Processed seismic data (SEG-Y format) and TIFF images for the 2007 Georgetown - Charters Towers Deep Crustal Seismic Survey (L185), acquired by Geoscience Australia (GA) under the Onshore Energy Security Program (OESP), in collaboration with the Queensland Geological Survey. Stack and migrated data for line 07GA-GC1 as well as CDP coordinates and maps. 07GA-GC1 is 492.9 km long. The traverse began at Ooralat Station, north of the Gulf Developmental Road and headed southeast toward Einasleigh along dirt roads. At Einasleigh, the line veered east-southeast in the direction of Charters Towers passing to the west of the township, then traversed through the Charters Towers gold mining area and terminated approximately 100 km south of Charters Towers at the Cape River. Raw data for this survey are available on request from clientservices@ga.gov.au

Processed seismic data (SEG-Y format) and TIFF images for the 2007 Isa-Georgetown Deep Crustal Seismic Survey (L184), acquired by Geoscience Australia (GA) under the Onshore Energy Security Program (OESP), in collaboration with the Queensland Geological Survey. Stack and migrated images and data are included for lines 07GA-IG1 and 07GA-IG2 as well as CDP coordinates and maps. Raw data for this survey are available on request from clientservices@ga.gov.au

Processed seismic data (SEG-Y format) and TIFF images for the Curnamona line acquired as part of the 2008 Curnamona-Gawler-Arrowie Deep Crustal Seismic Survey (L189), acquired by Geoscience Australia (GA) under the Onshore Energy Security Program (OESP). Stack and migrated data for line 08GA-C1 as well as CDP coordinates and gravity data. The Curnamona line is 262km in length and runs north-south, east of Lake Frome in South Australia. Raw data for this survey are available on request from clientservices@ga.gov.au

Work conducted at the Bureau of Mineral Resources (now Geoscience Australia) in the early 1990s was instrumental in bringing hot rocks geothermal research and development to Australia. Following the announcement of the Australian Government's Energy Initiative in August 2006, a new geothermal project has been started at Geoscience Australia. This paper, presented at 3rd Hot Rock Energy Conference in Adelaide, August 2007, outlines the scope of the Onshore Energy Security Program and the development, implementation and progress to date of the Geothermal Energy Project.

This presentation was delivered at the Geothermal Energy Industry Roundtable at Parliament House in March 2007.

Currently it is difficult to assess the quality of Australian geothermal exploration targets, particularly for those with differing amounts of geological data. To rectify this, Geoscience Australia is developing a tool for evaluating geothermal potential across the continent and for identifying areas that warrant additional investigation. An important first step in the development of this tool is synthetic thermal modelling. Synthetic modelling has been used to perform a sensitivity analysis, determine the importance of different geothermal parameters and the values necessary to produce specific temperatures at depth. The results of this work are presented in this abastract.

The geothermal industry has expanded rapidly in Australia, with 48 companies holding 385 license areas as of August 2009, with 10 listed on the ASX and with work programs excluding upscaling valued at ~AU$1.5B to 2013. Projects range from early to advanced exploration, proof-of-concept and pilot stages. Targets are for Hot Rock and Hot Sedimentary Aquifer resources, for the purposes of electricity generation or direct use applications. Ground source heat pump technology continues to struggle to attain the recognition it deserves.

Deep crustal seismic data collected in 2006 and 2007 highlight prospectivity for geothermal and energy mineral systems in north Queensland as well as providing insight into geodynamic controls on IOCG(U) and metasomatic U deposits. IOCG deposits in the eastern Mt Isa Inlier are located in the hanging wall of a major crustal discontinuity that is imaged at surface as a gravity high. At a broader scale these deposits are spatially associated with the Carpentaria conductance anomaly, which can be traced south to the Olympic IOCG(U) deposit. The surveys also identified the previously unknown Millungera Basin which appears to overlie granitic bodies. This architecture is favourable for the presence of geothermal systems, with the granites providing heat beneath the basin insulator and heat trap. This basin has unknown potential for petroleum and energy minerals. Metasomatic deposits in the western Mt Isa Inlier appear to be associated with inverted extensional faults that bound major troughs. Inversion of these faults during the Isan Orogeny allowed fluid flow to suitable U traps.

Like many of the basins along Australia's eastern seaboard, there is currently only a limited understanding of the geothermal energy potential of the New South Wales extent of the Clarence-Moreton Basin. To date, no study has examined the existing geological information available to produce an estimate of subsurface temperatures throughout the region. Forward modelling of a basin structure using its expected thermal properties is the process generally used in geothermal studies to estimate temperatures at depth in the Earth's crust. This process has been validated for one-dimensional models such as a drill hole, where extensive information can be provided for a specific location. The process has also seen increasing use in more complex three-dimensional (3D) models, including in areas of sparse data. The overall uncertainties of 3D models, including the influence of the broad assumptions required to undertake them, are generally only poorly examined by their authors and sometimes completely ignored. New methods are presented in this study which will allow estimates and uncertainties to be addressed in a quantitative and justifiable way. Specifically, this study applies Monte Carlo Analysis to constrain uncertainties through random sampling of statistically congruent populations. Particular focus has been placed on the uncertainty in assigning thermal conductivity values to complex and spatially extensive geological formations using only limited data. These geological formations will typically consist of a range of lithological compositions, resulting in a range of spatially variable thermal conductivity values. As a case study these new methods are then applied to the New South Wales extent of the Clarence-Moreton Basin. The structure of the basin has been built using Intrepid Geophysics' 3D GeoModeller software package using data from existing petroleum drill holes, surface mapping and information derived from the FrOGTech SEEBASE study. A range of possible lithological compositions was determined for each of the major geological layers through application of compositional data analysis, using data from deep wells only (>2000 m). In turn, a range of possible thermal properties was determined from rock samples held by the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries and analysed at the Geoscience Australia laboratories. These populations of values were then randomly sampled to create 120 different forward models which were computed using SHEMAT. The results of these have been interpreted to present the best estimate of the expected subsurface temperatures of the basin, and their uncertainties, given the current state of knowledge. These results suggest that the Clarence-Moreton Basin has a moderate geothermal energy potential within an economic drilling depth. The results also show a significant degree of variability between the different thermal modelling runs, which is likely due to the limited data available for the region.

Hot Rock exploration and development has progressed rapidly in Australia in the last decade. A wealth of pre-competitive geological data acquired by government surveys and mineral and petroleum explorers is available in Australia, but heat flow data specific to geothermal exploration is sparse. A methodology is presented that sets out the key parameters required in Hot Rock exploration. Mappable practical proxies corresponding to these parameters can utilise existing geological datasets. Australia has an enviable amount of geological data that is publicly available, and this can be used to show that many parts of the continent are attractive Hot Rock exploration areas.