Exploration Initiatives
Bringing Forward Discovery
The Territory Government has committed to a four year, $14.4 million exploration initiative titled
Bringing Forward Discovery, which commenced in July 2007
. The new initiative builds on the achievements of "
Building the Territory's Resource Base" and previous Government programs and is designed to assist explorers to make the next major mineral and petroleum discoveries in the Territory.
Bringing Forward Discovery comprises 3 broad elements - geoscience programs, industry collaborations and project facilitation and promotion
Geoscience programs
A major component of the
Bringing Forward Discovery initiative is the acquisition and delivery of new geoscience data with $2.75 million dedicated per annum. The team responsible for this component is the
NT Geological Survey (NTGS).
NTGS aims to build a comprehensive 3D understanding of the Territory's geology and to pinpoint exploration opportunities in greenfields regions with emphasis under cover. This will involve:
· Regional gravity surveys
· High-quality targeted geoscience
· Detailed prospectivity analysis of greenfields terranes
· Improved online access to data and information
A campaign of regional
gravity data acquisition is being undertaken over prospective but poorly exposed terranes, to complement the Territory's near complete coverage of magnetic and radiometric coverage. It is proposed that over 350 000km2 of the Territory will be covered by these surveys during the life of the initiative. Companies are invited to enter partnerships to infill or extend the surveys. The Central Arunta gravity survey, which is the first survey to be undertaken under Bringing Forward Discovery was completed in mid-2008.
Targeted geoscience data acquisition and interpretation is a key focus. This includes 3-dimensional mapping and geochemical analysis in areas that have high potential to yield new discoveries, especially where the prospective geology is poorly understood or buried under cover. Initial areas of focus include
Arnhem Land, the eastern
Arunta Region, and the
Murphy Inlier region.
A flagship product of NTGS will be a comprehensive data package on the Arunta Region, including detailed prospectivity assessments. NTGS will also focus on geophysical and geological data acquisition and interpretation to encourage exploration of prospective Palaeoproterozoic basement beneath the shallow Dunmarra Basin and northern Wiso and Georgina Basins.
Online access to data will continue to be improved through the development of a comprehensive spatial database of mapping and exploration data and the availability of geological survey publications and historical company exploration reports for immediate download.
To find out what products are available or are due to be released please contact the Minerals and Energy InfoCentre at geoscience.info@nt.gov.au.
Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations
Under Bringing Forward Discovery the Northern Territory Government has committed $2.4 million over three years to increase the intensity of exploration drilling and geophysics in greenfields areas of the Northern Territory.
The Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations program is co-funding selected exploration drilling and geophysical acquisition projects in greenfields areas where there is a paucity of geological information. Particular preference is being given to drilling that tests basement beneath thick cover, and also to regional Bouguer gravity surveys.
Applications for the second round of funding closed on April 17, 2009 and applications for the third round of funding are being sought in early 2010.
To find out more about the Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations, please visit www.minerals.nt.gov.au/collaborations.
Project Facilitation & Promotion
The Resource Development team within NTGS is responsible for promotion and investment attraction activity and the provision of project advice and facilitation.
Promotion of Bringing Forward Discovery ensures that the Northern Territory is competitively positioned as a preferred location of exploration and mining investment. An integral part of this strategy is the Ore-Struck campaign, which highlights that major mineral and energy discoveries are possible and opportunity awaits to become .. Ore-Struck!
The Ore-Struck Campaign will also be promoted at key events across Australia and abroad:
- PDAC (Toronto)
- AGES (Alice Springs)
- Australian Uranium Conference (Perth)
- China Mining 2009 (Beijing)
Investment opportunities in the Northern Territory will continued to be promoted through the NT Investment Alert - a quarterly mail alert providing updates on potential mining developments, prospectivity, joint ventures and investment opportunities.
The Resource Development team plays an important role in the facilitation of mining development proposals through to the authorisation stage. Assistance is provided to broker contacts and information from industry, government agencies and other relevant stakeholders. The team is also responsible for the
China Minerals Investment Attraction Strategy and provides services to identify and introduce potential Chinese investors, promote NT business to China and assists local industry with Chinese business liaison.
To find out more about the new Ore-Struck campaign log onto
www.orestruck.nt.gov.au or email us on
orestruck@nt.gov.au
