Authors / CoAuthors
Roach, I.C. | Costelloe, M. | Jaireth, S.
Abstract
Geoscience Australia (GA) conducted three regional airborne electromagnetic (AEM) surveys as part of the 2006-2011 Onshore Energy Security Program over the Paterson (Western Australia, 2007-08), Pine Creek-Kombolgie (Northern Territory, 2009) and Frome (South Australia, 2010) regions. The surveys were designed to provide reliable, fit-for-purpose pre-competitive AEM data for mapping critical features of uranium mineral systems. The data have since been found suitable for mapping a range of other mineral systems (gold, silver copper, lead, zinc), under-cover geological mapping and groundwater resource estimation. The contractor-delivered data were reprocessed at GA using the GA Layered Earth Inversion (GA-LEI) to create new interpretation products. These products are GIS-ready and are freely available from the GA website (http://www.ga.gov.au/minerals/projects/current-projects/airborne-electromagnetics.html). The surveys were flown in collaboration with industry and government partners who gained by paying reduced line-kilometre costs with no mobilisation expenses, and also from the management and AEM interpretation expertise of GA. Each of the AEM surveys has now stimulated enough economic activity to offset the original survey costs to the Commonwealth Government, and results are showing impacts as the data are used by industry and government. In the Paterson area, the data have been used to discover copper-uranium mineralization at the Yeneena prospect and copper-lead-zinc massive sulphide mineralization at the Beadell prospect, to identify uranium-bearing unconformities near Kintyre, to explore for calcrete-hosted uranium mineral systems in palaeovalleys, to search for groundwater resources necessary to develop the Kintyre uranium deposit and most recently to assess salt lakes for potash resources. In the Pine Creek region, the data have been used to define uranium targets associated with unconformities and were instrumental in discovering the Thunderball uranium prospect, as well as mapping seawater intrusion into coastal aquifers. In the Lake Frome region, data have been used to remap and reassess the sandstone-hosted uranium-bearing palaeovalley systems in the southern Lake Frome area and north of the Flinders Ranges, influence new tenement grants near Marree, discover further copper resources at Farina and provide depth of cover information. In each case, the data have been used by companies to assess or reassess tenements, reducing exploration risk by providing exploration targets and valuable depth and cover thickness information. The success of each of the three surveys has also initiated further rounds of industry AEM surveying at higher resolution to infill the broad-spaced GA flight lines; some of these surveys have been supported by State or Territory Government exploration incentive schemes. The success of the Paterson AEM Survey has also stimulated the Government of Western Australia to take on similar surveys, e.g. the recent Capricorn Orogen AEM Survey and a planned groundwater-focussed regional AEM survey for the Canning Basin. Geoscience Australia is entering into a new round of regional AEM surveying in support of the UNCOVER initiative. The first new survey will be in the Southern Thomson Orogen region, over the Eulo Ridge; this survey is designed to map cover thickness and under-cover geology, providing new information for assessing the geology and prospectivity of this under-explored region.
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nonGeographicDataset
eCat Id
79173
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Cnr Jerrabomberra Ave and Hindmarsh Dr GPO Box 378
Canberra
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2601
Australia
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- External Publication
- Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)
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- Earth Sciences
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- Published_Internal
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2014-01-01T00:00:00
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