The Geological Survey of Queensland has announced five projects selected from the second round of submissions to the Queensland Government’s Government’s Future Resources Program Industry Priorities Initiative that will be implemented by the survey in coming months. The projects were selected on the basis of having the greatest perceived potential to have significant positive impacts on exploration investment in the state.
The selected projects are:
- VTEM Supermax Proposal- Cloncurry/Osborne Mine region in NW Queensland. The project is based on a proposal from Minotaur Exploration through AMEC. This project has the potential to revolutionise exploration methods in the highly prospective Cloncurry region.
- Towards a web-accessible 3D mineral map of Australia: a proposal submitted by CSIRO through the Queensland Exploration Council (QEC). This proposal aims to deliver the exploration industry access to region-wide, calibrated spectral datasets to assist in the identification of buried mineral systems.
- Mass Mining Queensland: a proposal from the W.H. Bryan Research Centre submitted through QEC. This project proposal will assist the transition from discovery of mineralisation to mine development, and may significantly enhance the economics of mine development in the Cloncurry region.
- Economic Potential of a New Cape York Mineral Sands Province. This proposal was received from Oresome Australia Ply Ltd and Metallica Minerals through AMEC. The proposal aims to conduct mapping and drill-testing of possible, previously unknown mineral sand deposits in central western Cape York.
- Identification of Petroleum Source Rocks to Advance the State’s Shale Gas Prospectivity: a proposal from Santos through QEC. This project will involve identifying and sampling possible petroleum source rocks in the little-explored Georgina and Adavale basins, as well as selected formations in the Bowen and Eromanga basins.
A call for Round 3 proposals, the last currently planned under this initiative, is planned for early 2015.
