The acquisition of the Calidus conglomerate gold rights is strategically significant for Pacton, and is consistent with Pacton's directed strategy of acquiring Fortescue Group exploration conglomerate gold assets in parallel with its equally growing portfolio of Mesoarchean and Paleoarchean orogenic "mother lode" exploration projects.
Calidus is exploring for orogenic shear hosted gold deposits at its Warrawoona Gold Project south of Marble Bar in the Paleoarchean "basement rocks" of the Pilbara craton, which is excluded from the Agreement with Pacton (Figure 2).
Pacton's Agreement with Calidus allows it to explore and exploit any conglomerate or transported gold deposits in the sedimentary rocks overlying the basement rocks in the Calidus holdings, which are scattered from the town of Marble Bar to the Nulllalgine-Beaton Creek area. The Fortescue Group formation that overlies the basement rocks on the tenements covered by the Calidus Agreement are composed entirely of outcropping Mount Roe Basalt.
Pacton is currently conducting field exploration in the Mallina Basin, on its Egina area properties, located approximately 200 km west of the Marble Bar sub-basin. Field exploration will commence on the Calidus project immediately following the transference of the conglomerate rights to Pacton.
Three areas of the Calidus conglomerate gold right tenements have already been targeted for exploration. Two areas are located near the town of Marble Bar. The third area, an immediate priority, consists of a portion of a north-pointing, 10 km long "spear" of Mount Roe basalt, which is the northern extension of the Mount Roe formation that underlies the Novo Resources Corp (NVO:TSXV) conglomerates at Nulllagine and Beaton Creek, located approximately 20 km to the south. The Pacton portion of the "Spear", with a combined edge strike-length of about 15 km, covers an area of 20 km2, approximately the same area as the Mount Roe surface exposure on Novo's Beaton Creek tenements. This is due to the fact that the Mount Roe Basalt surface footprint at Novo's Beaton Creek project is covered by the overlying Hardey formation conglomeratic members.
The preliminary targeting of the Calidus conglomerates is unusually precise due to the favourable weathering characteristics of the Pilbara and the differential silicification of known conglomerate units. In other words, Pacton has recorded the signatures of known Pilbara conglomerate deposits and has prioritized similar signatures on its Calidus conglomerate targets, including the "Spear".
A preliminary estimate of mapped Mount Roe Basalt in all Calidus tenements includes approximately 50 linear km of Mount Roe edge exposure and downhill talus slope, covering a total area of approximately 90 square km. (Figures 3, 4, 5 & 6 showing selected Mount Row features).
Conglomerate target planning will continue and field operations will commence immediately following the transference of the conglomerate gold rights from Calidus to Pacton.