The Historical Bushfire Boundaries service represents the aggregation of jurisdictional supplied burnt areas polygons stemming from the early 1900's through to 2022 (excluding the Northern Territory). The burnt area data represents curated jurisdictional owned polygons of both bushfires and prescribed (planned) burns. To ensure the dataset adhered to the nationally approved and agreed data dictionary for fire history Geoscience Australia had to modify some of the attributes presented. The information provided within this service is reflective only of data supplied by participating authoritative agencies and may or may not represent all fire history within a state.

<div>The Abbot Point to Hydrographers Passage bathymetry survey was acquired for the Australian Hydrographic Office (AHO) onboard the RV Escape during the period 6 Oct 2020 – 16 Mar 2021. This was a contracted survey conducted for the Australian Hydrographic Office by iXblue Pty Ltd as part of the Hydroscheme Industry Partnership Program. The survey area encompases a section of Two-Way Route from Abbot Point through Hydrographers Passage QLD. Bathymetry data was acquired using a Kongsberg EM 2040, and processed using QPS QINSy. The dataset was then exported as a 30m resolution, 32 bit floating point GeoTIFF grid of the survey area.</div><div>This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes.</div>

The world is turning to the minerals sector to meet sustainable development goals on the path to net zero emissions, buoyed by modern manufacturing. Discovery and development of new and varied mineral deposits is essential to reach these goals. However, despite concerted efforts, exploration success rates are in decline globally. To provide an advantage to Australia’s mineral sector, the Australian Government has significantly invested in precompetitive geoscience to unlock both geographic and conceptual frontiers for further exploration and discovery by private industry. Over the last decade, Geoscience Australia, in collaboration with state/territory geological surveys and academia, has undertaken geoscience data acquisition and analysis at an unprecedented scale aligned with UNCOVER initiative through programs like Exploring for the Future. This strategic move has reversed Australia’s declining market share of global exploration investment, stimulated new minerals industries, led to the discovery of world-class mineral deposits, and opened new undercover provinces for exploration. Here, I highlight some key successes, consider some key challenges, and suggest a future direction for precompetitive geoscience. Australia is at the forefront of mineral systems science underpinned by world-leading standardised national geological and geophysical (i.e. potential field) data coverages. Acquired at increasing resolution over decades, they have been at the vanguard of mineral exploration as they effectively map lateral geological changes yet provide limited and non-unique insights with depth. Recognising mineral deposits are the consequence of large geological systems, a critical step change in the last decade has been a focus on extensive first-pass or framework 3D imaging of the Australian continent through the systematic collection of magnetotelluric (AusLAMP), passive seismic (AusArray) and airborne electromagnetic (AusAEM) data, supplemented by higher fidelity deep reflection seismic profiles. Aided by significant advances in geophysical processing, Bayesian inference and big data analytics, when integrated with classic geoscience these datasets are revealing new first-order controls on mineralisation and identifying new exploration opportunities. Examples include discovery of lithospheric thickness controls on sediment-hosted base-metal deposits, clear scale reduction approaches to targeting iron oxide-copper-gold systems using electrical methods and mapping source rocks of hydrothermal systems. Using statistical modelling, the predictive power of each dataset or derivative can be assessed allowing an unbiased national view of Australia’s mineral potential to emerge. Importantly, these advances are coupled with recommencement of stratigraphic drilling programs to test inference and demonstrably reduce risk of exploring in frontier regions. Systematic quantitative mineral potential analysis rapidly highlights the importance of data consistency, completeness, and the robustness of validation datasets and in so doing reaffirms the critical role geological surveys play as custodians of this information. The diversification of mineral demand to include critical minerals has both leveraged this information to identify new types of mineral deposits but also highlights the youthfulness of mineral systems science. In response there are growing international efforts to grow understanding of minerals systems science for all elements to enable exploration for critical minerals and realise secondary prospectivity of mine waste. The wave of 3D imaging of Australia is developing a framework 3D digital twin and national scale mineral potential models are emerging. The challenge for precompetitive geoscience is to strategically infill this coverage to further accelerate exploration and development by industry. However, given competing land use claims and increasing environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements on the minerals sector, success requires a common understanding of subsurface geology across minerals, energy and groundwater industries, which dovetails with surficial, social and governance datasets. Delivery of such integrated subsurface understanding is an exciting and vital challenge for geological surveys and their collaborators.

The Historical Bushfire Boundaries service represents the aggregation of jurisdictional supplied burnt areas polygons stemming from the early 1900's through to 2022 (excluding the Northern Territory). The burnt area data represents curated jurisdictional owned polygons of both bushfires and prescribed (planned) burns. To ensure the dataset adhered to the nationally approved and agreed data dictionary for fire history Geoscience Australia had to modify some of the attributes presented. The information provided within this service is reflective only of data supplied by participating authoritative agencies and may or may not represent all fire history within a state

The Historical Bushfire Boundaries service represents the aggregation of jurisdictional supplied burnt areas polygons stemming from the early 1900's through to 2022 (excluding the Northern Territory). The burnt area data represents curated jurisdictional owned polygons of both bushfires and prescribed (planned) burns. To ensure the dataset adhered to the nationally approved and agreed data dictionary for fire history Geoscience Australia had to modify some of the attributes presented. The information provided within this service is reflective only of data supplied by participating authoritative agencies and may or may not represent all fire history within a state.

<div>The Exploring for the Future program is a world leading program, delivering public geoscientific data and information required to empower decision-makers and attract future investment in resource exploration and development. Geoscience Australia engaged Alluvium Consulting Australia to quantify the impact and value of groundwater activities and outputs to the quadruple bottom line through an evaluation of 2 case studies, namely: • National Hydrogeological Mapping • The Southern Stuart Corridor project. This involved understanding the impact pathways for these case studies and the collection of data to be used in a cost benefit analysis. The work sought to provide feedback to Geoscience Australia, stakeholder groups and the broader community on the value of Geoscience Australia’s groundwater activities. The case study evaluations were facilitated by a series of specific questions, which were developed to guide data collection and the building of a knowledge base around the impact and value of the work in each case study and associated outputs. The questions broadly fell under the following categories: 1. Uptake and Usage 2. Impact 3. Benefit These evaluations were framed around the program impact pathway developed for each case study. This is a description of how inputs are used to deliver activities, which in turn result in outcomes and impacts (changes) for stakeholders, including the environment. The primary means of data collection to help answer the key evaluation questions was through online workshops and interviews with key stakeholders for each case study. These were undertaken between March 10 and March 24, 2023. In these workshops and interviews, representatives from industry, community and government agencies were asked if they could identify instances where case study program outputs were used for particular purposes, such as prioritising research or investment, advising Members of Parliament, or education and training. These examples were then explored further to understand what outcomes and benefits were derived from the use of the case study outputs, and how critical were the case study outputs to achieving those outcomes and benefits</div>

This work is a part of an investigation of mineralisation associated with the extensive Kennedy Igneous Association (Champion & Bultitude, 2013) in North Queensland. This part of the project involves U–Pb zircon geochronology of magmatic rocks that are associated with gold mineralisation. By doing this we hope to identify key time-periods of magmatic activity that can be used by explorers to better focus their exploration efforts and assist with the development of new tectono-metallogenic models. Earlier results published by Cross et al. (2019) and Kositcin et al. (2016) in the Jardine Subprovince of the Kennedy Igneous Association in Cape York, for the first time, demonstrated a strong association between gold mineralisation and early Permian (285–280 Ma) felsic dykes that intrude either Proterozoic metamorphic rocks or Devonian granites of the Cape York Batholith. The SHRIMP U–Pb zircon results reported here come from three magmatic rocks, Badu Granite (2678819/QFG8689E), Horn Island Granite (2678820/QFG8800A) and unnamed rhyolite (2678818/QFG8798A), that were sampled from exploration drill core, drilled by Alice Queen Limited on behalf of its subsidiary company, Kauraru Gold Pty Ltd between 2016 and 2017 on the western margins of the historic Horn Island gold mine. Prior to this work, magmatic rocks of the Badu Supersuite on Horn Island were attributed to the Jardine Subprovince of the Kennedy Igneous Association (Champion & Bultitude 2013). The Badu Supersuite comprises the Badu Suite (Badu Granite, Horn Island Granite and unmineralised porphyritic dykes; von Gnielinski et al., 1997) and the Torres Strait Volcanic Group. Gold mineralisation on Horn Island is intrusion-related and occurs within narrow quartz veins that contain native gold and sulphide mineralisation (Alice Queen Limited, 2021) that cut both the Badu and Horn Island granites but not the late-stage porphyritic dykes (von Gnielinski, 1996; von Gnielinski et al., 1997). Historical K–Ar ages from 286–302 Ma for Badu Suite intrusives (Richards and Willmott, 1970) were used to imply a late Carboniferous to early Permian age for the Torres Strait Volcanic Group. Recently however, two units from the Torres Strait Volcanic Group, the Endeavour Strait Ignimbrite and the ‘Bluffs Quarry’ rhyolite dyke yielded SHRIMP 206Pb/238U ages of 349.2 ± 3.1 Ma (Cross et al., 2019) and 353.4 ± 2.2 Ma (Kositcin et al., 2016), respectively, placing this group in the early Carboniferous. Two of the samples, the Badu Granite (2678819/QFG8689E) and Horn Island Granite (2678820/QFG8800A) gave indistinguishable 206Pb/238U results within analytical uncertainty (MSWD = 1.6, POF = 0.21) of 342.8 ± 1.9 Ma and 344.4 ± 1.7 Ma, respectively. The unmineralised, cross cutting, unnamed rhyolite (2678818/QFG8798A) has a significantly younger 206Pb/238U age of 309.9 ± 1.5 Ma. These results demonstrate that the Badu Granite and Horn Island Granite are early Carboniferous in age and not early Permian as previously thought. The historical K–Ar ages (302–286 Ma) for Badu Suite intrusives are interpreted to record thermal resetting. Together with the ca 350 Ma crystallisation ages for two units from the Torres Strait Volcanic Group (Cross et al., 2019; Kositcin et al., 2016), these new results reveal that magmatic crystallisation ages for the Badu Supersuite range between ca 350 Ma and 310 Ma. As such, the Badu Supersuite, along with the Black Cap Diorite (350.7 ± 1.3 Ma; Murgulov et al., 2009) near Georgetown, represents the earliest phase of magmatism associated with the early Carboniferous to late Permian, Kennedy Igneous Association. Consequently, the Badu Supersuite including the Badu Suite and the Torres Strait Volcanic Group are now seen to belong to a newly named Torres Strait Subprovince, which is distinctly older than the Jardine Subprovince on Cape York Peninsula. Additionally, these results constrain the timing of gold mineralisation at Horn Island to between a maximum age at ca 344 Ma provided by the host granites and a minimum age at ca 310 Ma constrained by the rhyolite dyke (2678818/QFG8798A). These constraints for the timing of gold mineralisation at Horn Island are further supported by unpublished results presented by Lisitsin & Dhnaram (2019a, b). These workers mention preliminary ca 342–344 Ma Re–Os molybdenite ages from two samples of quartz-molybdenite veins that cut the Badu Granite and an Ar–Ar age from sericite alteration associated with a quartz-sulphide-gold vein at ca 320 Ma that they considered to best represent the timing of gold mineralisation. The new SHRIMP U–Pb zircon ages presented here for magmatic rocks of the Badu Suite, reveal the association between gold mineralisation and early Carboniferous magmatism associated with the newly named Torres Strait Subprovince of the Kennedy Igneous Association.

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. 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. This leads to a strong economy, resilient society and sustainable environment for the benefit of all Australians. This includes supporting Australia’s transition to net zero emissions, strong, sustainable resources and agriculture sectors, and economic opportunities and social benefits for Australia’s regional and remote communities. The Exploring for the Future program, which commenced in 2016, is an eight year, $225m investment by the Australian Government. This package contains data generated in the field as part of stratigraphic drilling operations in the Delamerian region of the western New South Wales during 2023 funded through the Exploring for the Future program. A range of geological, geophysical and geochemical data are included, as well as associated borehole information such as core photographs. The data can be viewed and downloaded via the Geoscience Australia Portal - https://portal.ga.gov.au/. The data that is available is from several databases which are associated to this record. <i>These data are published with the permission of the CEO, Geoscience Australia. </i>

<div>Lateral variation in maturity of potential Devonian source rocks in the Adavale Basin has been investigated using nine 1D burial, thermal and petroleum generation history models, constructed using existing open file data. These models provide an estimate of the hydrocarbon generation potential of the basin. Total organic carbon (TOC) content and pyrolysis data indicate that the Log Creek Formation, Bury Limestone and shale units of the Buckabie Formation have the most potential as source rocks. The Log Creek Formation and the Bury Limestone are the most likely targets for unconventional gas exploration.</div><div>The models were constructed using geological information from well completion reports to assign formation tops and stratigraphic ages, and then forward model the evolution of geophysical parameters. The rock parameters, including facies, temperature, organic geochemistry and petrology, were used to investigate source rock quality, maturity and kerogen type. Suitable boundary conditions were assigned for paleo-heat flow, paleo-surface temperature and paleo-water depth. The resulting models were calibrated using bottom hole temperature and measured vitrinite reflectance data.</div><div>The results correspond well with published heat flow predictions, although a few wells show possible localised heat effects that differ from the basin average. The models indicate that three major burial events contribute to the maturation of the Devonian source rocks, the first occurring from the Late Devonian to early Carboniferous during maximum deposition of the Adavale Basin, the second in the Late Triassic during maximum deposition of the Galilee Basin, and the third in the Late Cretaceous during maximum deposition of the Eromanga Basin. Generation in the southeastern area appears to have not been effected by the second and third burial events, with hydrocarbon generation only modelled during the Late Devonian to early Carboniferous event. This suggests that Galilee Basin deposition was not significant or was absent in this area. Any potential hydrocarbon accumulations could be trapped in Devonian sandstone, limestone and mudstone units, as well as overlying younger sediments of the Mesozoic Eromanga Basin. Migration of the expelled hydrocarbons may be restricted by overlying regional seals, such as the Wallumbilla Formation of the Eromanga Basin. Unconventional hydrocarbons are a likely target for exploration in the Adavale Basin, with potential for tight or shale gas from the Log Creek Formation and Bury Limestone in favourable areas.</div>

The Exploring for the Future program Showcase 2023 was held on 15-17 August 2023. Day 2 - 16th August talks included: Highways to Discovery and Understanding Session AusAEM - Unraveling Australia's Landscape with Airborne Electromagnetics – Dr Yusen Ley Cooper Exploring for the Future Data Discovery Portal: A scenic tour – Simon van der Wielen Towards equitable access to regional geoscience information– Dr Kathryn Waltenberg Community engagement and geoscience knowledge sharing: towards inclusive national data and knowledge provision – Dr Meredith Orr Foundational Geoscience Session The power of national scale geological mapping – Dr Eloise Beyer New surface mineralogical and geochemical maps of Australia – Dr Patrice de Caritat Imaging Australia’s Lithospheric Architecture – Dr Babak Hejrani Metallogenic Potential of the Delamerian Margin– Dr Yanbo Cheng You can access the recording of the talks from YouTube here: <a href="https://youtu.be/ZPp2sv2nuXI">2023 Showcase Day 2 - Part 1</a> <a href="https://youtu.be/dvqP8Z5yVtY">2023 Showcase Day 2 - Part 2</a>