mount Goldsworthy, the mining of hematite deposits moved to Shay Gap and Sunrise Hill. By mid 2006 a resource expansion program had increased the ore resources to 168 million tonnes of ore for BHP mines in this group, including Yarrie, Nimingarra and Mount Goldsworthy.
Exploration
The iron ore targets at Jupiter’s Shay Gap project are the concealed drainage and palaeochannels that run south from the main iron ore ridge. Detrital iron deposits (DIDs) concealed under alluvials and gravel scree slopes will also be included in the exploration.
Most of the project area is covered by eolian sands and any exploration target of note will be concealed under sand cover. The sand comes from a local grantic source.
Outlook
Jupiter continues to progress this project. In the quarter ending September 2007, aeromagnetic and remote sensing data will be processed to generate targets for concealed Channel Iron Deposits (CIDs) and DIDs. The program will also aid in an understanding of the local geology.
The project will be evaluated after each exploration stage, and further information on the project will be made available to the market and shareholders through the Company’s Quarterly reports.