New data collected between the world-class mineral-endowed regions of Mount Isa and Tennant Creek shows the South Nicholson Basin is three times larger than previously thought.
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Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Matt Canavan announced the new seismic data from the Exploring for the Future program this week.
The program provides valuable insight for exploration companies to identify new prospects for petroleum and mineral exploration.
The study is one of the largest of its kind in Australia - consisting of five seismic lines with more than 1100 km of seismic reflection data collected across the NT-Queensland border.
Based on this new information, updated geology maps reveal the basin is three times larger, increasing the area from 37,921 to 91,368 square kilometres.
Together with previously released gravity data, this dramatically increases geological understanding of this region.
More datasets and comprehensive analysis will be released later this year, followed by targeted stratigraphic drilling in 2019.
This major data acquisition is one of 17 projects underway across northern Australia and South Australia, in the $100.5m Exploring for the Future program led by Geoscience Australia. The seismic reflection survey was undertaken in partnership with the NT Geological Survey, the Geological Survey of Queensland and AuScope.
With the first year of field work now complete, Geoscience Australia teams have collected a range of valuable pre-competitive data and over the next two years they will be collecting even more geoscientific data and processing and compiling it to make it freely available for public use.
Their scientists and technicians are using innovative tools and techniques to gather new data using geophysical surveys, geochemical sampling, hydrological mapping and stratigraphic drilling.
The data and information from the Exploring for the Future program will be made publicly available and released on an ongoing basis through the Geoscience Australia website.