RE:RE:RE:RE:Comparison with DeGreyUmm VP, my respose covered intrusives, which may well be there, but maybe not. Worth looking for, for sure.
I'm not sure you mean by oxide gold in this context? Many intrusives will have a weathered oxide component above the main body. But I think you mean free gold as in alluvial or colluvial gold as in conglomerate gold, Witts style? In which case, yes, their own efforts showed what the locals knew 100 years ago, the conglomerate gold, while good for prospectors chasing hotspots, was always too low grade to be economical. Regardless of any sorter/continuous mining machine fantasy folks could dream up. So look up the major faultlines/fractures in the area, see where existing deposits have been found/mined, and you will get the picture re their importance in a regional setting.
Theres a nice mape here https://cdn-api.markitdigital.com/apiman-gateway/CommSec/commsec-node-api/1.0/event/document/1410-02637639-2VPIT8MSS89E1I6JDTHPE6E43A/pdf?access_token=00070pKliaqQRaSoNICbPC46YnoQ
showing where DEG and NOVO tennaments sit re the major shear zones in that region of the Pllbara.