prospectivity
Type of resources
Keywords
Publication year
Scale
Topics
-
Report on the activities of the administrative and technical sections in the Katherine-Darwin area, to March, 1954. A brief account is given of geological and geophysical operations. The results of prospecting and field work are summarised.
-
A recent Geoscience Australia geological sampling survey in the Great Australian Bight has provided new evidence for the presence of potential oil-prone source rocks in the Bight Basin. Exploratory drilling in the Bight Basin has historically concentrated on the inboard margins of the basin. Apart from Woodside's Gnarlyknots-1A well, which was drilled in the Ceduna Sub-basin in 2003, only the more proximal parts of the Cretaceous depositional systems of the basin have ever been sampled by drilling. Previous Geoscience Australia work in the Bight Basin predicted the presence of potential source rock intervals at different stratigraphic levels, including mid-Cretaceous marine or marine-influenced sediments whose source rock character was predicted to improve farther basinward. The sampling survey targeted an area at the seaward edge of the Eyre Terrace where canyon formation, slumping and faulting has exposed this Albian-Santonian section. Samples recovered from this area include a suite of carbonaceous marine siltstones and mudstones. Preliminary organic geochemical analysis has shown that some samples of Late Cenomanian-Early Turonian age recovered from the Eyre Terrace have excellent source rock potential, with high organic carbon contents (2.1-6.2% TOC) and the potential to generate liquid hydrocarbons (HI values ranging from 274 to 479 mg hydrocarbons/gTOC). These are the best source rock results yet from the Bight Basin, and demonstrate that targeting the right part of the depositional system is vital for understanding hydrocarbon source potential. 2D petroleum systems modelling of two transects from the Ceduna Sub-basin using source-specific multi-component kinetic parameters, suggests that generation and expulsion from the Late Cenomanian-Early Turonian potential source rock occurred during the mid-Campanian to Recent, resulting in potentially significant accumulations of both liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons within overlying sandstones of the Turonian-Santonian Tiger and/or latest Santonian-Maastrichtian Hammerhead supersequences.
-
During the 1952 field season a series of test traverses using magnetic and self-potential methods was carried out over the known radio-active deposits in the Rum Jungle area, to discover whether any definite anomalies were associated with surface showings of radio-active minerals. In the course of the magnetic work in Brown's area, a major magnetic anomaly was discovered south-west of the workings, and a reconnaissance magnetic survey was carried out in order to obtain information on its extent. [Technical details and the preliminary results of the survey are discussed in this report].
-
A little torbernite, reported to be associated with cassiterite, was discovered at the Yenberrie prospect, late in 1952, by Messrs. R. Young and S. Mazlin, members of a syndicate operating a battery to treat tin ore, near Mt. Todd. The area was mapped during May 1953, on a scale of 100 feet to an inch, by D.E. Gardner and N.O. Jones. The prospect was tested for radioactivity with an Austronic ratemeter, and count rates exceeding three times the local background were obtained at four localities along the main shear zone over a length of 250 feet. Samples were obtained from shallow pits and shafts sunk at three of the four localities. A plan of the area and locality maps accompany this report.
-
The Brodribb anomaly was first detected by the Bureau of Mineral Resources' aerial scintillometer survey over the Rum Jungle area in 1952. The prospect lies six miles due west of the 40 mile peg on the Stuart Highway and can be reached easily in the dry season by means of the Brodribb track. However, for several months during the wet season the track is quite impassable to heavy vehicles necessary to maintain drilling operations. Ground parties made a preliminary inspection of the area in September, 1952 and by the end of October a combined preliminary detailed geological and geophysical survey was completed (Frankovich, 1952). The results of the surveys and the consequent costeaning indicated that drilling should be carried out for a complete investigation.
-
Assessing the regional prospectivity of tight, shale and deep coal gas resources in the Cooper Basin is an integral component of the Australian Government’s Geological and Bioregional Assessment Program, which aims to encourage exploration and understand the potential impacts of resource development on water and the environment. The Permo-Triassic Cooper Basin is Australia’s premier onshore conventional hydrocarbon-producing province, yet is relatively underexplored for unconventional gas resources. A chance of success mapping workflow, using rapid integration of new and existing data, was developed to evaluate the regional distribution of key gas plays within the Gidgealpa Group. For each play type, key physical properties (e.g. lithology, formation depths and extents, source rock and reservoir characteristics, and rock mechanics) were identified and criteria were used to assign prospectivity rankings. Parameter maps for individual physical properties were classified, weighted and then combined into prospectivity confidence maps that represent each play’s relative chance of success. These combined maps show a high chance of success for tight, shale and deep coal gas plays in the Nappamerri, Patchawarra and Windorah troughs, largely consistent with exploration results to-date. The outputs of this regional screening process help identify additional areas warranting investigation, and may encourage further exploration investment in the basin. This methodology can be applied to other unconventional hydrocarbon plays in frontier and proven basins.
-
Geoscience Australia conducted a marine seismic survey (GA-0349) over poorly defined areas of the Houtman sub-basin (part of the Perth basin) between 15th of November to the 23rd of January 2015. The aim was to acquire high quality, industry-standard precompetitive 2D seismic data, Multi-beam echo-sounder (MBES) off the coast of Western Australia. The new seismic data will supplement existing geological knowledge of the region, underpin petroleum prospectivity evaluation and support the discovery of new oil gas resources.<p><p>This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes.
-
Report on the activities of the administrative and technical sections in the Katherine-Darwin area, to May, 1954. A brief account is given of geophysical operations. The results of prospecting and development work are summarised.
-
This dataset represents the results of the assessment of the potential for uranium and geothermal energy systems in the southern Northern Territory. Four uranium systems were targeted: 1) sandstone-hosted, 2) uranium-rich iron oxide-copper-gold, 3) unconformity-related, and 4) magmatic-related. These were assessed for using a 2D, GIS-based approach, and utilised a mineral systems framework. In addition to the uranium systems investigated, the potential for hot rock and hot sedimentary aquifer geothermal systems was also assessed. Only the results of the hot rock geothermal assessment are presented here, since the assessment for hot sedimentary aquifer geothermal systems is more qualitative in nature. The assessment for hot rock geothermal systems was undertaken in a 3D environment, with temperatures at depth predicted using the 3D GeoModeller software package.
-
During the 1953 field season geochemical prospecting techniques were employed as an additional tool in the search for ore deposits in the Northern Territory. Areas of particular interest were those at which radio-active minerals had already been discovered or at which radiometric anomalies were being investigated. The work thus included the already proved Rum Jungle field as well as the new prospects at Brodribb, Waterhouse, Edith River, and Coronation Hill. A direct chemical test for uranium in soils was not used, the discovery of the radio-active areas being left to the sensitive ratemeters now in use. The close association between copper and uranium was used to advantage as it is present at many of the uranium prospects in the Northern Territory. It is a logical step to use the geochemical techniques to locate new copper mineralization, and then to carry investigations further by attempting to locate uranium in the vicinity of the copper, particularly in areas covered by deep soils where ratemeters are of no use. A field test for cobalt, a metal often closely associated with both copper and uranium, was developed, but of the many samples tested for this element only one gave a positive test. It is possible that the cobalt, an element which is extremely mobile in the oxidized zone, has been completely leached and dispersed from the radio-active minerals.