Mineral Resource Assessment

Mineral Resource Assessment projects extract data from current information on mineral resources, and identify new data required to assess Queensland's undiscovered deposits. This include geochemistry data from the surface and mineral exploration drillholes.

These data are used to enhance the department's knowledge of Queensland's resource base, provide geoscientific data and reports to industry, and assess the potential of Queensland's mineral and energy deposits.

Maryborough-Bundaberg Project

Reviews of the economic geology and mineral exploration of the Maryborough 1:250 000 Sheet area have been undertaken since the 1960s, but no systematic mineral occurrence mapping has occurred on the Bundaberg 1:250 000 Sheet area until recently.

Reviews of mineral occurrence of the Maryborough 1:250 000 Sheet area in the late 1980s were based on literature research with some field investigations and were regarded as preliminary data (i.e. necessary for updating) on an assessment of data quality in 2003-2004.

Detailed studies of exploration reports and published literature indicated that more field investigations were necessary to build a comprehensive mineral occurrence layer for both of these areas.

Mineral occurrence mapping in the Bundaberg map sheet area showed a large number of poorly documented workings and these and workings in the Maryborough sheet have all been investigated.

A report on the Maryborough 1:250 000 sheet area mineral occurrences has been completed. Reporting on the Bundaberg mineral occurrences will be included in an updated report on the geology of the Bundaberg 1:250 000 map sheet area.

For more information contact
Len Cranfield
Telephone: +61 7 3362 9335

Exploration geochemistry data conversion (Open file reports)

Geochemistry data extraction from open company reports continued with the six monthly release of the Surface and Drill hole Geochemistry Data (March 2008). This represents a total database of 1,981,824 points which includes an additional 52 228 data points that were extracted in the half year to 31 December 2007. This represents a rate of about 9000 new data points each month. The project is scheduled to be completed by December 2009.

Exploration geochemistry data conversion (Confidential reports)

A program to extract geochemistry and drill hole data from confidential company reports was commenced in 2005 to provide formatted data to update investigation of the under cover margins of the Mount Isa region.

Drill hole intersections of under cover mineralisation will be added to the MINOCC data when this data becomes open file or in the public domain.

The current program will extract data from reports over the outcropping and subsurface areas of the Mount Isa region. Outputs from the project include additional MINOCC data, additional surface and drill hole geochemistry data that will be loaded into the department's database and includied in summaries of exploration permit data. To date (March 2008) more than 400 000 data points have been extracted.

For further information contact:
Joe Tang
Telephone: + 61 7 3896 9829

The National Geochemical Survey of Australia

The Geological Survey of Queensland, along with the other States and Northern Territory geoscience agencies, are collaborating with Geoscience Australia to complete a picture of the background geochemical concentration levels and patterns in Australia.

This has entailed sampling natural weathering and transport processes to produce well-mixed, fine-grained samples representing as much as possible the average composition of large catchments.

Sampling targets outlet sediments, which in most cases are represented by floodplain or overbank sediments.

For more information on this project go to the Geoscience Australia web site

or contact:
Joe Tang
Telephone: + 61 7 3896 9829

Queensland Diamond Mineral Indicator database

A Queensland Diamond Mineral Indicator database has been created to provide an overview of the location of diamonds and diamond indicator minerals in Queensland. It is based on a similar concept produced in the Northern Territory.

The database contains three spreadsheets.

Spreadsheet 1 - Diamonds

This sheet contains information on the number of micro and macro diamonds located in exploration samples.

(Basic data includes sample number; prospect details (Company, tenement information), 250K map name and code, AMG co-ordinates, open file/closed file status, 100K map name and code, Geology region, location accuracy, sample type (eg soil, grab, drill etc), sample weight, mesh, and comments).

Spreadsheet 2 - data on the indicator minerals and elements associated with diamond exploration

The diamond indicator mineral spreadsheet contains data on the quantity of indicator minerals located in each sample. Indicator minerals identified in the exploration included chromite, pyrope garnets, picroilmenite, chromediopside and other garnets. Elements that were specifically analysed in diamond exploration and are recorded in this spreadsheet include Niobium (Nb), Chromite (Cr), Nickel (Ni), Cobalt (Co) and Titanium (Ti).

Spreadsheet 3 -summaries of analyses of individual mineral grains carried out on indicator minerals to compare their composition with that expected for a diamondiferous deposit.

Analysis is by electron microprobe. The data contained in the spreadsheet includes sample number, grain number, type of mineral, source of data, company, tenement details, open file status, AMG co-ordinates, SiO₂, TiO₂, Al₂O₃, Cr₂O₃, Fe₂O₃, V₂O₃, FeO, MnO, MgO, ZnO, NiO, Na₂O, K₂O, ZrO₂, SO₃, Nb₂O₅, CaO, P₂O₅, total percentage, and comments. The information gathered from the composition analysis is used to determine whether the grain has a composition similar to that expected from a grain of kimberlite origin.

The data is being extracted by the Geological Survey of Queensland from company reports held in the Departmental QDEX system. The QDEX database included reports mentioning diamonds exploration back to 1968. A completion date in late 2008 is expected.

For further information contact:

Len Cranfield
Telephone: + 61 7 3896 9883

or telephone the Geological Information Hotline
at +61 7 3006 4666 (9.00am to 4.00pm EST on working days)

or email the Geological Information Hotline

Last Updated 18 December 2008