Legacy product - no abstract available

Legacy product - no abstract available

Legacy product - no abstract available

Legacy product - no abstract available

Global mineral exploration budgets fell by almost 14% in 2002 to US$1.9 billion (US$2.2 billion in 2001). Australia was displaced by Canada as the world's leading exploration destination, but Australia's share of world exploration budgets rose marginally to 17.6%. Mineral exploration in Australia in 2001-02 totalled $640.6 million, down 6% on 2001-02, and the lowest since 1992-93. Western Australia was the leading state for exploration spending accounting for $381 million (59%). Gold was the principal commodity sought with $331 million spent accounting for 52% of all exploration. Exploration spending was up in coal, copper, diamonds, mineral sands (a record), but down in nickel and zinc on the previous year. Exploration spending in the September quarter 2002 was up significantly

The Olympic Cu-Au Province, of the eastern Gawler Craton, lies beneath the sedimentary sequences of the Stuart Shelf. Rocks of the basement are Late Archean metamorphics, and the Proterozoic Donington Suite, Hutchison Group, Wallaroo Group, Hiltaba Suite granitoids and mafic intrusives, and the Gawler Range Volcanics. Except for parts of the Gawler Range Volcanics, none of the basement crops out and is covered by sequences exceeding 3 km thickness, in places. Interpretation of units and structures was via gravity and airborne magnetic data. Some geological calibration was done by checking exploration drill logs or by examining the core. When core was examined, petrophysical properties were measured and used to constrain the interpretation. This map has been produced as a GeoPDF, which is an extension to the standard PDF file format viewed using Adobe Acrobat Reader. Layers can be turned off and on to customise the view of the data, similar to using Geographic Information System tools. In addition, GeoPDF maps are georeferenced to be compatible with other coordinated geographic data. Coordinate locations and distances can be retrieved automatically. A plug-in to view GeoPDF using Adobe Acrobat Reader is available as a free download ( http://terragotech.com/solutions/map2pdf_reader.php ).

Australian mineral exploration spending in 2002-03 rose by 14.4% to $732.5, the first significant increase since 1996-97. Global non-ferrous mineral exploration budgets rose 26% to an estimated US$2.4 billion in 2003. Australia's share of reported world budgets was US$339.3 million (15.5%). All States and the Northern Territory recorded increases in mineral exploration activity. Western Australia dominated with $423.6 million, 57.8% of total Australian mineral exploration expenditure in 2002-03. Gold was the major commodity sought with spending of $378.4 million, 51.7% of the total. There were significant increases in iron ore, coal and nickel exploration. Company exploration activities generated a significant number of drill intersections of economic interest, particularly for gold and nickel, in several mineral provinces. A number of junior companies commenced production of nickel and/or have nickel projects at an advanced stage.

The Eromanga Basin has the potential to contain significant sandstone-hosted uranium mineralisation. Publicly available geophysical and geochemical datasets have been integrated into a 3D geological map for the Eromanga Basin. Initial uranium mineral system assessment has highlighted two regions of potential exploration significance: the region east of Mt Isa corresponding to the Euroka Arch and the area southwest of Lake Eyre.

The Archaean Eastern Yilgarn Craton is Australia's premier mineral province, with many of the nation's world-class Au and Ni deposits. One of the reasons that this piece of crust is especially endowed can be found with its 3D architecture, which is the mappable outcome or signature of a complex interplay of geodynamic and metallogenic processes during key times in the earth's evolution. This signature is represented at a range of scales from the whole of the lithosphere down to camp and deposit scale, and ultimately down to individual lodes. New insights regarding the signatures of these systems are reported here for a range of scales. The biggest elements of the system can be mapped in terms of changes in the velocity structure of the mantle lithosphere, and also differences in crustal velocity between differently endowed domains/terranes. At an upper crustal level/scale, domes are identified as a characteristic architecture associated with world-class deposits in the region. These domes can be mapped regionally by use of geologically and seismically constrained inversions of the gravity data. The role of granites and geodynamics at the time of mineralisation played crucial roles in establishing the domal architecture of the system. Finally, a "Golden Corridor" exists beneath the best real estate in the Yilgarn the belt from Kambalda to Wiluna and possibly under cover to the Plutonic Mine. This dome, defines an efficient fluid focussing 3D architecture. We can now more effectively select areas (explore) under cover by utilising the mappability of the architecture (signature of the system).

Presented at the Evolution and metallogenesis of the North Australian Craton Conference, 20-22 June 2006, Alice Springs. The southern Arunta region contains a number of small (<5 Mt) Zn-Cu-Pb (Ag-Au) deposits. Although none of these deposits are economic, they do indicate a moderate level of base-metal potential for this region. Most of these deposits are located in the Strangways Range, which forms part of the Aileron Province. These deposits were classified as Oonagalabi-type deposits by Warren & Shaw (1985), citing similarities in metal assemblages, alteration assemblages, and host units, and interpreted as volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) deposits. More detailed geological mapping and geochemical and geochronological data suggest that the Oonagalabi group should be subdivided further into three types, the Utnalanama-type, the re-defined Oonagalabi-type and the Johnnies-type (Hussey et al., 2005). <p>Related product:<a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/products/servlet/controller?event=GEOCAT_DETAILS&amp;catno=64764">Evolution and metallogenesis of the North Australian Craton Conference Abstracts</p>