The Australian Government‘s Exploring for the Future program has introduced a new tool to aid in discovering heavy minerals crucial for net zero transition.
The Heavy Mineral Map of Australia, developed by Geoscience Australia and Curtin University, utilises heavy mineral samples from floodplain sediments across Australia.
Heavy minerals are used globally for mineral and energy exploration, including the search for critical minerals.
Geologists can determine the likelihood of mineral deposits upstream by analysing heavy mineral samples in floodplain sediments.
Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King stated that the Heavy Mineral Map of Australia was a groundbreaking precompetitive geoscience tool that provided a comprehensive view of Australia’s heavy mineral distribution.
“This map sets us apart and, crucially, will help us forge ahead on the road to net zero,” Minister King said.
Geoscience Australia accessed existing samples from the National Geochemical Survey of Australia archive, collected from throughout the country.
More than 145 million mineral grains from 1,315 samples were studied over two years to develop the maps, which identified 163 different mineral species ranging from actinolite to zoisite.
Geoscience Australia created a custom cloud-based mineral network analysis tool to aid in exploring such a large dataset. The new tool enables the quick visualisation, exploration, and discovery of heavy mineral correlations and links between them and geological settings or existing mineral deposits.
The study was the first to conduct a comprehensive heavy minerals study using a national set of samples, unlike other global surveys that combine smaller surveys.
“Heavy minerals have been underutilised in exploring for critical minerals, the Heavy Mineral Map of Australia will help change that,” Minister King said.
According to the Federal Government, programs such as Exploring for the Future are vital in facilitating Australia’s transition to net zero.
“To unearth new minerals, we must explore in new and innovative ways,” Minister King said.
“The key to unlocking new commercial exploration is precompetitive geoscience, like the Heavy Mineral Map of Australia,” the Minister added.
