24 November 2008
Results of a deep seismic survey in north Queensland have identified previously unknown geological features which have the potential for significant geothermal energy and mineral resources as well as possible new petroleum resources.
The survey, which was carried out in the Cloncurry-Croydon region by Geoscience Australia in collaboration with the Geological Survey of Queensland, led to the discovery of two major sutures, or fault zones, which mark the boundaries of a previously unknown geologic province.
This province forms the basement to the Millungera Basin, which also was unknown prior to the survey. The new province, which is about 100 kilometres east of Cloncurry and extends over 15 000 square kilometres, is concealed by thinner, younger rocks and is considered to have potential for geothermal energy and possibly petroleum resources.
The eastern boundary of the new province is particularly unusual. It has west-dipping seismic reflections in the mantle associated with a step that increases by around six kilometres the depth of the Moho. Elsewhere in the world, similar features have been interpreted as fossilised subduction zones which provide a unique window into ancient tectonic processes.
Interpretations of the seismic data also revealed that the western sutures show similarities to the geological settings of the world-class Olympic Dam copper-gold-uranium deposit in South Australia.
The discoveries were made as part of Geoscience Australia's $59 million Onshore Energy Security Program and the Queensland Government's Smart Mining and Smart Exploration initiatives to provide pre-competitive data to the mining and explorations industries.
More information can be obtained from the Minister's Media Release.
19 November 2008
The Australian Tsunami Warning System (ATWS) project has been recognised for excellence in risk management systems. Geoscience Australia and its partner agencies in the ATWS Project, the Bureau of Meteorology (Bureau) and Emergency Management Australia (EMA), have been recognised with a Highly Commended award in the Risk Initiative category of the Comcover Awards.
The Comcover Awards for Excellence recognise exceptional and inspiring examples of risk management and demonstrate how essential risk management is to the success of Australian Government agencies.
In presenting the award Comcover noted that "there was clear evidence of how risk management was used to monitor implementation challenges and how staff from the operational to executive levels of each of the three agencies were engaged in the risk process."
As a direct result of the tsunami generated off the coast of Indonesia on 26 December 2004, the Australian Government saw a need for a warning capability to minimise the loss of life and economic impact to the Australian population and the region.
Under the Federal Budget of 2005, Geoscience Australia, the Bureau and EMA were consequently tasked with upgrading the Australian Tsunami Alert System to a fully operational, early warning system - the Australian Tsunami Warning System (ATWS) - by June 2009.
The experience each of the agencies have gained by managing a complex and high profile project such as this has assisted in developing high levels of risk management expertise in each of the agencies. The initiative has assisted the Government to meet its commitment to establish a tsunami warning system in Australia as well as to support the development of tsunami warnings for the international community.
13 November 2008
The latest figures on Australia's mineral reserves reveal that the mining sector continues to remain the most important export earning sector of the Australian economy, and holds the potential to do so for many decades.
Geoscience Australia's annual review of the commodities industry, Australia's Identified Mineral Resources (AIMR) 2008, shows that Australia has the world's largest resources of mineral sands (rutile and zircon), nickel, uranium, zinc, lead and brown coal.
Compiled from information gathered from the mining and mineral processing industries, the figures also show bauxite, black coal, copper, gold, iron ore, industrial diamond, ilmenite, lithium, manganese ore, niobium, silver, tantalum and antimony rank in the top six worldwide.
During the year Australian mineral exploration spending increased by 41 percent to more than $2061 million, reflecting strong growth in prices for many commodities on the back of anticipated strong and growing demand, particularly from China. It also reflects the increase in exploration, which resulted in a significant number of extensions of known deposits and several new discoveries in Western Australia, South Australian and New South Wales.
The review also reveals that during 2007 Australia's economic demonstrated resources (of most of our mineral commodities) increased as a result of on-going drilling and re-assessment of known deposits and the discovery of new deposits.
Download the complete document [PDF 2.5MB] or read other fundamental data on the minerals sector from the Australian atlas of mineral resources, mines and processing centres.