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This report deals with the results of 25,000 ft. of boring over an area of 15 sq. miles. Twenty-six coal seams were identified and named. Total reserves of all seams with band-free thickness greater than 4.0 ft. are 200,000,000 tons. Net open-cut reserves (to 9:1 ratio) of 7,500,000 tons over an area of 400 acres were tested and defined on four seams. All work in the Howick Area was done in the period March, 1952, to June, 1953.

The prospect covers an area originally enclosing three first order and one second order anomaly located by the Airborne Scintillometer Survey if 1952. Preliminary ground investigation was carried out in October 1952 and is contained in 'Preliminary Report on Airborne Scintillometer Surveys by N.H. Fisher and J. Sleiss'. Carborne equipment was first used to locate the anomalies and determine their extent in July, 1953. An Auster aircraft carrying a Halross scintillometer also flew over the area at the same time locating a high only near the first zone. This was carried out by the Territory Enterprise Limited. A survey grid was laid down to serve both the geological and geophysical work. The base line runs north-south for 3,300 feet and traverse lines run across it at 100 ft. intervals. The detailed radioactive survey covered the whole area. Traverse lines were read at 300 foot intervals in the outer sections where closer work was not warranted. The work commenced in August and was completed in October 1953.

This glossary gives a brief description of the more important sedimentary rocks. Composition percentages are tentative in nearly all cases. The terms listed are classified as follows.

White's South prospect is situated on the southern bank of the Finniss River (East branch) about 400 feet south southwest of White's Deposit (Ward 1953). Rocks do not outcrop in the area, but low radioactive anomalies were located in this area by the Geophysical Section 1951 suggesting that the western continuation of White's Deposit after faulting might be beneath the soil cover. Low grade ore intersections were obtained in five diamond drill holes put down in the area in 1952. A plan of the area on a scale of 40 feet to 1 inch accompanies this report (Plate 1).

The Yenberrie uranium prospect is 3.5 miles east of the Stuart Highway, and 4.5 miles in a direction 15 degrees east of north from the bridge across the Edith River, which is 33 miles by road northward from Katherine, and 137 miles southward from Darwin. The prospect is 1.5 miles slightly north of west from the old Yenberrie wolfram and molybdenite mines. Geophysical investigations at the prospect during 1953 consisted of brief radiometric, self-potential and magnetic surveys.

Mt. Fitch Prospect is situated five miles on a bearing of N30°W from Rum Jungle siding. It was first visited in October 1949 by [an] officer of the Bureau (Ward, 1950). During 1950 Geologists Ward and Gates discovered the presence of yellow secondary uranium minerals in limestone. Radio-metric contouring and geological mapping was undertaken in May 1950 and a plan was produced on a scale of 100 feet to an inch. In 1950 a plan of the workings was produced on a scale of 40 feet to an inch and an aerial photograph enlarged to a scale of approximately 400 feet to an inch was used to map the Mt. Fitch area. The limited amount of prospecting work at Mt. Fitch has as yet not indicated the presence of an important uranium ore body in the area but further testing is warranted. The area of radioactivity is adjacent to the limestone slate contact and is similar in this respect to Brown's Deposit, (Ward, 1953).

White's Deposit, which is the original discovery at Rum Jungle, and on which exploration has been mainly concentrated, has so far proved to be the most important deposit in the area. It is situated 2.23 miles on a true bearing of 28 degrees from Rum Jungle Railway Siding and lies on the northern bank of the Finniss River (East Branch) halfway between Brown's Deposit and Dyson's Find. Following upon the favourable results obtained from diamond drilling and shaft sinking in 1950 work was continued at the deposit during 1951 and 1952. The development work and exploration activities are not yet completed, but available evidence has suggested a control of mineralization, which it is hoped will be substantiated by future field work. Geological and assay plans and sections of the mine workings have been prepared on a scale of 20 feet to an inch from theodolite and tape surveys and surface geological plans on a scale of 40 feet to an inch have been produced by plane table and telescopic aledade surveys. A description of the deposit based on results obtained to the end of 1952 is given in the following pages.