The Geoscience Australia Rock Properties database stores the result measurements of scalar and vector petrophysical properties of rock and regolith specimens and hydrogeological data. Oracle database and Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) web services. Links to Samples, Field Sites, Boreholes. <b>Value:</b> Essential for relating geophysical measurements to geology and hydrogeology and thereby constraining geological, geophysical and groundwater models of the Earth <b>Scope:</b> Data are sourced from all states and territories of Australia

NDI Carrara 1 is a deep stratigraphic drill hole completed in 2020 as part of the MinEx CRC National Drilling Initiative (NDI) in collaboration with Geoscience Australia and the Northern Territory Geological Survey. It is the first test of the Carrara Sub-Basin, a depocentre newly discovered in the South Nicholson region based on interpretation from seismic surveys (L210 in 2017 and L212 in 2019) recently acquired as part of the Exploring for the Future program. The drill hole intersected approximately 1100 m of Proterozoic sedimentary rocks uncomformably overlain by 630 m of Cambrian Georgina Basin carbonates. A comprehensive geochemical program designed to provide information about the region’s resource potential was carried out on samples collected at up to 4 meter intervals. This report presents part 1 of the data from Rock-Eval pyrolysis analyses undertaken by Geoscience Australia on selected rock samples to establish their total organic carbon content, hydrocarbon-generating potential and thermal maturity.

Drilling in the Geoscience Australia Exploring for the Future East Tennant project was conducted as part of the MinEx CRC National Drilling Initiative. Ten stratigraphic boreholes were drilled for scientific purposes in the region around the Barkly Roadhouse in the Northern Territory. Where possible, the boreholes were comprehensively wireline logged to obtain petrophysical data on the cover and basement rocks to help improve knowledge and geophysical models of the region. Formation density data obtained by wireline logging were validated using laboratory-based bulk density data obtained by Archimedes method on diamond drill core samples at Geoscience Australia. Results of the validation show that wireline-logged formation density data and Archimedes wet bulk density data are in good general agreement in the first five boreholes drilled (NDIBK01, NDIBK02, NDIBK03, NDIBK04 and NDIBK05). Difficult drilling and some lost drilling equipment meant that boreholes NDIBK06, NDIBK07 and NDIBK09 could not be cased properly, or could not be re-entered, and thus formation density wireline logs could not be obtained in these holes. Boreholes NDIBK08 and NDIBK10 were wireline logged, however formation density results from these last two holes were problematic. Wireline formation density results for borehole NDIBK08 are shown to be too high due to miscalibration of the wireline formation density tool, and results from borehole NDIBK10 cannot be robustly assessed because of a lack of sufficient Archimedes bulk density data needed to provide statistical relevance and validate the wireline formation density data.

NDI Carrara 1 is the first stratigraphic test of the Carrara Sub-basin, a newly discovered depocentre in the South Nicholson region that was identified on newly acquired seismic surveys undertaken as part of the Exploring for the Future program. NDI Carrara 1 intersected a thick sequence of Proterozoic aged siliciclastic and carbonate rocks, which host several intervals of interest to hydrocarbon explorers due to affinities with the known Proterozoic shale gas plays of the Beetaloo Sub-basin and the Lawn Hill Platform. These include two organic-rich black shale sequences and a thick sequence of interbedded black shales and silty-sandstones where numerous hydrocarbon shows are demonstrated. An extensive suite of wireline logs was acquired from total depth to the near surface, and continuous core was recovered through the Proterozoic interval. Geoscience Australia and partners are undertaking an extensive program of analytical work to understand the depositional, structural, and diagenetic history of the sediments intersected by NDI Carrara 1, alongside their resource potential. This study characterises petrophysical and geomechanical properties of the Proterozoic interval of NDI Carrara 1 through interpretation of wireline logging data and integration of some of this interpretation with results of geochemical analyses. High interpreted TOC content and a high calculated net shale ratio, alongside high estimated hydrocarbon saturations suggest a high potential for unconventional gas resources in the Proterozoic shale intervals of the Carrara Sub-basin; an assessment supported by gas peaks, particularly methane, measured in mud-logging gas profiles during drilling. Shale brittleness indices and interpreted present-day stresses highlight areas that are likely to be favourable for unconventional gas techniques and which may form attractive shale gas plays. Interpretation of the L210 and L212 seismic surveys suggests that the intersected sequences are laterally extensive and continuous throughout the Carrara Sub-basin, potentially forming a significant new hydrocarbon province and continuing the Proterozoic shale play fairway across the Northern Territory and northwest Queensland. This Abstract was submitted/presented to the 2022 Central Australian Basins Symposium IV (CABS) 29-30 August (https://agentur.eventsair.com/cabsiv/)

<div>NDI Carrara 1 is a deep stratigraphic drill hole completed in 2020 as part of the MinEx CRC National Drilling Initiative (NDI) in collaboration with Geoscience Australia and the Northern Territory Geological Survey. It is the first stratigraphic test of the Carrara Sub-basin, a depocentre newly discovered in the South Nicholson region based on interpretation from seismic surveys (L210 in 2017 and L212 in 2019) acquired as part of the Exploring for the Future program. The drill hole intersected approximately 1120 m of Proterozoic sedimentary rocks unconformably overlain by 630 m of Georgina Basin carbonates.&nbsp;</div><div>Geoscience Australia has undertaken a range of investigations on the lithology, stratigraphy and geotechnical properties of NDI Carrara 1 as well as undertaking a range of analyses of about 500 physical samples recovered through the entire core. Analyses included geochronology, isotope studies, mineralogy, inorganic and organic geochemistry, petrophysics, geomechanics, thermal maturity and petroleum systems investigations.</div><div>Rock-Eval pyrolysis raw data undertaken by Geoscience Australia were reported in Butcher et al. (2021) on selected rock samples to establish their total organic carbon content, hydrocarbon-generating potential and thermal maturity. Interpretation of the Rock-Eval pyrolysis data concluded that a large portion of rocks within the Proterozoic section displayed unreliable Tmax values due to poorly defined S2 peaks resulting from high thermal maturity and low hydrogen content. In order to obtain more reliable Tmax values, Rock-Eval pyrolysis of selected isolated kerogens, where organic matter is concentrated and mineral matrix effects are removed, were conducted and the resulting data are presented in this report.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div>

The onshore Canning Basin in Western Australia is the focus of a regional hydrocarbon prospectivity assessment being undertaken by the Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program; an Australian Government initiative dedicated to increasing investment in resource exploration in northern Australia. The four-year program led by Geoscience Australia focusses on the acquisition of new data and information about the potential mineral, energy and groundwater resources concealed beneath the surface in northern Australia and parts of South Australia. As part of this program, significant work has been carried out to deliver new pre-competitive data including new seismic acquisition, drilling of a stratigraphic well and the geochemical analysis of geological samples recovered from exploration wells. As part of this comprehensive analytical program, TOC and Rock-Eval pyrolysis analyses were undertaken by Geoscience Australia on selected rock samples from eight wells of the Canning Basin to establish their hydrocarbon-generating potential and thermal maturity. These samples were selected to infill gaps in the existing open file data with a particular focus on the Lower Ordovician Nambeet Formation for comparison with samples from the Waukarlycarly 1 well.

As part of the Exploring for the Future Programme this study aims to improve our understanding of the petroleum resource potential of Northern Australia. As a component or this project, collaboration between the Onshore Energy Branch, Geoscience Australia and the Northern Territory Geological Survey (NTGS) is designed to produce pre-competitive information to assist with the evaluation of the petroleum prospectivity of onshore Northern Territory basins. This report characterises the organic richness, kerogen type and thermal maturity of source rocks in the Velkerri, Barney Creek, Wollogorang and McDermott formations of the McArthur Basin based on Rock-Eval pyrolysis data analysed at Geoscience Australia in the 2017 to 2018 financial year. This data is provided in preparation for future work to generate statistics quantifying the spatial distribution, quantity and quality of McArthur Basin source rocks, providing important insights into the hydrocarbon prospectivity of the basin.

An estimate of the spectra of the barest state (i.e., least vegetation) observed from imagery of the Australian continent collected by the Landsat 5, 7, and 8 satellites over a period of more than 30 years (1983 – 2018). The bands include BLUE (0.452 - 0.512), GREEN (0.533 - 0.590), RED, (0.636 - 0.673) NIR (0.851 - 0.879), SWIR1 (1.566 - 1.651) and SWIR2 (2.107 - 2.294) wavelength regions. The approach is robust to outliers (such as cloud, shadows, saturation, corrupted pixels) and also maintains the relationship between all the spectral wavelengths in the spectra observed through time. The product reduces the influence of vegetation and allows for more direct mapping of soil and rock mineralogy. This product complements the Landsat-8 Barest Earth which is based on the same algorithm but just uses Landsat8 satellite imagery from 2013-2108. Landsat-8’s OLI sensor provides improved signal-to-noise radiometric (SNR) performance quantised over a 12-bit dynamic range compared to the 8-bit dynamic range of Landsat-5 and Landsat-7 data. However the Landsat 30+ Barest Earth has a greater capacity to find the barest ground due to the greater temporal depth. Reference: Exposed Soil and Mineral Map of the Australian Continent Revealing the Land at its Barest - Dale Roberts, John Wilford and Omar Ghattas Ghattas (2019). Nature Communications, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13276-1. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-13276-1

The Officer Basin in South Australia and Western Australia is the focus of a regional stratigraphic study being undertaken by the Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program, an Australian Government initiative dedicated to increasing investment in resource exploration in Australia. This data release provides data from new digital photography, X-ray Computerised Tomography (XCT) scanning, unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and tensile strength, laboratory ultrasonic testing, and gas porosity and permeability experiments for 41 samples from five legacy stratigraphic and petroleum exploration boreholes drilled within the Officer Basin. Additional low permeability tests were undertaken on select samples that were identified as being ultra-tight (permeability <1 µD). These samples were analysed at CSIRO Geomechanics and Geophysics Laboratory in Perth during April to June 2021.

<p>In this study, a total of 53 surface outcrop samples were analysed for both inorganic and organic whole-rock geochemistry as part of Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program, a government initiative undertaken by the Australian Government to boost investment in resource exploration and development in northern Australia. The samples were collected during two EFTF funded field seasons conducted in May 2017 (18 samples, GA job number 33004) and May 2018 (35 samples, GA job number 33228). <p>This data release contains the results of elemental analyses including X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), Inductively Coupled Plasma- Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), iron titration (FeO), Loss-On-Ignition (LOI) and Rock-Eval pyrolysis on 53 outcrop samples collected across two seasons of fieldwork in the South Nicholson region. This data release are provided to facilitate establishment of important baseline assessments and whole rock characterisation of regional sedimentary rocks for insight into the resource prospectivity of northern Australian basins. These data was generated at the Geochemistry Laboratories at Geoscience Australia as part of the Exploring for the Future program