Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future program provides precompetitive information to inform decision-making by government, community and industry on the sustainable development of Australia's mineral, energy and groundwater resources. By gathering, analysing and interpreting new and existing precompetitive geoscience data and knowledge, we are building a national picture of Australia’s geology and resource potential. The Paleo to Mesoproterozoic Birrindudu Basin is an underexplored frontier basin located in northwestern Northern Territory and northeastern Western Australia. The Birrindudu Basin is a region of focus for the second phase of the EFTF program (2020–2024) as it contains strata of similar age to the prospective McArthur Basin, South Nicholson region and Mount Isa Province, but remains comparatively poorly understood. Geoscience Australia have undertaken (via the service provider, FIT, Schlumberger) stratigraphic reconstructions of bulk volatile chemistry from fluid inclusions from an mineral exploration drillhole LBD2, Birrindudu Basin, located in the northwest Northern Territory This ecat record releases the final report and raw data files (*.LAS) by FIT Schlumberger. Company reference number FI230005a.

Australia remains underexplored or unexplored, boasting discovery potential in the mineral, groundwater, and energy resources hidden beneath the surface. These “greenfield” areas are key to Australia’s future prosperity and sustainability. Led by Geoscience Australia, Australia’s national government geoscience organisation, the Exploring for the Future program was a groundbreaking mission to map Australia’s mineral, energy, and groundwater systems in unparalleled scale and detail. The program has advanced our understanding of Australia’s untapped potential. Over the course of 8 years, the Exploring for the Future program provided a significant expansion of public, precompetitive geoscience data and information, equipping decision-makers with the knowledge and tools to tackle urgent challenges related to Australia’s resource prosperity, energy security, and groundwater supply.

Exploring for the Future (EFTF) is an Australian Government program led by Geoscience Australia (GA), in partnership with state and Northern Territory governments. The EFTF program (2016-2024) aims to drive industry investment in resource exploration in frontier regions of onshore Australia by providing new precompetitive data and information about their energy, mineral and groundwater resource potential. Under the EFTF program, the Onshore Energy Project undertook a study of petroleum prospectivity of the onshore Officer Basin in South Australia and Western Australia. Birksgate 1 well in South Australia was selected based on the occurrence of gas and oil shows reported in the well completion report. Sampling of cuttings and cores was done at Geoscience Australia's Petroleum Data Repository in Canberra. Geoscience Australia commissioned a fluid inclusion stratigraphy (FIS) study on the downhole samples. Here, volatile components ostensibly trapped with fluid inclusions are released and analysed revealing the level of exposure of the well section to migrating fluids. Integration of thin section (TS) preparations reveal to extent of gas and fluid trapping within fluid inclusions while microthemometry (MT) gives an estimation of fluid inclusion trapping temperature. For Birksgate 1, FIS analysis was performed on 414 cuttings and 33 cores between 150 feet and 6161 feet base depth, together with 14 samples prepared for TS and 3 samples for MT. To support this study, lithostratigraphic tops were compiled by Geoscience Australia. The results of the study are found in the accompanying documents.

The Exploring for the Future program Showcase 2023 was held on 15-17 August 2023. Day 1 - 15th August talks included: Resourcing net zero – Dr Andrew Heap Our Geoscience Journey – Dr Karol Czarnota You can access the recording of the talks from YouTube here: <a href="https://youtu.be/uWMZBg4IK3g">2023 Showcase Day 1</a>

<div>The Exploring for the Future program, led by Geoscience Australia, was a $225 million Australian Government investment over 8 years, focused on revealing Australia’s mineral, energy, and groundwater potential by characterising geology.&nbsp;&nbsp;This report provides an overview of activities, results, achievements and impacts from the Exploring for the Future program, with a particular focus on the last four years (2020-2024). &nbsp;</div>

These conductivity grids were generated by gridding the top 22 layers from the airborne electromagnetics (AEM) conductivity models from the Western Resource Corridor AusAEM survey (https://dx.doi.org/10.26186/147688), the Earaheedy and Desert Strip AusAEM survey (https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/145265) and several industry surveys (https://dx.doi.org/10.26186/146278) from the West Musgraves. The grids resolve important subsurface features for assessing the groudnwater system including lithologial boundaires, palaeovalleys and hydrostatigraphy.

<div>Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future program provides precompetitive information to inform decision-making by government, community and industry on the sustainable development of Australia's mineral, energy and groundwater resources. By gathering, analysing and interpreting new and existing precompetitive geoscience data and knowledge, we are building a national picture of Australia’s geology and resource potential.</div><div><br></div><div>The Paleo to Mesoproterozoic Birrindudu Basin is an underexplored frontier basin located in northwestern Northern Territory and northeastern Western Australia. The Birrindudu Basin is a region of focus for the second phase of the EFTF program (2020–2024) as it contains strata of similar age to the prospective McArthur Basin, South Nicholson region and Mount Isa Province, but remains comparatively poorly understood.</div><div><br></div><div>Geoscience Australia have undertaken (via the service provider, FIT, Schlumberger) stratigraphic reconstructions of bulk volatile chemistry from fluid inclusions from the drillhole WLMB001B, Birrindudu Basin, located in the northwest Northern Territory.</div><div><br></div><div>This ecat record releases the final report containing the results of fluid inclusion stratigraphy, thin section and microthermometry analyses, raw data files (*.LAS) and rock descriptions by FIT Schlumberger. Company reference number FI230004a.</div>

<div>The Northwest Northern Territory Seismic Survey (NW NT Seismic Survey) was acquired as part of the Australian Government's Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program, conducted from 5 August to 20 September 2023. This ambitious project is a collaboration between Geoscience Australia and the Northern Territory Geological Survey, aimed to systematically map the subsurface geology of a significant yet largely unexplored region of Australia. Covering an extensive area that includes the Birrindudu Basin, Kalkarindji Suite, Tanami, and Wolfe Basin, the survey successfully acquired about 846 kilometers of high-resolution seismic data across four seismic transects, specifically designated as 23GA-NT1 (54.5 km and 184.5 km in two separate sections), 23GA-NT2 (112 km), 23GA-NT3 (221.46 km), and 23GA-NT4 (274.2 km).</div><div><br></div><div>This seismic campaign is part of a strategic effort to illuminate the geological framework and evaluate the resource potential within these regions, which are considered highly prospective for minerals, geoenergy, geological storage and groundwater resources. By deploying advanced seismic acquisition technologies to capture detailed images of the Earth's crust, this survey provides foundational data for identifying the region's geological features and resource potential, such as basin geometry and fault systems. The data derived from this survey are expected to play a pivotal role in guiding future exploration activities, attracting investment to the region, and ultimately contributing to the sustainable development of Australia's natural resources.</div><div><br></div><div>The project underscores the commitment of the Australian Government and its partners to enhance the geoscientific understanding of the continent's frontier regions. The findings from the NW NT Seismic Survey will advance our knowledge of Australia's geology and unlock new opportunities for exploration and economic development in the northwest Northern Territory. Through the dissemination of precompetitive geoscience data, the EFTF program continues to foster innovation and collaboration across the exploration sector, ensuring that Australia remains at the forefront of global efforts to secure a sustainable and prosperous future.</div><div><br></div> <b>To access the survey data and related products, please contact clientservices@ga.gov.au and quote eCat#149287. The following products are available, with some accessible via direct download and others available upon request: Products Available for Direct Download: — Processed stack – DMO, Post-stack Time Migration, Prestack Time Migration — Published on 28/06/2024 – Prestack Depth Migration — Published on 30/07/2024 Products Available via Request: — Field data (Raw Shot Gathers, SPS files, Observer Logs, Ancillary Data, etc.) — Published on 13/03/2024 </b>

<div><strong>Conclusions</strong>&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The NW NT Seismic Survey (L214) was designed to image the underexplored Proterozoic Birrindudu Basin and adjacent regions, including the highly prospective Tanami region. In an area of very limited seismic coverage, the acquisition of ~900km of deep crustal seismic data has vastly improved the seismic coverage through this region. &nbsp;The new dataset will be available as both raw and processed data files from the Geoscience Australia website in the future.</div><div><br></div>Abstract presented at the 2024 Annual Geoscience Exploration Seminar (AGES)

<div>As part of the Australia's Resources Framework Project, in the Exploring for the Future Program, Geoscience Australia and CSIRO have undertaken a magnetic source depth study across four areas. These are: 1) the western part of Tasmania that is the southernmost extension of the Darling-Curnamona-Delamerian (DCD) project area; 2) northeastern Queensland; 3) the Officer Basin area of western South Australia and southeastern West Australia; and 4) the 'Eastern Resources Corridor' (ERC) covering eastern South Australia, southwest Queensland, western New South Wales and western Victoria. This study has produced 2005 magnetic estimates of depth to the top of magnetization. The solutions are derived by a consistent methodology (targeted magnetic inversion modelling, or TMIM; also known as ‘sweet-spot’ modelling). </div><div><br></div><div>The magnetic depth estimates produced as part of this study provide depth constraints in data-poor areas. They help to construct a better understanding of the 3D geometry of the Australian continent, and aid cover thickness modelling activities. </div><div><br></div><div>A supplementary interpretation data release is also available through Geoscience Australia's enterprise catalogue (ecat) at https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/149499.</div><div><br></div><div>Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future program provides precompetitive information to inform decision-making by government, community and industry on the sustainable development of Australia's mineral, energy and groundwater resources. By gathering, analysing and interpreting new and existing precompetitive geoscience data and knowledge, we are building a national picture of Australia’s geology and resource potential. This leads to a strong economy, resilient society and sustainable environment for the benefit of all Australians. This includes supporting Australia’s transition to net zero emissions, strong, sustainable resources and agriculture sectors, and economic opportunities and social benefits for Australia’s regional and remote communities. The Exploring for the Future program, which commenced in 2016, is an eight year, $225m investment by the Australian Government. This work contributes to building a better understanding of the Australian continent, whilst giving the Australian public the tools they need to help them make informed decisions in their areas of interest.</div>