I N V I T A T I O N : I n f o r m a t i o n e v e n t f o r t h e e x p l o r a t i o n i n d u s t r y

The Geological Survey of NSW is hosting an afternoon of technical talks in the theatrette at Parliament House The program will highlight results from the New Frontiers ini

explorationinthehouse2010 Wednesday, June 9, 2010 from 1pm - 6pm Parliament House Theatrette, Macquarie Street, Sydney

tiative

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Program 1:00pm Welcome – Mr Cameron Ricketts, Acting Director,

Geological Survey of NSW Opening Hon Ian Macdonald MLC, Minister for Mineral and

Forest Resources; Mr Brad Mullard, Executive Director, Mineral Resources

1:05-1:15pm Beyond New Frontiers – Mr Cameron Ricketts, Acting Director, Geological Survey of NSW

1:15-1:30pm A new Tectonic Interpretation of Far Western NSW and its Implications for Exploration – Bob Musgrave

1:30-1:45pm Changing Brownfields into Green: Using New Data and Ideas to Revitalise the Mineral Prospectivity of NSW – Phil Blevin

1:45-2:00pm HyLogger Applications – Spectral Geology in NSW – Bill Reid and Megan Clissold

2:00-2:15pm What’s New in On-line Services – Ken Mcdonald and Guy Fleming

2:15-3:00pm Session 2

3:00-3:15pm

3:15-3:30pm

3:30-3:45pm

3:45-4:00pm

4:00-4:30pm Until 6:00pm

Afternoon Tea Chair – David Robson, Acting Assistant Director, Regional Mapping & Exploration Geoscience Lockhart Igneous Complex: The Sub-Volcanic link to the Woodlawn — Captains Flat district – Owen Thomas Ophiolite-related Mineral systems in Eastern NSW: Remobilising Massive Sulphides – Cameron Quinn Building a 3D capacity: Examples from the Thomson depth-to-basement surface and the Koonenberry Belt Project – Stephen Dick Investigating Geophysical Anomalies highlighted in Regional Interpretations for Hay-Balranald and Cobham Lake map sheets – Rosemary Hegarty and Astrid Carlton Cameron Ricketts, Questions/Discussion Poster viewing and light refreshments served in the foyer

Complimentary registration required RSVP by June 2, 2010

explorationinthehouse2010 Phone +61 2 4931 6592 Email geosurvey.events@industry.nsw.gov.au

a NSW government initiative www.industry.nsw.gov.au/minerals

Changing brownfields into green: using new data and ideas to revitalise the mineral prospectivity of NSW

Phil Blevin*, Peter Downes and David Forster

Generation of new exploration concepts and plays relies in part on the provision of new and better quality data. The recognition by the MinSys group that mineralisation events in NSW are poorly time constrained has resulted in the generation of a growing body of quality new dating and related isotopic data using U-Pb (zircons and cassiterite), Re-Os (molybdenite) and Ar-Ar. These results have implications for Sn-W systems in the New England and Lachlan Orogens, and base metal and porphyry Cu-Au systems in the Lachlan. High heat producing granites have also been recognised in the basement to the southern Sydney Basin.

Investigating geophysical anomalies highlighted in regional interpretations for Hay–Balranald and Cobham Lake map sheet areas

Rosemary Hegarty* and Astrid Carlton*

Geophysical-geological interpretation maps at 1:250 000 are being generated for parts of NSW with extensive Mesozoic and Cenozoic cover as part of the New Frontiers exploration initiative.

Investigations following on from this work include:

detailed ground magnetic and gravity surveying of shallow geophysical anomalies thought to be diatremes on the Hay and Balranald map sheets, and modelling of the results

reconnaissance mapping in the Louth–Bourke area to understand the stratigraphy and extent of Cobar Supergroup rocks

modelling magnetic anomalies and estimating depth to basement in the Tindara Zone in the Cobham Lake map sheet area and visiting previously unmapped basement outcrops

What’s new in on-line services

Ken McDonald* and Guy Fleming*

Enhancements to existing GeoSpatial services and products under development include:

Web Catalogue upgrades - more data for download, better functionality

New GoogleMaps products proposed - tiled map scan images for the GoogleMaps platform

Expanded sales and distribution model for map related products - increasing our reach

Interactive maps and documents (Adobe PDF & Flash)

Since the release of MinView 2 in July 2008, we have been constantly improving the system and updating the information available for display and download. Recent enhancements include:

State-wide geology at 1:1.5 million scale to match the published geological map

A new layer showing Seismic Survey lines linked to DIGS reports

Completely revised Petroleum Well database

Separate display of open file and confidential borehole locations

Additional company Airborne Geophysical Surveys added to the Aerofind layers

Updated State-wide images of Gravity and Radioelement data

A new tectonic interpretation of far western NSW and its implications for exploration

Robert Musgrave

Far western NSW is a greenfields region where pre-Mesozoic basement often lies at exploitable depth, but where cover has – until recently – hindered geological interpretation. High-resolution geophysical data now cover the area, enabling the results of the newly completed Koonenberry mapping project to be extended out under cover to form the basis of a new tectonic model. A rifted Cambrian arc, built directly on the Neoproterozoic volcanic passive margin of the Curnamona Block, includes anomalous forearc volcanism analogous to the modern Cascadia Range. The accretionary margin of this arc appears to link with the Stawell Zone of Victoria.

Ophiolite-related mineral systems in eastern NSW: remobilising massive sulphides

Cameron Quinn

Recent field-work in the eastern Lachlan Orogen has recognised that almost all of the upper part of the Ordovician ophiolite (represented by the Jindalee Group inter alia) now occurs as blocks within a Silurian siltstone matrix. As a corollary to this work, the Silurian-Devonian sequences of the Cowra-Tumut trough have been better defined, highlighting their significance as a host of remobilised fracture and vein-hosted base-metal sulphide mineralisation – perhaps sourced from the ophiolite. This work can be extrapolated throughout the central and eastern Lachlan Orogen.

HyLogger applications – spectral geology in NSW

Bill Reid* and Meagan E Clissold

Hyperspectral logging (HyLogging) capabilities have recently been made available to the Geological Survey of New South Wales as research infrastructure delivered through the AuScope National Virtual Core Library.

Integration of HyLogger data into pre-existing geological and petrological frameworks and the regional application of spectral downhole data will be discussed. Examples will be drawn from the alteration fingerprints generated for NSW deposits.

Identified alteration data generated from scanned drillholes can be extrapolated to regional prospectivity and exploration by generating spectral (or mineralogical) vectors towards unrecognised mineralisation and reducing exploration risk.

Building a 3D capacity: examples from the Thomson depth-to-basement surface and the Koonenberry Belt Project

Stephen Dick

The Geological Survey of New South Wales is currently developing methodologies for the construction of sophisticated and attributed geology in a 3D framework. Modern geological modelling softwares allow for a multi-disciplined approach to the building of subsurface 3D bodies and surfaces where all available data can be utilised and validated. Three 3D projects are being developed by the Geological Survey: each area requires different techniques and approaches because of differences in scale and the desired final product. The integration of mapped and interpreted geology, and the ability to use and visualise all available data in a 3D framework, forces cooperation between disciplines and a visual confrontation of what was previously a metal 2D to 3D translation.

Lockhart Igneous Complex: the sub-volcanic link to the Woodlawn–Captains Flat district

Owen Thomas*, Joel Fitzherbert and Liann Deyssing

The presentation will include a brief overview of the main outcomes of the Braidwood 1:100 000 mapping project to date, and will expand upon some geological aspects of a major plutonic–volcanic system in the western part of the map sheet area.

The mineralised volcanic association of the Woodlawn Volcanics and Currawang Basalt has a correlative (although apparently unmineralised) intrusive system to the south — the Lockhart Igneous Complex — which forms part of an interpreted crustal section containing coeval granitic intrusions and mantle-derived mafic magmas. Are such major subvolcanic plutonic systems necessary for the development of economic VHMS mineralisation?