The Pine Creek AEM survey was flown over the Pine Creek Orogen in the Northern Territory during 2008 and 2009 as part of the Australian Government's Onshore Energy Security Program at Geoscience Australia (GA). The survey provides pre-competitive data for enhancing uranium and other mineral exploration. Flight line spacing was 1666 m and 5000 m covering an area of 74,000 km2 (roughly the size of Tasmania) which hosts several uranium deposits, including the Ranger Uranium Mine, Rum jungle, Ranger and Nabarlek. The region is also prospective for metals including copper, lead, zinc, gold, tin, rare earths, tantalum, tungsten, molybdenum and nickel. The Pine Creek AEM survey comprises three areas: Kombolgie to the east of Kakadu National Park; Woolner Granite near Darwin; and, Rum Jungle to the west of Kakadu National Park. Collaboration with the National Water Commission and eight private infill companies brought an additional investment of approximately $1 m into the survey, with follow-up exploration equal to or exceeding this amount. The Woolner Granite and Rum Jungle survey area data were acquired using the TEMPEST fixed wing AEM system. The acquisition and processing were carried out by Fugro Airborne Surveys Pty. Ltd., under contract to GA. The Woolner Granite and Rum Jungle surveys were flown between August 2008 and May 2009 and the data were publicly released by GA in July and September 2009 respectively. In the Kombolgie survey area, the data were acquired a by Geotech Airborne Pty. Ltd. using the VTEM helicopter AEM system. The survey was flown between August and November of 2008, and additional calibration flights relating to the survey were flown in April 2009. The Kombolgie data were publicly released by GA in December 2009.

Geoscience Australia (GA) has recently released regional airborne electromagnetic data (AEM) in two survey areas of the Pine Creek region. The Woolner Granite-Rum Jungle survey in the western part of the region was flown using TEMPESTTM and the Kombolgie survey in the eastern part was flown using VTEMTM. These data assist in mapping geological features deemed to be critical for fertile unconformity-related uranium and sandstone-hosted uranium systems. These mapped features in combination with other datasets are used to assess the prospectivity of uranium systems.

Short article describing detection of interpreted unconformity between Coolbro Sandstone and Rudall Complex rocks near the Kintyre uranium deposit, Western Australia

Geoscience Australia (GA) is a leading promoter of airborne electromagnetic (AEM) surveying for regional mapping of cover thickness, under-cover basement geology and sedimentary basin architecture. Geoscience Australia flew three regional AEM surveys during the 2006-2011 Onshore Energy Security Program (OESP): Paterson (Western Australia, 2007-08); Pine Creek-Kombolgie (Northern Territory, 2009); and Frome (South Australia, 2010). Results from these surveys have produced a new understanding of the architecture of critical mineral system elements and mineral prospectivity (for a wide range of commodities) of these regions in the regolith, sedimentary basins and buried basement terrains. The OESP AEM survey data were processed using the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) at the Australian National University to produce GIS-ready interpretation products and GOCADTM objects. The AEM data link scattered stratigraphic boreholes and seismic lines and allow the extrapolation of these 1D and 2D objects into 3D, often to explorable depths (~ 500 m). These data sets can then be combined with solid geology interpretations to allow researchers in government, industry and academia to build more reliable 3D models of basement geology, unconformities, the depth of weathering, structures, sedimentary facies changes and basin architecture across a wide area. The AEM data can also be used to describe the depth of weathering on unconformity surfaces that affects the geophysical signatures of underlying rocks. A number of 3D models developed at GA interpret the under-cover geology of cratons and mobile zones, the unconformity surfaces between these and the overlying sedimentary basins, and the architecture of those basins. These models are constructed primarily from AEM data using stratigraphic borehole control and show how AEM data can be used to map the cross-over area between surface geological mapping, stratigraphic drilling and seismic reflection mapping. These models can be used by minerals explorers to more confidently explore in areas of shallow to moderate sedimentary basin cover by providing more accurate cover thickness and depth to target information. The impacts of the three OESP AEM surveys are now beginning to be recognised. The success of the Paterson AEM Survey has led to the Geological Survey of Western Australia announcing a series of OESP-style regional AEM surveys for the future, the first of which (the Capricorn Orogen AEM Survey) completed acquisition in January 2014. Several new discoveries have been attributed to the OESP AEM data sets including deposits at Yeneena (copper) and Beadell (copper-lead-zinc) in the Paterson region, Thunderball (uranium) in the Pine Creek region and Farina (copper) in the Frome region. New tenements for uranium, copper and gold have also been announced on the results of these surveys. Regional AEM is now being applied in a joint State and Commonwealth Government initiative between GA, the Geological Survey of Queensland and the Geological Survey of New South Wales to assess the geology and prospectivity of the Southern Thomson Orogen around Hungerford and Eulo. These data will be used to map the depth of the unconformity between the Thomson Orogen rocks and overlying sedimentary basins, interpret the nature of covered basement rocks and provide more reliable cover thickness and depth to target information for explorers in this frontier area.

Airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data are being acquired by Geoscience Australia (GA) under the Australian Government's Onshore Energy Security Program (OESP) in areas considered to have potential for uranium or thorium mineralisation. In contrast to deposit-scale investigations carried out by industry these surveys are designed to reveal new geological information at a regional scale. The Frome AEM survey shown in Figure 1 was flown by Fugro Airborne Surveys for GA, using the TEMPESTTM time-domain system. The survey was conducted with the aims of reducing exploration risk, stimulating exploration investment and enhancing prospectivity within the region primarily for uranium, but also for other commodities including copper, gold, silver, lead, zinc, iron ore and potable groundwater. The Frome AEM survey was primarily designed to be a regional mapping program for mapping surface and subsurface geological features that may be associated with sandstone-hosted uranium systems. The data are also capable of being interpreted for landscape evolution studies within the flanks of the tectonically active Curnamona Province and Flinders Ranges of South Australia. In this article we present an enhanced set of conductivity estimates which are now available from the GA website free of charge. These conductivity estimates reveal new geological information

The National Geochemical Survey of Australia project represents an essential component of the Australian Government's Onshore Energy Security Initiative. The national geochemical survey involves the use of field-tested methods for collection and analysis of transported regolith samples representative of catchments covering most of Australia. The project is a collaboration between Geoscience Australia and State and Northern Territory geoscience agencies, which will provide an internally consistent geochemical dataset useful for calibration and ground-truthing of airborne radiometrics surveys. The survey also will help to fill gaps in current airborne radiometrics and geochemical coverages of Australia, provide multi-element characterisation and ranking of radiometric anomalies and aid in first-order investigation of the nature of geothermal hot-spots. As a result it will support and add value to numerous other Onshore Energy Security Initiative projects and have wider applications in mineral exploration and in environmental assessment and management. This report details the methodology underpinning the determination of the theoretical sampling points using terrain and hydrological analysis; and the protocols for sample collection. It will be used for knowledge transfer during training sessions for the State and Northern Territory field parties who also will receive field equipment and consumables which will ensure there is consistent sampling throughout the project. A digital data entry template has been designed to enable efficient and consistent in-field data capture, which also will streamline data entry into Geoscience Australia's corporate databases.

The record is a presentation given by Adrian Fisher to staff of the Aditya-Birla Nifty copper mine and to staff at the Geological Survey of Western Australia, August 2007. It describes the planning behind the Paterson AEM survey, to be acquired in 2007-2008.

Geoscience Australia contracted an airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey over the Frome Embayment, South Australia, under the Australian Government's Onshore Energy Security Program. The Frome AEM survey was acquired using the Fugro Airborne Surveys (FAS) TEMPEST fixed wing time-domain electromagnetic (TEM) AEM system. The acquisition and processing of data were carried out by FAS under contract to Geoscience Australia. The Frome AEM survey consists of 32 300 line km, covering a total area of 95 000 km2 and was flown between 19 May and 2 November 2010. The survey was designed to deliver reliable, pre-competitive AEM data and scientific analysis of the energy resource potential of the Frome region of South Australia, including the flanks of the Northern Flinders Ranges, the Frome Embayment, the Olary Ranges and the northwestern Murray Basin. The survey data may also be used as an input to groundwater studies in the region. This presentation was given at a Frome AEM Workshop in Adelaide - November 2011.

As part of its Energy Security Initiative, the Australian Government allocated Geoscience Australia $59 million in August 2006, to undertake a five-year Onshore Energy Security Program. This is designed to deliver precompetitive geoscience data and scientifically-based assessments to reduce the rick in exploration for onshore energy resources, including petroleum, uranium, thorium and geothermal energy. The work is being conducted in collaboration with the State and territory geological surveys and is scheduled for completion in June 2011.

Airborne Electromagnetic data are being acquired by Geoscience Australia in areas considered to have potential for uranium or thorium mineralisation under the Australian Government's Onshore Energy Security Program (OESP). The surveys have been managed and interpreted by Geoscience Australia's Airborne Electromagnetic Acquisition and Interpretation project. Three survey areas were recognised in the Pine Creek AEM survey area: Woolner Granite (TEMPEST), Rum Jungle (TEMPEST) and Kombolgie (VTEM). Industry paid for infill - all of this data has now been released to the public domain and is available at the GA website. In contrast to industry style deposit scale investigations, these surveys are designed to reveal new geological information at regional scale. The Pine Creek airborne electromagnetic data were acquired at line spacing's of between one and five kilometres, a total of 29 000 line km and covers an area of 73 000 km squared. The outcomes of the Pine Creek AEM survey include mapping of subsurface geological features that are associated with unconformity-related, sandstone-hosted and palaeovalley-hosted uranium mineralisation. The data are also capable of interpretation for other commodities including metals and potable water as well as for landscape evolution studies. The improved understanding of the regional geology resulting from the Pine Creek survey results will be of considerable benefit to mining and mineral exploration companies. This Data Package is for Archive to the internal area of the CDS and contains all data, grids, images, mxd, shape files, documentation, licenses, agreements, interpretations and scripts used to create the Pine Creek deliverables. At the projects completion (2012) all directories are required to be moved off the NAS. The reason to keep all the files is that more work is to be done on this data in the 2012-2015 period and these files may be needed in this future work.