The Janina 1 borehole was drilled approximately 110 km W of Bourke, New South Wales. The borehole was designed to test aeromagnetic anomalies in the basement rocks and to test the electrical conductivity properties of cover and basement rocks to validate airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data.

The Milcarpa 1 borehole was drilled approximately 9 km SSE of Hungerford, Queensland, adjacent to the road between Hungerford and Wanaaring, NSW. The borehole was designed to test aeromagnetic anomalies in the basement rocks, test the electrical conductivity properties of cover and basement rocks to validate airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data, and to test pre-drilling geophysical cover thickness estimates.

Lithium (Li) concentrations in catchment outlet sediment samples were measured as part of the National Geochemical Survey of Australia (NGSA; www.ga.gov.au/ngsa). Samples were collected at or near the outlet of 1186 catchments covering ~81% of Australia during 2007-2009. At each site a top outlet sediment (TOS) sample (0-10 cm depth) and a bottom outlet sediment (BOS) sample (~60-80 cm depth) were collected; each split into a 'coarse' (<2 mm) and a 'fine' (<75 mm) grain-size fraction. Li data is available for the Mobile Metal Ion (MMI®; TOS 'coarse' only) and Aqua Regia (AR) digestion techniques. Censored data (reported to be below the Lower Limit of Detection, LLD) account for 32% of the MMI® data (LLD = 0.005 mg/kg) and are absent from the AR dataset (LLD = 0.1 mg/kg); replacement values were imputed using a nearest neighbour method. The median MMI® value is three orders of magnitude lower than the median AR concentration. Further, there is an increase in median Li for the AR digestion following the order TOS 'coarse < BOS 'coarse' < TOS 'fine' < BOS 'fine'; in other words the deep or 'fine' samples have higher Li concentrations than their surface or 'coarse' counterparts. In order to assess the 'availability' of Li, the ratio of MMI® to AR Li (Li_Mi/Ai) was calculated and plotted. Li availability ranges from almost non-existent up to 14%. The map of Li_Mi/Ai shows that the regions of high Li availability correspond to the Yilgarn Craton, much of eastern South Australia, the southernmost, westernmost and central Northern Territory, south and western Queensland, western New South Wales and Victoria and a few coastal areas. These commonly are regions where salt lakes occur. However, assessment of Li content of source rocks and groundwaters and absence of active hydrogeological setting highlight limitations for the potential for Li-rich brines in Australian salt lakes.

The International Geo-Sample Number (IGSN) provides a globally unique identifier for physical samples used to generate analytical data. This unique identifier provides the ability to link each physical sample to any analytical data undertaken on that sample, as well as to any publications derived from any data derived on the sample. IGSN is particularly important for geochemical and geochronological data, where numerous analytical techniques can be undertaken at multiple analytical facilities not only on the parent rock sample itself, but also on derived sample splits and mineral separates. Australia now has three agencies implementing IGSN: Geoscience Australia, CSIRO and Curtin University. All three have now combined into a single project, funded by the Australian Research Data Services program, to better coordinate the implementation of IGSN in Australia, in particular how these agencies allocate IGSN identifiers. The project will register samples from pilot applications in each agency including the CSIRO National Collection of Mineral Spectra database, the Geoscience Australia sample collection, and the Digital Mineral Library of the John De Laeter Centre for Isotope Research at Curtin University. These local agency catalogues will then be aggregated into an Australian portal, which will ultimately be expanded for all geoscience specimens. The development of this portal will also involve developing a common core metadata schema for the description of Australian geoscience specimens, as well as formulating agreed governance models for registering Australian samples. These developments aim to enable a common approach across Australian academic, research organisations and government agencies for the unique identification of geoscience specimens and any analytical data and/or publications derived from them. The emerging pattern of governance and technical collaboration established in Australia may also serve as a blueprint for similar collaborations internationally.

The Walloon Coal Measures (WCM) in the Clarence-Moreton and the Surat basins in Qld and northern NSW contain up to approximately 600 m of mudstone, siltstone, sandstone and coal. Wide-spread exploration for coal seam gas (CSG) within both basins has led to concerns that the depressurisation associated with the resource development may impact on water resources in adjacent aquifers. In order to predict potential impacts, a detailed understanding of sedimentary basins hydrodynamics that integrates geology, hydrochemistry and environmental tracers is important. In this study, we show how different hydrochemical parameters and isotopic tracers (i.e. major ion chemistry, dissolved gas concentrations, 13C-DIC, 18O, 87Sr/86Sr, 3H, 14C, 2H and 13C of CH4) can help to improve the knowledge on groundwater recharge and flow patterns within the coal-bearing strata and their connectivity with over- or underlying formations. Dissolved methane concentrations in groundwaters of the WCM in the Clarence-Moreton Basin range from below the reporting limit (10 µg/L) to approximately 50 mg/L, and samples collected from nested bore sites show that there is also a high degree of vertical variability. Other parameters such as groundwater age measurements collected along distinct flow paths are also highly variable. In contrast, 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratios of WCM groundwaters are very uniform and distinct from groundwaters contained in other sedimentary bedrock units, suggesting that 87Sr/86Sr ratios may be a suitable tracer to study hydraulic connectivity of the Walloon Coal Measures with over- or underlying aquifers, although more studies on the systematic are required. Overall, the complexity of recharge processes, aquifer connectivity and within-formation variability confirms that a single tracer that cannot provide all information necessary to understand aquifer connectivity in these sedimentary basins, but that a multi-tracer approach is required.

The National Geochemical Survey of Australia (NGSA) was carried out to bridge a vast knowledge gap about the concentration and distribution of chemical elements at the Earth's surface and consequent poor understanding of processes controlling their distribution. The aim of the project was to contribute to derisking exploration for energy and mineral resources through the pre-competitive (government-funded) delivery of a new spatial layer of compositional data and information. Surface (0-10 cm depth) and shallow (~60-80 cm) samples of catchment outlet sediments were collected from 1315 sites located near the outlet of 1186 catchments (~10 % of which were sampled in duplicate) from across Australia. The total area covered by the survey was 6.174 million km2, or ~81% of Australia, at an average sampling density of 1 site per ~5200 km2. A number of field parameters (e.g., soil colour, pH), bulk parameters (e.g., electrical conductivity, particle size distribution) and geochemical parameters (i.e., multi-element composition of dry sieved <2 mm and <75 -m grain-size fractions) were determined. The grain-size fractions were analysed to determine (1) Total, (2) Aqua Regia soluble, and (3) Mobile Metal Ion (MMI®) extractable element contents. This data was collated into a spreadsheet and graphically represented as a series of 529 geochemical maps (www.ga.gov.au/ngsa). These constitute the first continental-scale series of geochemical maps based on internally consistent, state-of-the-art data pertaining to the same sampling medium collected, prepared and analysed in a uniform and thoroughly documented manner and over a short time period for Australia. They are being used to better understand the accumulation, mobility and significance of chemical elements in the near-surface environment. They provide a new, additional pre-competitive dataset for the energy and mineral resource exploration industry, which can help prioritise areas for further exploration investment and thus reduce risk. Further, some of this new information is already finding use in natural resource management and environmental monitoring. Applications to date and ongoing and future directions are discussed.

One gram of sample No. 1 and 2 grams of No. 2 were dissolved in about 100mL of hot water. After dissolving the soluble portions the solutions were filtered and the undissolved portions dissolved and weighed. This weight subtracted from the original weight of the sample gave the amount of soluble salts. The filtrate was diluted to 250 mls with distilled water, 100 mls being used for Ca and Mg determination. The results of this experiment are given in the report.

This was the first study of its kind, by the Commonwealth team. The study included demonstrations of the dithizone tests for traces of some heavy metals in the field environment, of operational and sampling procedures, and geochemical reconnaissance. Several reconnaissance traverses were sampled and examined. Extractable forms of copper and, in a very presumptive manner, extractable forms of lead and zinc were sought in the test materials. In addition, tests for copper, lead and zinc were made in some ignited and fused specimens. The testing procedure and results are described in this report.

A benthic sediment sampling survey (GA0356) to the nearshore areas of outer Darwin Harbour was undertaken in the period from 03 July to 14 September 2016. Partners involved in the survey included Geoscience Australia (GA), the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources within the Northern Territory Government (NT DENR) (formerly the Department of Land and Resource Management (DLRM)). This survey forms part of a four year (2014-2018) science program aimed at improving knowledge about the marine environments in the regions around Darwin and Bynoe Harbour’s through the collection and collation of baseline data that will enable the creation of thematic habitat maps to underpin marine resource management decisions. This project is being led by the Northern Territory Government and is supported by the INPEX-led Ichthys LNG Project, in collaboration with - and co-investment from GA and AIMS. The program builds upon an NT Government project (2011-2011) which saw the collection of baseline data (multibeam echosounder data, sediment samples and video transects) from inner Darwin Harbour (Siwabessy et al. 2015). This dataset comprises Total sediment metabolism, %carbonate, organic isotope (C and N) and organic and inorganic element data from seabed sediments. Radke, L., Smit, N., Li, J., Nicholas, T., Picard, K. 2017. Outer Darwin Harbour Shallow Water Sediment Survey 2016: GA0356 – Post-survey report. Record 2017/06. Geoscience Australia, Canberra. http://dx.doi.org/10.11636/Record.2017.006 This research was funded by the INPEX-led Ichthys LNG Project via the Northern Territory (NT) Government Department of Land Resource Management (DLRM) (now the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)), and co-investment from Geoscience Australia (GA) and Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). We are grateful to the following agencies for providing boats and staff, and to the following personal for help with sample acquisition: NT DENR (Danny Low Choy and Rachel Groome), NT Fisheries (Wayne Baldwin, Quentin Allsop, Shane Penny, Chris Errily, Sean Fitzpatrick and Mark Grubert), NT Parks and Wildlife (Ray Chatto, Stewart Weorle, and Luke McLaren) and the Larrakia Rangers (Nelson Tinoco, Kyle Lewfat, Alan Mummery and Steven Dawson). Special thanks to the skippers Danny Low Choy, Wayne Baldwin, Stewart Weorle and Luke McLaren whose seamanship strongly guided the execution of this survey. AIMS generously allowed use of the aquarium and laboratory at the Arafura Timor Sea Research Facility, and Simon Harries and Kirsty McAllister helped with the setup. We would also like to acknowledge and thank GA colleagues including: Matt Carey, Ian Atkinson and Craig Wintle (Engineering and Applied Scientific Services) for the organisation of field supplies and the design of the new core incubation set-up. This dataset is published with the permission of the CEO, Geoscience Australia

Geoscience Australia defines a sample as a feature observed, measured or collected in the field. A specimen is a physical individual sample collected during the field work. This data set represents a subset of all Sampling data held by Geoscience Australia that have been collected as part of drilling activities (ie relate to Australian Boreholes). The data will be utilised by other data domains by providing Sampling context to various Observation & Measurement data.