Exploring for the Future: advancing the search for mineral resources

Abstract:

Mineral resources are vital for sustainable development. However, continued supply of these resources cannot be taken for granted. It is widely accepted that the frontier of exploration now lies beneath the Earth’s surface, making characterisation of the subsurface and inference of mineral potential an important scientific challenge. Between 2016 and 2020, the $100.5 million Exploring for the Future program led by Geoscience Australia, addressed this challenge across northern Australia. The unprecedented scale and diversity of new data collected have resulted in many world-first achievements and breakthrough insights resulting in extensive tenement uptake by industry for exploration in covered terranes. Here, we present Geoscience Australia's multiscale systems approach to resource assessment based on characterisation of the Australian plate from the surface down to its base, underpinned by methodological advances. We highlight emerging new continental-scale datasets and stress their complimentary utility for energy and groundwater exploration. The full scientific achievements of this program are summarized in 62 contributions to the recently released Exploring for the Future: extended abstracts volume (https://www.ga.gov.au/eftf/extended-abstracts).