Geological and Structural Setting

The Gidgee Project is located 40km southwest of Meekatharra and comprises a large granted exploration licence (51/1044) covering an area of 211.7km². The Project covers the southern end of the Abbotts greenstone belt, which is flanked to the east and west by foliated to strongly sheared monzogranites of the Jungar Suite (c. 2660 to 2640Ma). The Abbotts greenstone belt appears to be a canoe-shaped, north-south trending synform with a stratigraphic sequence comprising extrusive volcanics (komatiitic and tholeiitic mafic volcanic and pillow lavas) at the base overlain by reworked volcanic debris (dacitic volcaniclastics) from a subsea floor volcanic eruption, which is in turn overlain by a thick upper sedimentary sequence (epiclastic volcanics, sandstones and argillites with horizons of sulphidic black shale) that occupies the core of the regional fold.

Numerous differentiated ultramafic-mafic sills intrude the volcanic stratigraphy and distinguish the Abbotts greenstone belt from the nearby Meekatharra-Wydgee greenstone belt which lies to the east. The majority of the Gidgee Project area is obscured by thick soil cover, which varies from 20 to greater than 100 metres thickness. Interpretation of aeromagnetic data suggests that the Abbotts greenstone belt, albeit much narrower, extends southwest down the centre of the Project area and joins northern extensions of the Meekatharra-Wydgee greenstone belt.

The Gidgee Project lies within the regional, km-scale, northeast trending Chunderloo Shear Zone. This major zone of shear-related deformation is prominent in aeromagnetic and gravity data. This structural setting is similar to that of the Big Bell gold deposit located to the southwest of the project area. Through the central portion of the Project area the structure is referred to locally as the Big Bell Shear Zone, as it is interpreted to be a northern extension of the shear zone that hosts the Big Bell gold mine further south. Within the northeastern part of the Gidgee Project this structure birfurcates into a series of subparallel structures. Along the eastern margin of the Project area, the Chunderloo Shear Zone is evident as a pervasive shear fabric showing well developed mineral lineations within granites.

Gold Mineralisation and Planned Exploration

Gold mineralisation exists in narrow quartz veins within granite at Wanganui and Granite King immediately east of the tenement and at Weebacarry south of the tenement. Western Mining Corporation was the first company to conduct recorded exploration activities in the area in 1992 as part of the Arcadia Project. Exploration focussed on gold mineralisation similar in style to the Big Bell deposit hosted in a previously unrecognized portion of greenstone belt covered by thick soil cover. Drilling identified two 5km long linear zones of greater than 100ppb gold in aircore drilling at Marsh Bore and Cement Well that remain untested at depth. Alchemy will drill test this long and significant gold anomaly in 2010.

Alchemy undertook a preliminary aircore drilling program in 2009 that targeted the northeast-trending Big Bell-Meekatharra shear zone which intersects the Abbotts greenstone belt wedged between two regional granitoids within the project area. The drilling program intersected extensive transported soil cover (ranging between 30 and 130 metres) overlying deeply dissected in-situ soil profiles, or in places directly overlying hard, fresh bedrock. The western and eastern margins of the greenstone belt were more tightly defined, and some internal granite bodies were delineated. Co-incident molybdenum and tungsten anomalies exist over several targets, along with some elevated arsenic in places. A number of ppb-level gold anomalies were detected in both transported and in-situ soils. Alchemy has identified numerous targets within the Project area based on the interpretation of aeromagnetic data, spectral analysis using a portable spectrometer and the results of the aircore drilling program. Alchemy is keen to drill test a number of targets in 2010.