<div>Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future program provides precompetitive information to inform decision-making by government, community and industry on the sustainable development of Australia's mineral, energy and groundwater resources.&nbsp;&nbsp;By gathering, analysing and interpreting new and existing precompetitive geoscience data and knowledge, we are building a national picture of Australia’s geology and resource potential.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Paleo to Mesoproterozoic Birrindudu Basin is an underexplored frontier basin located in northwestern Northern Territory and northeastern Western Australia. The Birrindudu Basin is a region of focus for the second phase of the EFTF program (2020–2024) as it contains strata of similar age to the prospective McArthur Basin, South Nicholson region and Mount Isa Province, but remains comparatively poorly understood.&nbsp;Geoscience Australia, in collaboration with the Northern Territory Geological Survey is acquiring isotopic, geochronological, geochemical and geomechanical data from drillholes intersecting the Birrindudu Basin as part of phase two of EFTF. </div><div><br></div><div>This report presents results on selected rock samples from the Birrindudu Basin, conducted by the Mawson Analytical Spectrometry Services, University of Adelaide, under contract to Geoscience Australia. These results include:</div><div>1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Carbon (δ13C), oxygen (δ18O) and strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotopes on carbonate-bearing samples, and</div><div>2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Trace element data on the leachates prepared for 87Sr/86Sr ratio analyses.</div>

<div>The Birrindudu Basin is a region of focus for the second phase of the Exploring for the Future program (EFTF; 2020–2024) as it contains strata of similar age to the prospective McArthur Basin, South Nicholson region and Mount Isa Province, but remains comparatively poorly understood.</div><div><br></div><div>In order to provide an improved understanding of the stratigraphy, basin architecture and resource potential of the Birrindudu Basin and surrounding region, Geoscience Australia, in collaboration with the Northern Territory Geological Survey and CSIRO is acquiring a range of datasets as part of phase two of EFTF. </div><div><br></div><div>This data release presents XRD results from 79 bulk core samples from the Birrindudu and McArthur basins. This report and the associated analyses were conducted by CSIRO, under contract to Geoscience Australia.</div>

<div>Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program is a multi-year Australian Government initiative, led by Geoscience Australia in partnership with State and Territory governments. The EFTF program provides precompetitive information to inform decision-making by government, community and industry on the sustainable development of Australia's mineral, energy and groundwater resources. By gathering, analysing and interpreting new and existing precompetitive geoscience data and information, we are building a national picture of Australia’s geology and resource potential. This leads to a strong economy, resilient society and sustainable environment for the benefit of all Australians. This includes supporting Australia’s transition to a low emissions economy, strong resources and agriculture sectors, and economic opportunities and social benefits for Australia’s regional and remote communities. The EFTF program, which commenced in 2016, is an eight year, $225 million investment by the Australian Government.</div><div><br></div><div>This report presents the results of Grains with Oil Inclusions (GOI™) and Frequency of Oil Inclusions (FOI™) on rock samples from three selected drill holes across the Birrindudu Basin. Forty-five samples were obtained from drill holes WLMB001B, ANT003 and 99VRNTGSDD1. GOI™ and FOI™ was conducted on sedimentary and carbonate vein lithologies to investigate the potential presence of oil inclusions. Oil inclusions were recorded in samples taken from drill holes WLMB001B and ANT003, but not 99VRNTGSDD1. Analysis was undertaken by CSIRO under contract to Geoscience Australia.</div>