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A seismic reflection traverse on portion of the Giralia anticline was conducted by the Bereau of Mineral Resources (BMR). This work constitutes a part of a general programme of investigation which the BMR, Geology and Geophysics, has been carrying out on Permit areas held by Ampol Petroleum Ltd. in this area. The purpose of the survey is to idenfy the proposed geology structure in this region based on the previous geology surveys.

The Desert Basin covers an area of approximately 140,000 square miles in the Kimberley and Eastern Divisions of Western Australia. Geological investigations have been almost entirely confined to the northern part of the area; the southern part is covered by parallel sand-dunes with a few scattered outcrops and is relatively unexplored. A programme of geological mapping was initiated in the area by the Commonwealth Government in 1948. The entire area is being mapped, using aerial photographs, stratigraphic studies are made and fossils are collected for correlation purposes. The aim of the investigation is the evaluation of the petroleum prospects of the area. During the period 1948 to 1950, mapping has been carried out in Dampier Land and the area north of the Mt. Fenton Fault. The information in this paper will refer mainly to the area already mapped with brief reference to the unexplored area to the south.

This report covers the results of a seismic reflection traverse on a portion of the Giralia anticline which has been mapped in Mesozoic and Tertiary rocks in the North-West basin. The work constitutes a part of a general programme of investigation which the Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics, has been carrying out on Permit areas held by Ampol Petroleum Ltd. in this area. The seismic traverse described herein lies along the main road joining Giralia and Bullara homesteads and crosses the northern end of the Giralia structure. Tests were made with shooting in shot holes and also by air shooting. In addition, a refraction spread was shot along the axis of the anticline. This report gives an account of this investigation. Technical matters, such as interpretation technique and the symbols used in plotting results, are briefly noted. The results of the study and subsequent conclusions are discussed.

The presence of native sulphur on the slopes of Mt. Suretamatai, Vanua Lava Island, Banks Group has been known since 1887 or earlier, and many claims, most of them extravagant, have been made regarding the potential value of the deposits. More recently manganese has been reported on the island of Maewo, and there have been unsubstantiated rumours of the presences of nickel, chromite, copper, cobalt, gold and coal, as well as sulphur on islands other than Vanua Lava. With the examination of the sulphur and manganese deposits as the principal object, the writer visited the New Hebrides from 7th July to 14th August 1951, and took the opportunity of following up the rumoured occurrences of economic minerals as far as circumstances permitted. This report gives an account of the visit and its findings.

The Northern Territory is an integral part of the great Australian Pre-Cambrian shield which underlies almost the whole of Western Australia and the Northern Territory, much of South Australia and portions of New South Wales and Queensland. In most parts of the Continent, Pre-Cambrian rocks were welded into a stable shield before the end of Pre-Cambrian time, and in the Northern Territory itself the structural framework was established, and most of the mineral deposits introduced by an orogeny which terminated geosynclinal sedimentation about the end of the Lower Proterozoic. This discussion of the structure of the Territory in relation to mineralization is mainly concerned with Pre-Cambrian, and in particular with Lower Proterozoic rocks. Only a broad outline of the subject is given here.

The samples from Margaret Bay were collected by H.B. Owen during a recent visit to the northern coast of Australia. The collection was made with the hope that microfossils may be found in the rocks which were collected from a twenty foot section exposed at Margaret Bay. The results of the micropalaeontological examination are discussed herein.

The possibility of diverting the Upper Snowy River to provide water for irrigation has been a subject of discussion since 1884. The Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Authority was constituted in 1949. As the body responsible for the detailed investigation of the geology of the area it was thought desirable to publish the geological work which has been done in the Snowy Mountains region. With the authority of the Under-Secretary of the Department of Mines, New South Wales, the reports by members of the Geological Survey of New South Wales are included together with reports by geologists of the Commonwealth Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics. Reports included in this publications are: "Geology - Jindabyne to Murrumbidgee River", "Reconnaissance Survey of Dam Site at Geehi, Swampy Plain River, N.S.W", "Geological Reconnaissance of the Proposed Hydro-Electric Works in the Kosciusko Area", "Geological Reconnaissance - Eucumbene River to Tumut River", and "Geological Reconnaissance - Murrumbidgee - Tumut Area".

Ore reserves in the Geiger-Main and Whip Lodes at Radium Hill have been calculated from up-to-date plans and assay data provided by the South Australian Mines Department and results obtained agree closely with estimates made by the Mines Department. Tonnage of ore (not including dilution) to 600 feet depth on Geiger-Main and Whip Lodes and to 400 feet in Main Lode South block is estimated at 337,500 tons containing 938 tons U3O8, corresponding to an approximate average of 160 tons U3O8 per 100 feet of vertical depth. The data used, method of calculation, and results, are discussed at length in this report.

The presence of bauxite on one of the Wessel Islands was established in 1949 when specimens of laterite collected from various parts of the Arnhem Land coast were analysed. In October, 1951, the writer spent two days on Marchinbar Island and examined several small laterite residuals and part of one large deposit. The characteristics and distribution of the laterite are discussed in this report.