The minerals industry in Australia - why and how...

The Roadmap for Exploration Undercover

The minerals industry in Australia - why and how

UNCOVER?Robbie Rowe

Consultant to AMIRA INTERNATIONAL01 December 2016

2 Delivering solutions through collaboration2 Delivering solutions through collaboration

•Collaboration, Vision and Resilience

Impact comes from Leadership

Source: http://manage-this.com/colin-powell-on-leadership/

http://manage-this.com/colin-powell-on-leadership/


•Australia’s endowment & exploration performance

•UNCOVER

•Setting the challenge & providing leadership

•Engagement for a Roadmap

•Delivering results and setting priorities – Stage 1

• Implementation plan – Stage 2

•Roadmap impact

•Summary

Overview


National Endowment Position

Outcrop & Shallow Basement <100m

Basement depth 100 to 500m

Basement depth 500 to 1000m

Basement depth >1000m

INDICATIVE DEPTH OF COVER

Sources: MinEx Consulting © September 2015Geoscience Australia

Note: Excludes Bulk Minerals (such as Bauxite, Coal, and Iron Ore

Bubble-size refers to size of deposit“Moderate” >100koz Au, >10kt Ni, >100Kt Cu equiv, 250kt Zn+Pb, >5kt U3O8

“Major” >1Moz Au, >100kt Ni, >1Mt Cu equiv, 2.5Mt Zn+Pb, >25kt U3O8

“Giant” >6Moz Au, >1Mt Ni, >5Mt Cu equiv, 12Mt Zn+Pb, >125kt U3O8


Exploration performance - New discoveries

Nu

mb

er

of

NEW

Dis

cove

ries

Long term divergence1. Slowly maturing search

space for new Giant and Major discoveries

2. Strong relationship between expenditure and Moderate discoveries – move to Brownfields exploration

Total Expenditures (June 2015 A$B)

Note: Excludes Bulk Minerals (such as Bauxite, Coal, and Iron Ore

Bubble-size refers to size of deposit“Moderate” >100koz Au, >10kt Ni, >100Kt Cu equiv, 250kt Zn+Pb, >5kt U3O8

“Major” >1Moz Au, >100kt Ni, >1Mt Cu equiv, 2.5Mt Zn+Pb, >25kt U3O8

“Giant” >6Moz Au, >1Mt Ni, >5Mt Cu equiv, 12Mt Zn+Pb, >125kt U3O8

Sources: MinEx Consulting © September 2015


•Some of Endowment is

under post mineral cover

•Demonstrates potential

extends into this Search

Space

•Economic Search space?

‘Top’ - base of cover

‘Bottom’ mining limit

Why Under Cover ?

Sources: MinEx Consulting © September 2015Geoscience Australia


•Established as a result of Theo Murphy Think

Tank in 2010 convened by the Australian

Academy of Science

•Delivered UNCOVER

Unfunded umbrella initiative

Assist develop a national scientific research

strategy

Integrate existing and new data and research into

a national approach

Stimulate collaborative partnerships

UNCOVER


UNCOVER objectives

•Primary Objective

Improve Exploration Performance under

post mineralisation cover

•Meeting Objective

1. To focus the 3 main stakeholder groups;

Collectively identify, agree and prioritize COMMON

technical scientific challenges

Collectively identify and prioritize critical data

requirements

2. Develop coordinated, highly focused and

integrated solution options


• Theme 1. Characterising the cover: New knowledge to

confidently explore beneath the cover

• Theme 2. Investigating Australia’s lithospheric architecture:

A whole-of-lithosphere architectural framework for mineral

systems exploration

• Theme 3. Resolving the 4D geodynamic and metallogenic

evolution of Australia: Understanding ore deposit origins for

better prediction

• Theme 4. Characterising and detecting the distal footprints

of ore deposits: Towards a toolkit for minerals exploration

UNCOVER themes

http://www.uncoverminerals.org.au/

Four broad themes emerged using a Mineral Systems approach;


•Provided fundamental

framework and

mechanism for;

New Science Research

New Technologies

New Data

So Why UNCOVER?


Challenge ‘How’

Challenge is how to turn scientific research “Vision and Ideas”

into action to produce tangible results that exploration can use


•UNCOVER – Stimulated a Industry,

Government & Researcher summit in

April 2014

•Roadmap idea seeded

Seeding solutions

http://www.uncoverminerals.org.au/


Why AMIRA ?

•Roadmap

A Science and Technology Roadmap is a strategic plan

that contains a focused, goal-based R&D agenda that

can be pursued by both individual companies and

collaborative partnerships within an industry

Not a static position, requires updating

•Examples of Roadmaps with AMIRA involvement;

Alumina Roadmap 2001

Copper Roadmap 2003

Drilling Roadmap 2006


P1162 Roadmap - Stage 1

• Stimulate industry to agree and

articulate critical needs;

Identify and prioritize knowledge research

and technology development

Identify and prioritize key input data and

delivery platforms

Ensure integrated research and

technology projects complimented by

data compilation and new acquisition

programs are focused on increasing

performance


P1162 Roadmap - Unlocking Australia’s Hidden Potential


Mining &

Exploration

Companies

Industry

Advocacy Group

Geological

Survey

Organisations

METS

OrganisationsTotals

Invited 151 6 8 22 187

Supported 22 2 7 3 34

Sponsor Base 65% 6% 21% 9%

P1162 Roadmap - Stage 1 – Engaging support

•Prospectus released - May 2014

•Funded - August 2014

•Roadmap activity commenced September 2014

•Report released July 2015


P1162 Roadmap - Stage 1 - Sponsors


P1162 Roadmap - Stage 1

•Roadmap Stage 1

Participants - Industry, Government and Researchers

Open to all industry not AMIRA member specific

Public document, available from AMIRA

Endorsed by UNCOVER

Built and value added on work initiated by UNCOVER


•Results Summary

• Vision and Mission developed as guiding principles

• Articulated that scale reduction steps as core driver in exploration process

• Provided granularity - 45 sub-themes

• Linked and mapped UNCOVER themes to scale reduction steps

• Separated and prioritised sub-themes into 4 output activities

• First pass time-mapping of activities

• Highlighted complex and interdependent nature of all output activities through dependency mapping

Roadmap – Stage 1 results


Roadmap - Vision

Photo - Moon Plain, Stuart Shelf, SA (photo taken by S Hill, GSSA)

•Delivering Australia’s major new mines by locating and

unlocking future mineral wealth, positioning Australia as the

global leader in exploration beneath post-mineral cover rocks


Scale - Terrane to Regional Regional to Camp Camp to Deposit

Objective New Area Selection Locate & Evaluate Mineral Systems Realise Economic Potential

Process Prediction > Detection Prediction ≡ Detection Detection > Prediction

Goals 1. We must be able to

recognize terrane scale fertility

under cover

2. We must be able to map

whole lithospheric terrane

scale architecture from mantle

to surface under cover

3. We must be able to predict

spatial distribution of Mineral

Systems under cover

4. We must be able to detect and

locate Camp - Deposit levels of

Mineral Systems within the

economic search space under

cover

5. We must be able to evaluate

and map size, strength and

geospatial level within Mineral

Systems to predict potential

economic endowment under

cover

6. We must be able to confidently

vector to depositional sites within

upper levels of Mineral Systems to

economic ore

7. We must be able to establish as

early as possible (and with the

least expenditure) the potential

size, orientation, average grade,

style and metallurgy of

mineralisation, to enable

preliminary judgment on economic

potential

Scale dependent goals for moving undercover


Roadmap – Stage 1 results - Theme expansion - Example

1.

Ch

arac

teri

sin

g th

e c

ove

r:

New

kno

wle

dge

and

to

ols

to c

on

fid

entl

y ex

plo

re

be

ne

ath

th

e co

ver

1.1Understand type age, depth of cover. Compile and produce 3D Geological & Paleosurface Maps & Layers

1.2Improve data integration, compilation, migration and visualization via machine learning / data analytics

1.3 Understand use of chemistry of groundwater in mineral exploration

1.4Analysis of Hydrogeochem datasets to inform Minimum Appropriate Data MAD spacing for hydrogeochem baseline characterisation

1.5Business case into benefits of collaborating and sharing of confidential Petrophysics data Gov Academia & Industry

1.6Compilation and acquisition of current petrophysical property data. All lithology's - cover and basement

1.7Improve and refine understanding of geochemical dispersion in post mineralisation cover sequences

1.8Depth-to-basement and cover-characteristics, imaging from new targeted airborne National (20km) EM surveys.

1.9New generation automated combined joint (Geology, Geophys, Geochem) modelling and inversion software

1.10Targeted and prioritized cover / paleosurface horizons and basement re-sampling and new sampling via Onshore Stratigraphic Drilling Initiative

1.11 Development to proof of concept next generation deep penetrating geophysical technologies


Theme & Scale dependency matrix

Lithospheric Architecture and

Geodynamic Evolution &

Metallogenesis map Terrane

to Regional scale reduction

step

Cover, Distal Footprints and

Risk Reward for Economic

Resources map Regional to

Camp scale reduction step


Roadmap results - Priority 1 - 8

Roadmap

RankingTheme and program

Activity

Type

1 Understand type, age & depth of cover R, DC

2 Characterise distal mineral system footprint signatures R, DC

3 Improve understanding of mineral systems R

4 Build 3D architecture of Australian lithosphere R, DC

5Depth-to-basement -imaging from new airborne National AEM

surveysDC, DA

6 Acceleration of national AusLamp long period MT DA

7 Geochemical dispersion in post mineralisation cover sequences R, DC

8 Acquire approximately ~4km grid of gravity over continent DA

R- Research, T- Technology DC - Data Compilation, DA Data Acquisition


•Step 1 – Time dependency mapping

Map dependencies of sub-theme activities within each focus themes

against time 0-15 years

•Step 2 – Program output dependency mapping

Map each sub theme dependencies across focus themes

Roadmap – Stage 1 results - Dependency mapping


•Step 1 - Map dependencies within focus themes against time

•Step 2 - Map dependencies across focus themes

Dependency Mapping


Dependency Mapping - Results


•Stage 1 delivered;

Granularity, first pass timeframes, end user priorities for knowledge,

technology and data

•Next steps

Verified an implementation plan was required to complete Roadmap

Verified stakeholder support

Progressed Stage 2 proposal

Research community demonstrated leadership at committing to

contribute to sponsoring the Stage 2

Roadmap - Way forward – Stage 2


P1162 Roadmap - Unlocking Australia’s Hidden Potential


Stage 2 P1162A – Implementation plan

•Sponsors & Participants - Industry,

Government and Researchers

•Endorsed by UNCOVER

•Commenced May 2016

•Wider ‘non-sponsor’ participation

engagement

•Public document to be delivered Q1 2017


P1162 Roadmap - Stage 2 – Current Sponsors


Funding Options

Infrastructure Options

Program DesignCurrent State Scan & Gap

Analysis

P1162A Stage 2 Program

Sequential Methodical Program

Workshop #1

Workshop #2

1 on 1 Stakeholder engagement


•UNCOVER & Roadmap

Stage 1 already

impacting;

Data acquisition

Research initiatives

Education and training

UNCOVER & Roadmap IMPACTING now


•Potential to set the agenda for new geoscience by delivering;

New geoscience knowledge

New geoscience data

New exploration technologies

•Potential catalyst for changing;

How and where geoscience research is done

How geoscience research is funded

What geoscience data is required for discovery

Targeting science for mineral discovery

Changing behaviours in how and where we explore

UNCOVER & Roadmap LEADING for future IMPACT


• Increased stakeholder cross-sector interaction and collaboration

• ALL sectors better informed of previous, current and planned activity

•Clear priorities identified – industry ‘scale reduction’ driving research,

technology and data requirements

• Articulated the requirement for real planning of sustainable geoscience

education, training and research for future capacity

•Complexity challenge highlighted. Required need for a truly integrated

research, technology and data program

• Already impacting research initiatives and data acquisition

•Continued Leadership will ensure coordination and implementation

Summary

The Roadmap for Exploration Undercover

The minerals industry in Australia - why and how

UNCOVER?Robbie Rowe

Consultant to AMIRA INTERNATIONAL01 December 2016

The minerals industry in Australia - why and how...

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