Cu–Zn–Pb–Ag (± Au) · EL9943 - Briars: Every Channel in the Adit Is Mineralised. No One Has Ever Drilled Beneath It.
A 50 m historical adit on the eastern slope of Balcombe Hill exposes chalcopyrite–sphalerite–galena mineralisation in a fragmental volcanic host. Teck Explorations cut ten channels in it in 1981, and all ten are mineralised: 0.42–1.14 % Cu, up to 2.1 % Zn and up to 25 g/t Ag. Geological Survey of NSW grab samples returned up to 1.96 % Cu, 7.52 % Zn and 33.9 g/t Ag.
In more than a century, no drill hole has been collared at the workings or drilled beneath them.
Figure 1 — briars-01-adit-mineralisation: Inside the Briars adit: copper-carbonate staining on the walls and back of the drive. All ten channels cut along it are mineralised, and none is barren. (Cobar Management, 2011)
Why this ground is still open
The holes that were drilled went somewhere else. In October 1982 Teck's geologists recommended four holes on the soil anomaly beside the workings. The nearest of these was 175 m from the adit. Three months later Teck drilled three holes 300–800 m away, chasing a volcanic centre to the west. The hole nearest the workings was never drilled.
Figure 2 — briars-02-recommended-vs-drilled: Where Teck recommended drilling (open circles) and where it drilled (triangles). The recommended hole nearest the adit was never drilled. Teck local grid, from open-file reports R00005791 and R00005792.
A geophysical response was never followed up. Teck's consultant interpreted pulse-EM data as supporting a weak, flat-lying conductor at about 100 m depth, "extending well away from the known outcrop". He recommended an induced-polarisation (IP) survey. No IP survey has been run at Briars.
Figure 3 — briars-03-section-untested-beneath-workings: Section through the workings. The historical holes cut the interpreted mineralised horizon well to the west. The ground beneath the adit, and the conductor Teck's consultant modelled, are untested.
The core holds unassayed sulphide intervals, and nothing was assayed for gold. Six of the seven sulphide vein intervals logged in the Teck core were never assayed. The 9.6 m interpreted mineralised horizon in the deepest hole was sampled only three times. No sulphide interval has ever been assayed for gold or silver. All of this core is preserved at the Londonderry Drill Core Library.
Figure 4 — briars-04-unassayed-core: Strip logs of the three Teck holes. Orange marks logged sulphide intervals that were never assayed. The best result of the drilling (1,300 ppm Cu) came from a single 0.05 m sample in a 9.6 m horizon.
A surface anomaly has never been followed up. The most anomalous stream-sediment sample in the licence, 3,200 ppm Cu and 3,100 ppm Zn, sits 525 m down-drainage from the adit. It is lead-poor, like the adit ore, rather than lead-rich like the dump. It has never been followed up by soil or rock sampling.
The opportunity at a glance
Five defined targets, from continuation beneath the workings to a low-grade, flat-lying body and a gold test.
A first step that needs no drilling and no field access: multi-element and gold re-assay of the preserved core.
A drill-ready concept: two holes at and beneath the workings, sited from Teck's own recommendation.
A district with production: Captains Flat and Woodlawn lie on the same Silurian volcanic belt.
Granted tenure: EL9943, granted 25 August 2026.
Check it yourself
The historical record is open-file on GSNSW DIGS and MinView. Start with R00005791 and R00005792 (Teck, 1982–83), R00015205 (Teck, 1981), R00013522 (Western Mining, 1975) and R00027821 (Electrolytic Zinc, 1969).
Receive the technical synthesis
CAADIA has compiled the full record into a technical synthesis. It includes:
a source-verified evidence file;
the drill-hole scorecard;
the complete target evaluation;
a staged work programme with pre-set go / no-go criteria.
It is available to qualified parties under a mutual NDA.
This page summarises historical exploration results from open-file sources. No Mineral Resource or Ore Reserve has been estimated and none is implied. The historical results have not been verified by CAADIA Metals under the JORC Code (2012). Access to private land is subject to landholder agreement.
