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The Company is busy acquiring and maturing a portfolio of exploration assets which ensure a diversified supply of immediate, short-medium and longer term opportunities. The directors believe that success in any one or more of these assets would add significant value to our shareholders. The recent capital raising ensured we are in a sound financial position to fund ongoing work and take advantage of new opportunities while maintaining a capital structure which gives shareholders significant leverage to exploration success.
Please review the details below noting the increase in Uranium, Nickel, Copper & Gold tenements, progress with Uley Graphite, as well as the exciting deepwater Offshore Gippsland permit and the current drilling on PEL-182.
Century Rig-3 has been mobilised from Moomba for the drilling of Sarah-Lyn No-1, Vanessa No-1, Jasmine No-1, Michelle No-1 respectively. During drilling, daily reports will be sent to the ASX. Please refer to ASX via 'links' or 'reports & news' for the latest update.
Emily Re-entry - EKR No.1
A detailed study to evaluate the oil discovery in our first well Emily No- 1 is underway and the hole is cased to below the level of oil production which will facilitate any further development.
Vic/P47 contains the 1989 Shell Judith-1 Emperor Subgroup gas discovery. Judith-1 was evaluated with a full suite of wireline logs, a velocity survey, and 35 formation pressure tests in Emperor gas sands between 2300m and total depth of 2958m. Judith-1 petrophysical analysis indicates a number of potential gas columns. Judith has also been remapped using modern 3-D seismic data. The commercial potential of Judith is being evaluated in a scoping study the first draft of which was received on 13 April 2007. The project was presented for farmout at the APPEA conference in Adelaide April 16-18, 2007.
The 500km2 3D seismic using the Western Trident has been completed by the operator pursuant to their earning requirements in the permit. A status report on processing and interpretation has been received. Final interpretation is complete and a direct hydrocarbon indicator (DHI) - amplitude versus offset study has been reviewed by the Joint Venture partners. A high quality sand observed in the Judith 1 well in VIC/P47 is to be mapped over VIC/P41 to enhance the farmout presentation by the operator at the APPEA conference.
This permit has been offered and accepted. A large deep water structure is being reviewed with a report due in early July 2007.
The Carr Boyd nickel mine was famous in the 1960's West Australian nickel boom being hosted by a basal ultramafic layer of the late archean Carr Boyd intrusive complex. EBR has acquired two EL's with some 80km of this basal contact in the Carr Boyd ad other satellite intrusives. Significant ultramafic contacts with nickel and copper geochemical anomalism have been identified along with electro magnetic conductors.
A Geochemistry review has been received which defined 5 targets. Field investigation is planned for the last week of April to finalise the ongoing exploration.
Eagle Bay is "first in time" on the above application areas in Victoria and awaits relevant state authority granting of the permits. The areas were applied for on the basis of a review of prior base metals exploration by CRA and others on known Greenstone belts exhibiting anomalous Nickel geochemistry some under sufficial cover. These areas were two of our top three selections in Victoria and demonstrate superior ground availability in Victoria as apposed to Western Australia .
Nickel anomalism in ultramafics will be drill tested with the Carr Boyd project when preliminary assessment and grant are completed.
The Uley Graphite project contains a world class resource of high grade flake graphite. Uley is located 23km from Port Lincoln and is well served by existing infrastructure including an established deep water port. Some $14 million has been spent on mining and the processing plant.
The farminee's due diligence ends on or before 9 May 2007 at which point they must pay EBR $200,000 and commit to $400,000 expenditure to earn an option which on exercise will bring the plant into commercial production with a take of pay contract on graphite produced.
Minotaur had agreed to operate the first phase drilling over the Falcon™ defined targets. Access negotiations made little progress and have recently recommenced under a new formal Exploration Licence. The application has been made to test a number of Falcon gravity anomalies.
Trial electrical geophysical surveys at the Myall Creek copper prospect, discovered in 1975 by Australian Selection Pty Ltd, were able to delineate mineralization recorded in historic drilling. Additional electrical geophysics have been undertaken to map key features in the subsurface. Some $75,000 of State Government funding has been attracted on the basis of the project's geology. Drilling is planned in Minotaur's current drilling program.
Based on government airborne spectrometer results two exploration licences have been taken out over areas of uranium anomalism which will be field tested with the company's new uranium spectrometer.