Accelerated Geoscience Program

Dedicated geoscientists from across GSWA have concentrated their efforts on four main projects:

1. Publication of existing data into GIS layers
2. Data integration and analyses — the Yilgarn Craton
3. Statewide critical minerals prospectivity study
4. Energy systems including petroleum, geothermal, and carbon capture and storage.

Find the entire list of AGP products on the DMIRS eBookshop in a compilation called Record 2021/4 Accelerated Geoscience Program extended abstracts 2021. Some highlights are presented below.

To date, the AGP has delivered close to a hundred new interpreted datasets across the four projects, consisting of about 1080 interpreted data layers that comprise original work by GSWA and repurposed or reprocessed data originating from other organizations. Many of the layers have been published online and are available through the Data and Software Centre, GeoVIEW.WA, the Petroleum and Geothermal Information Management System (WAPIMS) and the Mineral Systems Atlas. However, most of the data are available within three standalone Geological Exploration Packages:

• Critical Minerals, 2021
• Far East Yilgarn, 2021
• Southwest Yilgarn, 2021

These standalone packages facilitate use for all levels of technical competency and software, from prospectors to Tier 1 companies. As these datasets formed part of the State’s economic recovery from COVID-19, the three Geological Exploration Packages will be available at no cost from the first floor front counter in Mineral House and at other events attended by GSWA.

The Yilgarn Craton is one of Western Australia’s most prospective regions and contains significant deposits of gold, nickel, lithium, copper–zinc, iron ore, tantalum, aluminium and uranium. Recent high-grade gold and nickel discoveries in the craton’s far eastern (Gruyere, Tropicana, Neale) and southwestern margins (Julimar), have shown that these two poorly exposed and geologically not well-understood regions are likely to be as prospective as the craton’s interior (i.e. Eastern Goldfields). Despite both regions being covered by a thick blanket of regolith, GSWA holds a vast amount of geoscientific data relating to the bedrock and regolith geology with the potential for uncovering significant, new mineral deposits.

The minerals industry is increasingly aware that the new era of Tier 1 deposits is likely to be under deep cover. Working to the UNCOVER plan, the AGP has delivered 55 new integrated geoscience datasets (500 layers) for the southwestern and far eastern Yilgarn Craton margins. The program has also incorporated the results of ongoing work in the Eastern Goldfields, and performed new analyses on archived samples.

Both the State and Federal Governments have outlined a list of minerals that are deemed critical for emerging high-tech applications and are considered essential for economic and industrial development over the next decade. Western Australia is well placed to capitalize on increasing demand for critical minerals as we transition globally to low-carbon technologies. Knowledge of the geological settings where these deposits are likely to be located not only reveals emerging exploration plays but allows the government the foresight to manage land for strategic industrial purposes such as downstream processing.

The aim of this project was to catalogue the known critical mineral resources of the State to better understand the mineral systems in which they occur and the associated alteration systems. The program has delivered 20 new datasets consisting of 251 new layers that will help to define new exploration targets and to stimulate and increase investment in the critical minerals sector by releasing new parts of the State to exploration.