Exploring for the Future (EFTF) is a $225 million initiative by the Australian Government conducted in partnership with state and Northern Territory government agencies and universities that aims to boost northern Australia's attractiveness as a destination for investment in resource exploration. A complementary initiative, the Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) is a Western Australian State-Government initiative that aims to encourage exploration in Western Australia for the long-term sustainability of the State’s resources sector. The Kidson Sub-basin seismic survey (18GA-KB1 or L211) was acquired as part of EFTF and the EIS, as a collaboration between Geoscience Australia and the Geological Survey of Western Australia (Resource Strategy Division). The 872 km long seismic line was acquired in an east-southeast to west-northwest orientation, on the road between the Kiwirrkurra community in the east, to approximately 20 km from Marble Bar, near the West Australian coast. The primary aims of the seismic survey were to better understand the subsurface geology, crustal architecture and spatial extents of basin and basement terrains. Crucially, the seismic survey was planned to address a lack of coherent seismic data across the Kidson Sub-basin, onshore Canning Basin and to increase the resource prospectivity of the region. The seismic survey imaged the following subdivisions of the Canning Basin: the Wallal Embayment Barnicarndy Graben, Anketell Shelf, and the Kidson Sub-basin, The survey also imaged several pre-Phanerozoic basement terrains, and several seismically distinct, mid to-lower crustal tectonic provinces. This report comprises a summary of the basement and basin geology, mineral and energy systems of the area, and an interpretation of the newly acquired seismic data.

The Onshore Seismic Data Collection includes regional crustal scale seismic datasets across the Australian Continent collected by Geoscience Australia (GA) and its predecessors, the Bureau of Mineral Resources (BMR) and Australian Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO) in collaboration with the State and Territory Geological Surveys, Australian National Seismic Imaging Resource (ANSIR) ( National Research Facility for Earth Sounding), AuScope Earth Imaging (under the Australian Government's National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy), Universities and other industry and research partners. The collection preserves raw and processed seismic data. The GIS dataset of Onshore Seismic Surveys from 1976 to present (updated May 2019) shows locations of seismic recording stations (the original ecat <a href="https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/100802">100802</a>). It is generated from a database containing coordinates of all Geoscience Australia's seismic traverses. This Shape file enables users to display seismic lines on a map and contains links to data packages available for free download. < b>Value: </b>Data used to expand the geoscientific understanding of the earth's crustal structure and provide new insights into Australia's onshore energy and mineral potential. This data can be used for the assessment of resource potential. <b>Scope: </b>Primarily targeted regional crustal scale cross-sections (2D) for research purposes. <b> To view the seismic dataset by state use the following URL: </b> https://www.ga.gov.au/about/projects/resources/seismic

This is a collection of continuous seismic records gathered by temporal and semi-permanent seismic deployments where real-time data transmission was not available. Time spans vary from half an hour to more than a year depending on the purpose of the survey. Description of the employed instrumentation and array constellations can be found in the accompanied material. <b>Value: </b>Passive seismic data contains records of soil vibration due to the natural earth movements, ocean, weather, and anthropogenic activities. This data is used in ongoing research to infer national lithospheric structure from depth of a few meters to a hundred kilometres. Derived models are an important source of information for assessment of resource potential and natural hazard. <b>Scope: </b>Over time, surveys have been focused on areas of economic interest, current work of the Australian Passive Seismic Array Project (AusArray) is seeking to create a grid pattern, spaced ~55 km apart, and complemented by semi-permanent higher sensitivity broadband seismic stations. For more information about AusArray click on the following URL: <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/eftf/minerals/nawa/ausarray">https://www.ga.gov.au/eftf/minerals/nawa/ausarray</a> <b>Data from phase 1 are available on request from clientservices@ga.gov.au - Quote eCat# 135284</b>

Magnetotellurics (MT) is a passive geophysical method which uses natural time variations of the Earth's magnetic and electric fields to measure the electrical resistivity of the sub-surface. Electrical resistivity is a bulk property of a volume of Earth material and is associated with factors such as rock composition, porosity and permeability as well as temperature and pressure. The Magnetotelurics (MT) Data Collection includes datasets from The Australian Lithospheric Architecture Magnetotelluric Project (AusLAMP) and regional-scale MT surveys across the Australian continent. These data were collected by Geoscience Australia in collaboration with the State and Territory Geological Surveys and other partners. <b>Value: </b>Magnetotelluric data to expand the geoscientific understanding of the earth's lithospheric structure and provide new insights into Australia's onshore energy and mineral potential. <b>Scope: </b>AusLAMP is being conducted over multiple years to create a national MT dataset and map lithospheric structure of the Australian continent. MT data have also been acquired for mapping crustal structure and resource potential at regional scale. These data provide valuable information for multi-disciplinary interpretations. To view the magnetotellurics data via the Geoscience Australia internet page click on the following URL: <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/about/projects/resources/regional-mt-program">https://www.ga.gov.au/about/projects/resources/regional-mt-program</a> For further information about the Australian Lithospheric Architecture Magnetotelluric Project (AusLAMP) click on the following URL: <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/about/projects/resources/auslamp">https://www.ga.gov.au/about/projects/resources/auslamp</a>