Territory Phosphate Prospects
Aragon has completed the acquisition of Territory Phosphate Pty Ltd ("Territory") in August 2008.
The key assets of Territory are three granted exploration licences and one exploration licence application which cover the Ammaroo and Lady Judith Phosphate Prospects in the southern Georgina Basin and western Wiso Basin, Northern Territory. Proven significant phosphate mineralisation has been identified by limited drilling of water bores and stratigraphic diamond holes. Results received from a recent N.T. Government study into phosphate prospectivity of the Georgina and Wiso Basins are as follows:
Ammaroo Prospect
- 45m @ 6.7% (including 12m @ 12.8%) from 30m in Hole RN13015
- 4m @ 9.16% from 64m in Hole ELKEDRA 3 (2m composites)
Lady Judith Prospect
- 3m @ 28.2% from 15 m in Hole RN020989
Location map showing the Ammaroo and Lady Judith Phosphate Prospects including the major phosphate deposits. Also shown are the Wiso Basin and the Barkly and Undilla Sub-basins of the Georgina Basin.
Ammaroo Phosphate Prospect
The granted exploration licences, EL25183, EL25184 and EL25185 are located 280km north east of Alice Springs in the southern Georgina Basin, Northern Territory and total 3,765 km2. The tenements cover shelf facies phosphatic beds in Lower Cambrian sediments that border the Proterozoic Davenport Inlier. Substantive phosphatic sediments extend in a belt around the periphery of the Georgina Basin and are hosted in Lower to Middle Cambrian marine carbonate and clastic sediments including mudstones, claystones and limestone. Aragon believes that the phosphorites within the titles have excellent potential for discovery of an economic Phosphate deposit.
Phosphate mineralisation was discovered at Ammaroo in 1968 during exploration by Vam Ltd. In more recent times, NT Government diamond drilling and water bore drill sampling in 2005 has further confirmed the phosphorite occurrences.
Drill hole RM13015 on EL25185 (figure 2.) was drilled as a water bore and intersected 45 metres @ 6.7% P2O5, including 12m @ 12.8% (3m composite samples) within a sequence of phosphoritic chert, clay, sandstone and limestone.
Assay data of water bore RN013015 using method IC4 with detection limit 0.01 (NTGS 2007).
A diamond hole Elk 3 (also within EL25185) intersected 4m @ 9.16% P2O5 (2m composite samples) within the same rock unit. These drill holes, located approximately 20km apart, and the general lack of drilling in the area adds to the potential for a significant phosphate discovery.
Ammaroo Prospect area with phosphate bearing drillhole locations
Lady Judith Phosphate Prospect
Application ELA24994 is located approximately 280km west of the Alice Springs – Darwin railway line on the western edge of the Wiso Basin. Phosphate assays of up to 31% P2O5 over 6 metres have been reported. Water bore RN020989 located within the tenement has yielded an assay of 28.2% P2O5 over 3 metres from a depth of 15 metres and another interval of 2.2% P2O5 from 72 to 75 metres. The phosphatic intersection is in Hooker Formation mudstone and silty limestone.
Schematic west to east stratigraphic section across Wiso and Georgina basins showing the stratigraphic location of phosphate occurrences identified in a study conducted by the Northern Territory Geological Survey during 2004 and 2005.
It is worthy to note that for comparative purposes the water bores over the Wonarah Deposit (72Mt @ 23%) were also sampled. Thirty samples from six water bores located directly over the deposit were analysed. The results range between 0.22 and 9.47% and compare well to those at Ammaroo.
Key Terms of Agreement
Under the agreement, Aragon has acquired 100% of the issue capital of Territory Phosphate Pty Ltd for a consideration of 10 million fully paid ordinary shares and 10.0 million options over fully paid ordinary shares (convertible at $0.25 on or before 30th September 2010) in Aragon Resources Ltd.
Aragon has allotted 7.5 million of the shares and 7.5 million of the options to the vendors as compensation for the purchase of 100% of the issued capital of Territory Phosphate.
When the title covering the Lady Judith Phosphate Prospect is granted, Aragon will allot the outstanding consideration. In addition Aragon has agreed that the vendors will retain a small interest in the titles by virtue of a royalty entitlement of $1.00 per tonne on ore mined and treated and sold from the Tenements.
