The Never Can Tell Project is located in the northern area of EPM 14185, in the headwaters of Wyndham Creek that was worked for alluvial tin during the 1970s.

Historic workings are hosted by silicified sediments and tin production was from thin quartz -chlorite lodes within the sediments. An adjacent granitic intrusive has flat-dipping, altered granite/greisen alteration along the contact with the sediments.

Previous Investigations

Hard-rock tin production from the Never Can Tell mine is recorded as 39 tonnes of cassiterite concentrate, from Government records in the period up to 1925. A small cluster of pits locates the old mine.

Modern exploration commenced in 1965 by Noranda Exploration Co Ltd (“Noranda”), which explored the Mount Garnet area in the mid 1960s, with a conceptual target of bulk tonnage tin deposits located in altered granites or at the contact of such granites with enclosing country rocks.

Records of the Noranda work in the Mount Garnet area are incomplete. Noranda also investigated the Coolgarra area, at the Alhambra mine, which is located within the CTM tenements. The work of Noranda at the Never Can Tell workings was reviewed by Newmont which investigated the Never Can Tell mine in 1981. At this time, Newmont claimed to have access to Noranda records and also liaison with the Noranda geologist for the region.

Noranda trenched and sampled exposed tin lodes around the Never Can Tell and other small mines, searching for halos of tin mineralization next to the veins. Noranda’s surface sampling concentrated in the host silicified sediments with rock-chip sample results up to 2% tin near the old workings. Finally Noranda drilled two diamond drill holes with a best result of 13.6 m grading 0.29% tin from 17 m down hole.

Newmont’s principal interest was discovering the source of tin for the alluvial tin mining operation based in Wyndham Creek. Extensive altered granite/greisen crops out in the Wyndham Creek headwaters within which a large bulk tonnage tin deposit was postulated. Newmont had located a similar type of deposit about 6 km east of the Never Can Tell area at the Sailor Gully deposit. Within the altered granite/greisen, relatively coarse tin occurrences and rock chip sampling results suggested average grades of 0.2% to 0.3 % tin. Tin bearing lodes containing between 1% to 5% sulphide cut the altered granite. Newmont planned to use geophysical methods to test for continuity of the sulphide bearing zones before drilling but there is no evidence that this work was completed.

Talmin, a private alluvial tin mining company, mined the alluvials of Wyndham Creek in the 1970s. Tin production is unknown.

Conclusions - Mineralisation Potential and Future Work

Large tonnage, flat dipping greisen layers at the top of the granite are the target for the Never Can Tell Project. The Newmont work supports that there is substantial altered granite/greisen development with a sulphide content suitable for detection and definition with geophysical techniques – probably induced polarisation (“IP”).

The Sailor Gully greisen deposit that Newmont outlined to the east of Never Can Tell, was reported as 12 million tonnes grading 0.1% tin, so it is established that the mineralisation type occurs in the region. CTM’s target is a large tonnage deposit, with a minimum grade of 0.3 to 0.4% tin and a high enough proportion of coarse cassiterite for conventional milling and recovery.

CTM propose to carry out IP surveys and grid-based drilling of the altered granite/greisen zones at the Never Can Tell Project.