What next for Queensland Mining?

The Department of Resources’ Geological Survey of Queensland (GSQ) held a two-day workshop at Mount Isa’s Ibis Hotel last month. The workshop outlined the results of a huge investment in data collection and what it could mean for industry by way of minimising the risk in investing in new mineral developments. The data could be leveraged for return thousands of times as working projects, but first, it needs to be filtered through the scientists. Helen Degeling is the GSQ’s Director of Minerals Geoscience and has put down her geological hammer to write this blog. So, as we know, mineral exploration, like all sorts of resources exploration is highly risky. In the mineral space, only about one in a 100 projects or prospects ever becomes a mine. We're trying to create opportunities and minimize exploration risk, as well as exploration expenditure, because it's a horrendously expensive exercise but one that can be done better. The Geological Survey of Queensland exists to support the resources industry, particularly the exploration end of things. My group is particularly interested in minerals – base metals, gold, critical minerals, anything that's basically not a hydrocarbon.We provide pre-competitive data to help mineral explorers better target their activities when they're looking for new ground or exploring on their existing tenements. That means geophysical data, geochemical data, geology, mapping – all the things that will help explorers to better understand the rocks. We held a two-day workshop in Mount Isa at the end of November. It was a great turnout, with over a hundred people both face-to-face and online. We know that some people couldn’t travel, so for those who missed out, we have made all the presentations and data available online here. At the workshop, we presented a lot of our new geophysical data. We've got a new aeromagnetic and radiometric data release, which is world class. The resolution of the data is just fantastic. I was blown away by the level of detail that you can see in that new survey. We also have some new hydro geochemistry data that will be released in the coming months. The value of hydro geochemistry is in finding new ways to explore for mineralisation undercover. The workshop had a great line-up of industry speakers; it’s wonderful to be able to offer explorers the opportunity to talk about their projects. We heard from Glencore, MMG, Mawson Resources and Mt Cuthbert Resources, all of whom had great stories to tell about their exploration and discovery journeys. Some of our collaborators were there as well. Particularly the University of Queensland, James Cook University, the Australian National University and a number of others. Our Deposit Atlas for the North West Minerals Province is now complete, and was launched at the workshop. This is a great piece of work that Rick Valenta and his team at the University of Queensland have accomplished. The Atlas a fantastic compilation of all the data they could discover on all the major deposits in the northwest minerals province. As well as the hard copy, or PDF format, the Atlas is also a 3D product so you can really get into the data, you can spin it around. It's all in there and all pre-packaged. Access to the software is free too. You’ll find everything for the Deposit Atlas in the new GSQ Open Data Portal. So if you missed last month’s workshop, get online to view the presentations and access the data downloads. We’ll recommence our regular webinar series in February 2021, with more face-to-face workshops during the year as well.

What next for Queensland Mining?

Industry Queensland

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