Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future...
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Transcript of Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future...
Exploration in the Wider Katherine Region - Future
Potential Minerals and Energy Projects
Ian Scrimgeour
Executive Director, Northern Territory Geological Survey
• The Territory’s largest industry
• >$3B in mineral production in 2012/13
• Most important driver of regional economic development
• Exploration is the key to maintaining and growing the industry
• Mineral exploration experiencing a major downturn
• Onshore oil and gas is a potential game-changer for the NT
Importance of minerals and energy to the NT
2013 –
$113.3M
2011 –
$228.4M
Mineral ELs on which significant on-ground
exploration was reported to DME in 2013
Green = geophysics
Red = drilling
Blue = geochemistry
Notes:
1. This reflects exploration reported by industry in
technical reports submitted in 2013. Exploration
may have taken place during 2012 or 2013, and
not all exploration undertaken in 2013 is included
2. Only includes exploration on ELs, not MLs
3. Excludes petroleum exploration
Where minerals exploration is happening
Fraser Institute mining survey 2013/14
• NT 9th in the world (first in Australia) for geological data
• NT 6th in the world (second after WA) for current practise mineral potential
• NT 17th in the world (second after WA) for overall investment attractiveness
• WA, NT and SA consistently higher ranked than eastern states
Escondida, Chile
(or Katherine region, 2025?)
Key highlights
Full production at Cosmo
Deeps
New resources (541 koz)
announced at Union Reefs
Thor Mining submit NoI for
development of Spring
Hill
4.0 Mt @ 2.32 g/t Au
Mount Todd resource
upgrade: 350 Mt @ 0.81
g/t Au
45% increase in gold production to 74 106oz; 0.72 Mt mined at 3.57 g/t Au
Crocodile Gold operations: Measured and Indicated: 30.8 Mt @ 2.5 g/t Au
Gold north of Katherine
• ongoing active exploration
in western Arnhem Land
Gorrunghar:
7m @ 0.29% U3O8
Alligator Energy
• Ranger 3 Deeps
exploration decline and
drilling underway
39m @ 0.88% U3O8
10m @ 1.47% U3O8
35m @ 0.55% U3O8
ERA – Ranger 3 Deeps
Thundelarra Exploration
• Cu and U exploration at Allamber
• Sale of Hayes Creek uranium project to private Australian company
Copper, iron ore and uranium north of Katherine
Frances Creek iron ore - ~ 1.4 Mt mined in 2012/13
Iron ore and ilmenite in Roper field
Western Desert Resources: Roper Bar
Total resource: 611 Mt @ 40.3% Fe
Includes: 47.4 Mt @ 57.3% Fe
In production
Sherwin Iron: Roper River
Total resource: 488 Mt @ 41.7% Fe
Includes 41.1Mt @ 57.8% Fe
Bulk sample exported
Australian Ilmenite Resources: SILL80
Ilmenite sand sourced from weathered Derim Derim
Dolerite
Planning commencement during 2014Oolitic hematite ore
Project name: Skyfall/Stromberg Company: Spectrum Rare Earths
Commodity: Rare earth elements Status: Exploration
Location: 130 km west of Katherine
• Flat lying orebodies rich in high-value heavy rare earth elements
• At surface, tabular bodies; soft xenotime-bearing clay
• Additional new discoveries, potential for a new district of rare earths deposits
• Major new zinc discovery (2014)
• Similar deposit to McArthur River, but deep (up to 1 km)
Hole 1: 26.4m @ 13.3% Zn+Pb, from 1060m including 8.0m @ 21.2% Zn+Pb
Hole 2: 20.1m @ 15.0% Zn+Pb from 944m including 12.5m @ 19.5% Zn+Pb
Hole 3: 16.3m @ 14.3% Zn+Pb from 905m
Hole 4: 14.9m @ 10.4% Zn+Pb from 676m
Other zinc highlights–
• Teck exercise $10M option in Reward JV
• MMG enter $10M exploration JV with Sandfire
• Teck enter JV with Brumby Resources
• Pacifico Minerals JV with Sandfire
Start of new zinc exploration boom?
Project name: Teena Company: Teck Australia - Rox Resources
Commodity: Zinc Status: Exploration
Location: 10 km west of McArthur River mine
Onshore petroleum in the NT
• Unprecedented boom in onshore petroleum
exploration
• Driven by opportunity of unconventional oil
and gas
• Many areas being explored for the first time
• Potential ‘game changer’ for the NT
• Rapid increase in tenure coverage in past 4
years to >90% of onshore area
• NT moving to a competitive process for
future acreage release
• Massive potential, but production is not
imminent
The greater McArthur Basin – undercover extent
Represents over 20% of the Territory’s geology
Roper
Group +
equivalents
McArthur
Group +
equivalents
Batten Fault Zone:
Armour Energy
• 3 wells in 2012, 2 wells
in 2013
• flows equivalent to 3.3
million standard cubic
feet of gas per day from
Glyde-1 well (2012)
• Live oil in shales in
Lamont Pass-3 well
(2013)
Beetaloo Sub-basin: Falcon Oil and Gas
• 3490 line km of 2D seismic in 2012/13 under
previous farm-in with Hess
Beetaloo Sub-basin (west) : Pangaea Resources
• Previously unexplored area
• 1400 line km of 2D seismic in 2013
• Very large airborne gravity survey
Beetaloo Sub-basin (east) : Santos
• 500 line km of 2D seismic in 2013
Onshore Gas and Oil Activity in 2012/13
Ngukurr-Limmen area: Imperial Oil and Gas
• Seismic and cored wells planned
Batten Fault Zone: Armour Energy
• Continuing exploration in Borroloola area
including seismic and drilling
Beetaloo Sub-basin: Origin Energy, Sasol and
Falcon Oil and gas
• New phase of exploration to commence, focussed
on drilling
Beetaloo Sub-basin (west) : Pangaea Resources
• First well spudded last weekend
• 3-4 wells to be drilled in 2014
Beetaloo Sub-basin (east) : Santos
• Very deep well planned west of Cape Crawford
Onshore Gas and Oil Activity in 2012/13
Onshore Bonaparte Basin: Beach Energy
• 2 wells to be drilled in 2014
Origin-Sasol-Falcon JV in Beetaloo Sub-basin
• Nine well, $165M exploration and appraisal
program over five years
• Four vertical exploration wells
• Five stimulated horizontal exploration/appraisal
wells, including production testing
• • Drilling/testing specifically planned to take the
project towards commerciality
• Origin Energy to be operator
Challenges for greenfields
exploration
• Difficulties in raising funds for
greenfields exploration
• Rising costs of discovery, especially in
Australia
• High-risk nature of undercover
exploration
Role of Government is to lower the risk
and cost of discovery relative to other
jurisdictions
Northern Territory Geological Survey (NTGS)
• Role: to provide the highest quality geoscientific information and advice to NT
Government and the resources industry.
• Through a series of NT govt
initiatives, undertake new
generation geoscience to stimulate
exploration
Creating Opportunities for Resource Exploration (CORE)A new 4 year, $23.8M exploration initiative
• New focus on understanding the Territory’s onshore petroleum potential
• Major new geoscience programs to lower risk for minerals and petroleum
exploration
• Programs to attract investment into NT resources projects
• Co-funding of industry greenfields drilling and geophysics
Dunmarra
(magnetic-radiometric)
Northern
McArthur
(gravity)
Southern
McArthur
(gravity)
Major programs underway
in Katherine region
• Coverage with
fundamental geophysical
datasets
• Targeted geological
fieldwork
• Systematic analysis of
drillcore
• Interpretation of seismic
and 3D model of entire
greater McArthur Basin
• Regional petroleum
assessment
Summary
• Despite the downturn, the greater Katherine region has potential for significant
mining developments for commodities including zinc, iron ore, ilmenite, rare
earths, gold and diamonds
• Gas exploration and development is emerging as a major industry
• NT Geological Survey has major programs underway to stimulate exploration in
the region through the CORE initiative