The Gabanintha Gold Project comprises four granted prospecting licences, 12 prospecting licence applications and three exploration licence applications and covers a total area of 81km2.

The Gabanintha project tenements are situated in the Meekatharra District of the Murchison Mineral Field and are prospective for gold, copper and nickel. They include the former Gabanintha gold mine workings.

The Gabanintha mine, operated by Dominion Mining Ltd, produced over 150,000 ounces of gold from 1987 until mining ceased in 1991. Resources remaining at that time were stated to be in the order of 70,000 ounces. No further mining activity has occurred since that time. Gold was discovered at Gabanintha in 1897 with 14,800 ounces of gold being produced between 1897 and 1987. In 1980 Southern Ventures acquired the ground and proved up a modest resource in the vicinity of the old Terrells workings. Dominion Mining Ltd entered the project in 1985 and further defined resources at Canterbury, Yagahong and Kavanagh. The mine commenced production in September 1987 and treated ore at the rate of 400,000 tonnes per annum until March 1991 when the treatment plant was relocated to Dominion’s Bannockburn project north of Leonora, Western Australia. During this period of operation the mine produced 1,518,581 tonnes of ore at an average rade of 3.23 g/t gold and an average recovery of 92.8%. Some ore was subsequently trucked to Dominion’s Meekatharra operations. All waste dumps and tailings ponds have been rehabilitated.

The host sequence to the Gabanintha gold deposits consists of komatiitic and tholeiitic ultramafic and mafic volcanics and intrusives of the Gabanintha Formation. The dominant structure hosting mineralisation in the area is the Gabanintha Shear Zone (GSZ), within which northwest to north-northwest striking mafic and ultramafic rocks, with minor felsic to intermediate intrusive rocks, occur.

Except for the Gabanintha tenements in the vicinity of the mine, the project areas has had limited exploration activity. In 2001, Metallica Ltd conducted a RAB – Aircore drilling program to test structural targets south of Gabanintha in addition to testing the shallow oxide and alluvial gold potential along the main structural trends north of the main pits. The drilling north of the main pits intersected numerous zones of gold anomalism in transported overburden, saprolite and fresh bedrock. Minor gold anomalism was recorded in the south. Metallica also drilled two diamond drill holes to test the underground gold mineralisation potential beneath Terrells and Kavanagh pits. The drilling confirmed the depth extension of the sheared and altered Kavanagh lode structure intersecting sub economic grades over a true width of 10 to 15 metres. The Terrells lode structure was not detected, however the targeted intersection of the Terrells lode structure with an intrusive dolerite in the eastern part of the deposit remains open at depth and along strike.
For these reasons, the Gabanintha Project has potential to be an excellent gold project, in a region that has an extensive record of gold production.  The project is proximal to Meekatharra, a major mining community containing a hospital, school, accommodation and stores.  Mercator PLC is recommissioning the Bluebird gold treatment plant 35km to the northwest, slated to be in production in 2007.

The Gabanintha mine, operated by Dominion Mining Ltd, produced over 150,000 ounces of gold from 1987 until mining ceased in 1991. Resources remaining at that time were stated to be in the order of 70,000 ounces. No further mining activity has occurred since that time. Gold was discovered at Gabanintha in 1897 with 14,800 ounces of gold being produced between 1897 and 1987. In 1980 Southern Ventures acquired the ground and proved up a modest resource in the vicinity of the old Terrells workings. Dominion Mining Ltd entered the project in 1985 and further defined resources at Canterbury, Yagahong and Kavanagh. The mine commenced production in September 1987 and treated ore at the rate of 400,000 tonnes per annum until March 1991 when the treatment plant was relocated to Dominion’s Bannockburn project north of Leonora, Western Australia. During this period of operation the mine produced 1,518,581 tonnes of ore at an average rade of 3.23 g/t gold and an average recovery of 92.8%. Some ore was subsequently trucked to Dominion’s Meekatharra operations. All waste dumps and tailings ponds have been rehabilitated.

The host sequence to the Gabanintha gold deposits consists of komatiitic and tholeiitic ultramafic and mafic volcanics and intrusives of the Gabanintha Formation. The dominant structure hosting mineralisation in the area is the Gabanintha Shear Zone (GSZ), within which northwest to north-northwest striking mafic and ultramafic rocks, with minor felsic to intermediate intrusive rocks, occur.

Except for the Gabanintha tenements in the vicinity of the mine, the project areas has had limited exploration activity. In 2001, Metallica Ltd conducted a RAB – Aircore drilling program to test structural targets south of Gabanintha in addition to testing the shallow oxide and alluvial gold potential along the main structural trends north of the main pits. The drilling north of the main pits intersected numerous zones of gold anomalism in transported overburden, saprolite and fresh bedrock. Minor gold anomalism was recorded in the south. Metallica also drilled two diamond drill holes to test the underground gold mineralisation potential beneath Terrells and Kavanagh pits. The drilling confirmed the depth extension of the sheared and altered Kavanagh lode structure intersecting sub economic grades over a true width of 10 to 15 metres. The Terrells lode structure was not detected, however the targeted intersection of the Terrells lode structure with an intrusive dolerite in the eastern part of the deposit remains open at depth and along strike.
For these reasons, the Gabanintha Project has potential to be an excellent gold project, in a region that has an extensive record of gold production.  The project is proximal to Meekatharra, a major mining community containing a hospital, school, accommodation and stores.  Mercator PLC is recommissioning the Bluebird gold treatment plant 35km to the northwest, slated to be in production in 2007.

Since listing Reward Minerals has completed numerous drilling campaigns, culminating in the definition of drill indicated resources at Yagahong.

The holes at Yagahong were completed on a 20m x 20m grid covering an area 150 metres long by 100 metres wide, immediately north of the 60 metre deep Yagahong Pit (See Figure 1)

Reward Minerals commissioned consultants G C Arthur and Associates, to prepare a preliminary 3D Visualization and quantity estimate for Gold/Copper mineralization intersected in drilling below the existing Yagahong open pit at Gabanintha. This study was to establish whether a mining feasibility study is indicated, and to highlight further drilling targets.

The results of this study suggest that an underground mining operation may be viable, and a pre feasibility study is recommended. The orientation of the ore shoots can be visualised by examination of Figures 2 and 3

The attached tables report the quantity estimates at both 4g/t Au and 1g/t Au cutoff grade.. A JORC compliant drill indicated resource has been calculated as follows:

4g/t Au lower cut
151,000 tonnes @ 12.1g/t Au for 59,121ozs (no upper cut)
148,000 tonnes @ 10.7g/t Au for 51,027ozs (50g/t upper cut)

1g/t Au lower cut
                      511,470tonnes @ 4.35g/tfor71,559ozs(50g/tuppercut)

Table 1
Preliminary quantity estimates.
Yagahong “potential underground” 4gpt Au lower cutoff

Notes:
•Table 1 reports grade, tonnage and contained metal estimates above a block cutoff of 4 gpt gold.
• 10 out of 35 drillholes have not yet been surveyed downhole,. Most  drillholes are vertical so it is not anticipated that position error will be very significant.

Table 2
Preliminary quantity estimates.
Yagahong mineralization at 1gpt Au lower cutoff

The mineralization has been interpreted as four shallow dipping high grade zones (A,B,C,D) with potential for profitable underground mining. The zones lie within two discrete envelopes of lower grade mineralization (A1, B1). (See Tables 1 and 2)
Copper occurs at significant concentrations within the high grade gold zones, but, from the 3D isosurfaces, appears to be also aligned on a steeply dipping cross structure. Zones B and C have higher copper grades than zone A, 2.5% versus 0.4%, but this is in part due to lack of copper analyses for some of zone A. Zone D has no copper analyses.

The zones are open downwards to the east.
High grade gold occurs in rock with Ni contents less than 1000 ppm, consistent with the interpretation that mafic units such as basalt and dolerite are favourable host rock types, and with descriptions of ore produced from previous mining at Gabinintha.