Manganese
Oakover Manganese Project
During 2009, Jupiter acquired significant land holdings of approximately 700 km² in a manganese producing province in the Pilbara of Western Australia, taking in Ripon Hills and the nearby Woodie Woodie Operations. The acquisition of the Oakover Project is from the vend of assets under Phase 2 of the Proposal.
Jupiter increased its ground position at Oakover by applying for Exploration Licence ELA/3547 195 km² which abuts the Western tenement group.
The Oakover Manganese Project will be a key exploration focus for Jupiter going forward with the objective of developing drill targets for initial testing in 2010.
Exploration
Jupiter has joined the ranks of the manganese explorers with one of the largest land holdings in the Oakover region a producing manganese region in Western Australia. Manganese has been used since the Stone Age, with cave men using manganese dioxide as a pigment for their cave paintings. The manganese in the iron ore used by the Spartans is credited to their steel weapons being superior to those of their enemies. Manganese increases the hardness of iron, without reducing its malleability or toughness.
The Oakover Project covers 890 km²of the Pilbara manganese Province (table 1), and is located approximately 200km from Port Hedland with public access to world class bulk port facilities. The Project area also encompasses the Ripon Hill manganese mine and is approximately 60 km north of the Woodie Woodie manganese mine.
|
Tenement ID |
Status |
Area km ² |
|
EL 45/2638 |
Granted |
224.0 |
|
EL 45/2639 |
Granted |
89.6 |
|
EL 45/2640 |
Granted |
156.8 |
|
EL 45/5641 |
Granted |
224.0 |
| ELA 45/3547 | Application |
195.0 |
|
|
Total |
889.4 |
Table 1. Tenement Summary
Currently Jupiter is collecting and reviewing all the historical data sets on the Oakover Project tenements and constructing a GiS database. With preliminary field trips completed in July and August 2009. A LANDSAT ETM 1:50,000 scale photogeological study was carried out, with desk top environmental studies currently in progress and geophysical survey options having been assessed. Field sampling, mapping programs as well as a Vtem Geophysical Survey was undertaken in the second half of 2009, with the objective of developing initial drill targets for testing in 2010.
Figure 1. Oakover Manganese Location Map
The main manganiferous sedimentary rocks of the Oakover are the Carawine dolomite and the overlying Pinjian Chert. These units will be the target lithologies for high grade cavity fill manganese mineralisation. Woodie Woodie, Mt Sydney, Ripon Hills, and Shaw River Resources Baramine Project are all located in Carawine dolomite and Pinjian Chert (Figure 1).
Tenement E45/2639 has experienced 12 shallow RAB holes with the deepest being 16 m (Figure 3). The holes were partially sampled over 1 m sample intervals in attachment 1 is a complete assay data set for these holes. The RAB holes have intercepted grades of economic interest. None of the RAB holes in this program tested the adjacent structures for mineralization at depth.
Figure 2. Valiant Consolidated Limited Historical RAB Drill Results. Historical data sourced from Open file report ?Valiant Consolidated Limited. A50605-February 1997
The manganese potential of E45/2638, E45/2640 and E45/2641 is highlighted by the elevated manganese values in the historical stream sediment sampling program. Stream sediments are a regional exploration tool used to delineate zones for further exploration. Note that elevated manganese samples south of Ripon Hills mining Centre with similar elevated values (34,000 ppm mn) are recorded within Jupiter’s land holdings (Figure 3). this bulk stream sediment sampling program covered large areas of the current drainage system and will be used to target areas of interest.
Jupiter is pleased with preliminary exploration on the 1:50,000 scale photogeological study which delineated a number of large scale north north east structure which are considered the main controls on mineralisation in the region. The field trip confirmed manganese mineralisation within the regions and approximately 400 km2 of potential host rock lithologies (Figure 9 &10). Historical data sets and reports highlight that the similarities between Woodie Woodie (a producing manganese mine containing over 15mt of manganese resources), and Jupiter large land holdings 60 km to the north.
Figure 3. - Historical Bulk Stream Sediment Sampling.
Historical data sourced from Open File Reports
-CRA exploration Pty Ltd a15932 march 1992
-CRA exploration Pty Ltd a12859 August 1983
Photograph 1. Jupiter Project Geologist showing Carawine dolomite outcrop
Figure 4. - Carawine Dolomite and Theoretical Cross Section (The Carawine dolomite is the host rock for high grade cavity filled Manganese)