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Strategic Elements to test magnetic rings in the Gibson Desert for gold

Published: 12:33 21 Feb 2018 AEDT

map of Gibson Desert
The company is aiming to verify historical gold in soil results

Strategic Elements Ltd (ASX:SOR) will commence sampling next month at the Ilkurlka Project, which contains unexplained circular magnetic rings buried in the Gibson Desert.

The soil program will follow up historical anomalous gold in soil results above the magnetic rings to provide more accurate and useful geochemical sampling data.

Ilkurlka magnetic rings and other characteristics are indicative of a potential meteorite impact structure.

Historical gold in soil results of 10 ppb to 119 ppb gold

One of the objectives of the soil sampling program is to identify the source of anomalous gold values reported by CRA in soil samples taken in the early 1990s.

Eight anomalous sample values of 119, 52, 32, 28, 25, 24, 24 and 11 ppb gold were obtained in the immediate vicinity of an unexplained circular magnetic anomaly, which was the main area sampled.

The gold potential of the Ilkurlka Project depends predominantly on whether the anomalous gold results obtained by CRA are verifiable.

Strategic Elements is planning a sampling program similar to that of CRA, but with a better recording of the materials sampled.

Similarities to the Tropicana discovery

In the mid-1990’s, WMC conducted diamond exploration near the Tropicana area and detected a 10 ppb - 30 ppb gold in soil anomaly, but none were deemed worthy of follow up.

These gold in soil anomalies were finally followed up by AngloGold Ashanti (JSE:ANG) in 2005 and led to the discovery of a new type of gold deposit, the +6 million ounce Tropicana gold deposit.

In light of the Tropicana Gold Deposit discovery via a 10ppb - 30ppb gold soil anomaly, the 10 ppb -119 ppb gold in soil samples at Ilkurlka warrant a gold-focused, surface geochemical program.

READ: Strategic Elements’ memory ink research supported by government funding

The company recently received Federal Government financial support for its joint CSIRO and Nanocube Memory Ink Project.

Grant funding has been awarded to trial methods of optimising the levels of organic material within a memory ink for industrial-scale processes.

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