This report presents groundwater level information collected during Geoscience Australia’s Musgrave Palaeovalley Project. The Musgrave Palaeovalley Project was conducted as part of Exploring for the Future (EFTF), an Australian Government funded geoscience data and information acquisition program. The eight-year, $225 million program aims to deliver new geoscience data and knowledge to inform decision-making by government, community, and industry on the sustainable development of Australia's mineral, energy, and groundwater resources.</div><div>Groundwater level data was collected during two hydrogeochemical surveys undertaken in March and May 2023 based around the remote communities of Warburton, Kaltukatjara, Wanarn, Blackstone and Jameson in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Sixteen bores were measured for their groundwater levels. The results are contained herein and within the attached CSV file.

<div>Non-technical summaries of groundwater in the remote communities of Warburton, Kaltukatjara (Docker River), Warakurna, Wingellina, Wanarn, Mantamaru (Jameson) and Papulankutja (Blackstone). These summaries are based on research undertaken as part of the Musgrave Palaeovalley Project and full results are available in the Musgrave Palaeovalley Project Synthesis Report (https://dx.doi.org/10.26186/149406).</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. 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. 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. Geoscience Australia have undertaken (via the service provider, FIT, Schlumberger) stratigraphic reconstructions of bulk volatile chemistry from fluid inclusions from an mineral exploration drillhole LBD2, Birrindudu Basin, located in the northwest Northern Territory This ecat record releases the final report and raw data files (*.LAS) by FIT Schlumberger. Company reference number FI230005a.

<div>The Birrindudu Basin is a region of focus for the second phase of the Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program (2020–2024). The Paleo to Mesoproterozoic Birrindudu Basin is an underexplored frontier basin located in northwestern Northern Territory and northeastern Western Australia. Interpretation of industry seismic data indicates it contains strata of similar age to the prospective McArthur Basin, South Nicholson region and Mount Isa Province, but remains comparatively poorly understood. Furthermore, much of the age of the stratigraphy of the Birrindudu Basin, particularly the younger stratigraphic units, and regional correlations to the greater McArthur Basin remains provisional and speculative.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>This report presents data from Rock-Eval pyrolysis analyses undertaken by Geoscience Australia on selected rock samples to establish their total organic carbon content, hydrocarbon-generating potential and thermal maturity from 178 drill core samples from six drill holes intersecting units of the Birrindudu Basin including: 99VRNTGSDD1, 99VRNTGSDD2, WLMB001B, LBD2, LMDH4, and ANT003. </div><div><br></div>

<div>The Northwest Northern Territory Seismic Survey (NW NT Seismic Survey) was acquired as part of the Australian Government's Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program, conducted from 5 August to 20 September 2023. This ambitious project is a collaboration between Geoscience Australia and the Northern Territory Geological Survey, aimed to systematically map the subsurface geology of a significant yet largely unexplored region of Australia. Covering an extensive area that includes the Birrindudu Basin, Kalkarindji Suite, Tanami, and Wolfe Basin, the survey successfully acquired about 846 kilometers of high-resolution seismic data across four seismic transects, specifically designated as 23GA-NT1 (54.5 km and 184.5 km in two separate sections), 23GA-NT2 (112 km), 23GA-NT3 (221.46 km), and 23GA-NT4 (274.2 km).</div><div><br></div><div>This seismic campaign is part of a strategic effort to illuminate the geological framework and evaluate the resource potential within these regions, which are considered highly prospective for minerals, geoenergy, geological storage and groundwater resources. By deploying advanced seismic acquisition technologies to capture detailed images of the Earth's crust, this survey provides foundational data for identifying the region's geological features and resource potential, such as basin geometry and fault systems. The data derived from this survey are expected to play a pivotal role in guiding future exploration activities, attracting investment to the region, and ultimately contributing to the sustainable development of Australia's natural resources.</div><div><br></div><div>The project underscores the commitment of the Australian Government and its partners to enhance the geoscientific understanding of the continent's frontier regions. The findings from the NW NT Seismic Survey will advance our knowledge of Australia's geology and unlock new opportunities for exploration and economic development in the northwest Northern Territory. Through the dissemination of precompetitive geoscience data, the EFTF program continues to foster innovation and collaboration across the exploration sector, ensuring that Australia remains at the forefront of global efforts to secure a sustainable and prosperous future.</div><div><br></div> <b>To access the survey data and related products, please contact clientservices@ga.gov.au and quote eCat#149287. The following products are available, with some accessible via direct download and others available upon request: Products Available for Direct Download: — Processed stack – DMO, Post-stack Time Migration, Prestack Time Migration — Published on 28/06/2024 – Prestack Depth Migration — Published on 30/07/2024 Products Available via Request: — Field data (Raw Shot Gathers, SPS files, Observer Logs, Ancillary Data, etc.) — Published on 13/03/2024 </b>

<div><strong>Output Type: </strong>Exploring for the Future Extended Abstract</div><div><br></div><div><strong>Short Abstract: </strong>As part of the Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program, Geoscience Australia acquired new 2D seismic reflection data across the northwestern Northern Territory (NT). Identified as an area of little knowledge during the Birrindudu Basin Inventory activity the Northwest Northern Territory Seismic Survey was acquired between August and September 2023 by Geoscience Australia and co-funded by the Northern Territory Government. The survey crosses the Proterozoic rocks of the Birrindudu Basin that are thought to be age equivalent to those within the McArthur Basin and Mount Isa Province to the east, which contain some of the world’s largest sediment-hosted base metals deposits, including McArthur River and Century and Mt Isa Pb-Zn-Cu mines. Further, additional complimentary studies provide evidence for an effective petroleum system in the Birrindudu Basin, demonstrated by the occurrence of live oil bleeds in the drill hole 99VRNTGSDD1 and good source rocks were identified mostly in the Paleoproterozoic Limbunya Group. However, many data gaps exist and much of the prospectivity for hydrocarbons in the Birrindudu Basin is inferred from the presence of equivalent-aged rocks in the highly prospective Paleo- to Mesoproterozoic McArthur Basin. To address data gaps, this new regional 2D seismic data was acquired and combined with a comprehensive sampling and analytical program on newly collected drill core samples, to assess the basin’s resource potential. The Northwest Northern Territory Seismic Survey has increased the seismic coverage of the Birrindudu Basin by ~900 km, and links to surveys in both the Beetaloo Sub-basin and Tanami. Interpretation of these deep seismic lines in combination with newly acquired data from drill cores and legacy 2D seismic lines will substantially improve the knowledge of mineral and energy systems in the northwestern Northern Territory.</div><div><br></div><div><strong>Citation: </strong>Henson, P., Anderson, J.R., Southby, C., Carson, C., Costelloe, R.D., Jorgensen, D., Grosjean, E. & Carr, L.K., 2024. Northwest Northern Territory Seismic Survey - resource studies and results. In: Czarnota, K. (ed.) Exploring for the Future: Extended Abstracts. Geoscience Australia, Canberra. https://doi.org/10.26186/149332</div>

<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. 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.</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.</div><div><br></div><div>Geoscience Australia have undertaken (via the service provider, FIT, Schlumberger) Fluid Inclusion Petrography and Microthermometry analysis of samples for the drillhole LBD2, Birrindudu Basin, located in the northwest Northern Territory (Company reference number MT#F1230005a).</div><div><br></div><div>This eCat Record accompanies the report containing the results of fluid inclusion stratigraphy on this drillhole (eCat record 148975)</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. 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. 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. Geoscience Australia have undertaken (via the service provider, FIT, Schlumberger) stratigraphic reconstructions of bulk volatile chemistry from fluid inclusions from the NTGS stratigraphic drillhole 99VRNTGSDD1, Birrindudu Basin, located in the northwest Northern Territory. This ecat record releases the final report containing the results of fluid inclusion stratigraphy, thin section and microthermometry analyses, raw data files (*.LAS) and rock descriptions by FIT Schlumberger. Company reference number FI230005c.

<div>This report presents the rock strength and elastic properties, as tested on selected rock samples from the Birrindudu and McArthur basins. Testing was conducted by CSIRO Energy, under contract to Geoscience Australia. The tests produced parameters including:&nbsp;1) unconfined compressive strength (UCS), 2) stress-strain-time curves for UCS and repeat single-stage triaxial (STXL) experiments, 3) static elastic properties, Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio, and 4) failure envelopes (Mohr circles) for STXL tests. This work was conducted as part of the Exploring for the Future Program.</div>

<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. 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.</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.</div><div><br></div><div>Geoscience Australia have undertaken (via the service provider, FIT, Schlumberger) stratigraphic reconstructions of bulk volatile chemistry from fluid inclusions from the drillhole WLMB001B, Birrindudu Basin, located in the northwest Northern Territory.</div><div><br></div><div>This ecat record releases the final report containing the results of fluid inclusion stratigraphy, thin section and microthermometry analyses, raw data files (*.LAS) and rock descriptions by FIT Schlumberger. Company reference number FI230004a.</div>