This document aims to establish an appropriate geological framework and resource potential baseline for DEM's knowledge about lime sand on Kangaroo Island (KI), by showing and discussing what new lime sand resource areas are available, based on the results of recent geological investigations, and by providing data which can be used for any future resource estimation exercise. The study has resulted in the selection of nine regions of interest, which in turn have been subdivided into variable subregions. Out of those, five have been selected for more detailed investigation, including site visits as well as sampling and analysis of the lime sand. The Semaphore Sand Member and the Bridgewater Formation are the two main geological units which are suitable for providing an extensive and long-lasting lime sand supply on KI. However, the main geological unit that will yield lime sand suitable for agricultural use is the Semaphore Sand Member, as it has Effective Neutralising Factor (ENF) values that are well above 60: by contrast, the Bridgewater Formation has a lesser and variable potential to do this, because its ENF values are generally below 60.

South Australian mineral resource production statistics for the six month ended 31 December 2022

Strandlines or elevated shorelines, located across the Murray Basin in south-eastern Australia, trace the preserved remnants of former emergent coastlines that developed during the Late Miocene (c. 7 to 4 Ma) marine regression. Strandline traces extend across an area of ~135,000 square km, and are still present for up to 300+ km inland of the present-day coast. The Late Miocene sands of the Loxton Sand formation are prospective for marine placer deposits of heavy minerals (HM), particularly zircon and rutile, with deposits mined across three states: Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. The present study extends previous investigations of coastal evolution and the provenance of zircon in strandlines located in the south-western portion of the Murray Basin within South Australia (cf. RB 2015/00031). Preliminary geomorphological mapping done using satellite imagery and digital elevation models was used to characterise strandline patterns and assist in the selection of 8 field sites for sampling; 5 in the Loxton area and 3 along the western margin of the Murray Basin to the north and south of Naracoorte. Grain-size distribution was determined as part of the sedimentological analysis of samples from individual sites. Zircon grains were separated and characterised using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with cathodoluminescence. The grains were dated using Pb/U isotope ratios from laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectroscopy analyses. In the Loxton area, thin sand beds with high mica content were also sampled and dated using Rb/Sr isotope ratios. Zircon age ranges were clustered to match possible source regions. The proportions of zircon age clusters were interpreted in terms of probable zircon source inputs and, by extension, the relative significance of likely river transport networks and coastal interactions. All samples recorded a comparatively high content of zircon grains with ages younger than 480 Ma, indicative of fluvial transport from bedrock terrains to the east and north. This is supported in the Loxton area by a predominance of mica grains aged c. 420 Ma, which coincides with the timing of igneous and metamorphic activity during the Lachlan Orogen and matches mica crystallisation ages recorded from basement rocks in western Victoria. The results are consistent with early development of a fluvial pattern of northern and eastern originating rivers, comparable to the present-day Darling and Murray river networks. These river networks were the dominant source of sediment and HM carried to the coastlines formed in the Loxton area and which prograded to the south-west. More southerly sediment dispersion in the region appears to have been largely influenced by longshore drift. The development of a fluvial network occupying the Douglas Depression, in western Victoria, is interpreted as a younger feature that developed towards final stages of the progradation of Loxton Sand and, as such, had little influence on sediment movement and Late Miocene coastal processes across the Murray Basin

A 74 station, single profile ground gravity survey was acquired by personnel of the Geological Survey of South Australia (GSSA) during September-October 2020 in an area to the south-southeast of Manna Hill township. All gravity readings were made at roadside locations along a local secondary road which crosses the Benda Range and extends into the north-western margin of the Murray Basin, serving to provide access onto a number of pastoral properties. A nominal station interval of 1.5 km was used to generate the traverse. The survey was conducted in tandem with a magnetotelluric survey, also acquired by the GSSA. The aim of co-locating these surveys was to help guide future mineral exploration efforts by potentially disclosing robust geophysical evidence of new near-surface targets.

Registered instruments, court actions, native title agreements, EPEPR, mining assessments for July 2021 - June 2022.

The Department for Energy and Mining’s Energy Resources Division (ERD) is responsible for administering the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Act 2000 (PGE Act) and associated Regulations on behalf of the Minister for Energy and Mining. The PGE Act enables and regulates the exploration, development, production and processing of regulated petroleum, geologic gas storage and geothermal energy resources, and the construction, maintenance and operation of transmission pipelines, for the benefit of South Australians.

The National Argon Map was an AuScope-funded pilot project (2020–2021). The project aimed to compile a national-scale map of and to analyse new samples to fill the gaps in national coverage in 40Ar/39Ar geochronology. This report provides the results from dated samples located in the eastern Gawler Craton, in the vicinity of the Olympic Dam deposit, and from the region in and around the Cairn Hill Fe-Cu deposit.

This report presents the results from zircon LA–ICP–MS U–Pb geochronological age determinations, and both trace and rare earth element abundance geochemical analyses, performed on fifteen outcrop and drill core samples originating from the central-western Gawler Craton. Most of the samples were derived from variably deformed felsic to intermediate granitoid rocks. The samples were collected from stratigraphic units mapped as being parts of the Archaean to Palaeoproterozoic Mulgathing Complex, as well as from Palaeo- to Mesoproterozoic units interpreted to intrude Mulgathing Complex basement. These units lie within the boundaries of the Wilgena, Christie, Fowler, and Nuyts domains. However, limited geochronological data exist to support the interpretation of widespread Mulgathing Complex basement being present in the central Gawler Craton, especially in the Wilgena Domain. The scarcity of basement rock age data that have yet been obtained in this region presents challenges for making both stratigraphic interpretations of, and acceptable correlations between, the granitoid rocks.

Samples are representative of Hiltaba Suite granites of the Tickera Granite body exposed at Point Riley, north-western Yorke Peninsula. Sample 2166262 is a foliated quartz-syenite with an emplacement age of 1584.22 ± 0.83 Ma. Sample 2053555 is a weakly foliated leucotonalite that intrudes the quartz-syenite and has an emplacement age of 1582.66 ± 0.61 Ma. A third sample from an undeformed miarolitic alkali-feldspar granite dyke that cuts the two earlier phases was intruded about 3.5 million years later, at 1579.05 ± 0.53 Ma. The results now obtained by using this new high precision geochronology method demonstrate that ductile deformation in this portion of the eastern Gawler Craton occurred after c. 1584 Ma and was synchronous with emplacement of the Tickera Granite at c. 1583 Ma. These dates demonstrate that magmatism in the Gawler Craton continued for a period of up to 8 to 10 million years after the eruption of the Gawler Range Volcanics, an event which occurred c. 1594.5–1586.5 Ma (Jagodzinski et al. in prep).

South Australian mineral resource production statistics, commodities by category for six months with comparison with previous period.

Mineral exploration is on the up in South Australia, driven by record high commodity prices and a return to field activities in 2021 after COVID-19 delays in 2020. In South Australia work approvals have sky-rocketed over the past year by 117%,

The Department for Energy and Mining’s Energy Resources Division (ERD) is responsible for administering the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Act 2000 (PGE Act) and associated Regulations on behalf of the Minister for Energy and Mining. The PGE Act enables and regulates the exploration, development, production and processing of regulated petroleum, geologic gas storage and geothermal energy resources, and the construction, maintenance and operation of transmission pipelines, for the benefit of South Australians. Since 2006, ERD has prepared an annual compliance report on activities conducted under the PGE Act. This covers both the activities of ERD in administering the PGE Act and an overview of PGE Act licensees’ regulated activities and incident statistics. ERD’s compliance policy emphasises the importance of preventive measures to educate and facilitate a compliant industry, with escalation to persuasive and compulsive measures where necessary (see Figure 5 for the ERD compliance and enforcement pyramid).

This report book presents verbatim Dr Trevor Mount’s 1975 Ph.D. thesis entitled "Diapirs and diapirism in the Adelaide Geosyncline", including his superbly detailed maps, with the addition by DEM of some supporting documents and correspondence of both geological and historical interest. This thesis describes important past research into the geology of the Flinders Ranges of South Australia, which has lately assumed even more relevance as part of the geological case for the current SA Government's application seeking World Heritage Site listing of parts of the ranges. The thesis discussion challenges the prevailing ‘Gulf Coast buoyant salt dome’ model that is often applied in the literature to all Flinders Ranges diapirs, including those which were intruded under different conditions late in the Delamerian Orogeny, and introduces the contrasting concept of ‘hydrothermal breccia dykes’ (reactivated domes) emplaced under local extension in regionally compressed terrains. Mobility of the breccias, not lower density, was the key to dyke emplacement.

South Australian mineral resource production statistics for the six month ended 31 December 2020

The Petroleum and Geothermal Energy (Energy Resources) Bill 2021 proposes to expand the current scope of provisions under the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Act 2000 (the Act) to include the generation of hydrogen from means not already permissible under the existing Act, such as electrolysis of water. The proposed amendments intend to provide all hydrogen generation sectors the same leading practice regulatory and one-window to government regime as is currently provided to the oil and gas industries under the existing Act. It is proposed that this will be achieved by introducing a specific Hydrogen Generation Licence into the Act. As a result, it is proposed that existing provisions under the Act – such as those for environmental approval (via Statements of Environmental Objectives), consultation, activity approval, compliance and reporting – will apply to hydrogen projects licensed under the Act.

This study draws together diverse aspects of South Australia’s heavy minerals (HM) resources geoscience to provide an overall context for evaluating their occurrence, economic significance and origins. Two main objectives are addressed by the subject monograph: - firstly, to enable its readers to develop a better understanding of the characteristics, geometry and geological/depositional environment of sedimentary basins hosting near-surface heavy mineral deposits, mostly in former coastal environments; and - secondly, to facilitate successful outcomes from future prospectivity analysis of the basins and their peripheral paleovalleys by providing guidance in how to map paleoshorelines and paleovalleys, and describing the development of geoscientifically and technically efficient procedures for HM exploration, which have been based on knowledge of the geological processes associated with shoreline development in sedimentary basins and its interactions with associated paleovalleys, which mediate sediment supply and modify coastal environments, with possible influence on HM accumulation and preservation.

This mineral resource regulation report for the period 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021 summarises the regulatory performance of the state’s mineral exploration, mining and quarrying industries. It provides indicators of how companies are meeting their obligations to mitigate and manage risks and regulatory activities

A geochronological study of clastic metasedimentary units buried in the Delamerian Orogen region of South Australia has been undertaken to gain a better understanding of the age and provenance of these units and to assess their similarities to outcropping metasedimentary units located in other places within the Delamerian Orogen. Nine selected stored drill cores from historic drilling done in the region, across a wide geographic spread, were sampled and their detrital zircon grain components were separated and subjected to laser ablation - inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) U-Pb radiometric dating. The resulting geochronological data have shown that the samples' major contained detrital zircon grain age populations come predominantly from the late Paleoproterozoic, Mesoproterozoic, Neoproterozoic, Cambrian and Cambrian-Carboniferous. The maximum depositional ages obtained from these populations can commonly be linked to dated major tectonic events that occurred in the adjacent Gawler Craton and Curnamona and Musgrave provinces, along with events that occurred during the breakup of Rodinia which are recorded in the Tasmanides belt of eastern Australia (this includes the Delamerian Orogen in the south, Thomson Orogen in the north, and the Warburton Basin in the middle).

A mineral systems analysis for Cu-Mo-Au in the Delamerian Orogen has been conducted to assess the orogen's potential for containing this type of mineral occurrence. A conceptual model was delineated, and prospectivity maps were created. These maps can serve partially for drill and sampling campaign targeting. The conceptual model is implemented as a flexible workflow in ArcGIS, and it can be readily updated with new data. It is based on fuzzy logic manipulation of classified mineral system - critical data components prepared as evidence layers in GIS, to present various component statistical probability scenarios in map format for evaluation.

The Gawler Craton Airborne Survey (GCAS) was an airborne magnetic, radiometric and elevation survey that commenced in February 2017 and concluded in July 2019, capturing around 1.67 million line kilometres of data over the Gawler Craton, at a cost of A$9.5 million. The survey was part of the South Australian Government’s $20 million “Plan for Accelerating Exploration” (PACE) Copper initiative (2015-2019), a critical component of South Australia’s Copper Strategy, which focused on capturing pre-competitive data with the aim of bringing forward mineral discoveries in the state. The survey was completed using four survey contractors flying fixed-wing aircraft at an acquisition height of 60 m, with 200 m line spacing. The survey was carried out in three tranches over 16 contiguous survey regions, enabling up to six aircraft to concurrently capture data.

South Australian mineral resource production statistics for the six months ended 30 June 2021

The Mintabie Precious Stones Field (MPSF) has, since the early 1920s, produced some of the finest quality opal in the world. This report provides a review for understanding the remaining opal resources likely to exist there. A detailed spatial analysis conducted in 2018 showed that after approximately 40 years of mining in the MPSF, an area totalling less than 2 square km has been intensively mined. A conservative estimate of the area of greatest prospectivity within the MPSF is 20 square km. Within this region of high prospectivity, assuming a similar deposit density to the intensively mined areas to date, the MPSF will support mining for ~400 years at the levels already experienced in its lifetime. A complementary prospectivity analysis based on scout drillhole stratigraphic data, which was published in 2002, revealed that there are other arguably prospective but as yet unmined regions within the MPSF totalling 44 square km. Based on known indirect economic indicators, the total value of the (wholly unreported) amount of opal mined at Mintabie up to 2016 has been estimated by the South Australian Government to be $412M (unadjusted value of rough opal). An area-based analysis concludes that this is likely to be less than 10% of the total contained opal at Mintabie. The possible entire opal resource in the MPSF, including the opal already found, is therefore estimated to have an unadjusted raw opal value of over $4B. In the current edition of this report, reasons are given for the present decline in opal production at Mintabie, and recommendations are made for adopting new science-based opal prospecting methods which might increase the useful knowledge about the field's geology and controls on opal distribution, besides improving the chance of making new discoveries and boosting overall production.

This report presents the results of a study by the Geological Survey of South Australia and CSIRO Mineral Resources to enhance the expression of geological structure in geophysical images and derive depth to magnetic sources over Region 2B of the Gawler Craton Airborne Survey: viz. parts of the OODNADATTA and WARRINA 1:250k map sheet areas. The study was based on magnetic field data acquired between February and May 2017 as part of this airborne magnetic and radiometric survey commissioned by the Geological Survey of South Australia, that have been combined with ground gravity data from the South Australian state gravity database.

The Energy Resources Division (ERD) is responsible for administering the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Act 2000 (PGE Act) and associated Regulations on behalf of the Minister for Energy and Mining. The PGE Act enables and regulates the exploration, development, production and processing of regulated petroleum and geothermal energy resources, and the construction, maintenance and operation of transmission pipelines, for the benefit of South Australians. Since 2006, ERD has prepared an annual compliance report on activities conducted under the PGE Act. This covers both the activities of ERD in administering the PGE Act and an overview of PGE Act licensees’ regulated activities and incident statistics. ERD’s compliance policy emphasises the importance of preventive measures to educate and facilitate a compliant industry, with escalation to persuasive and compulsive measures where necessary. Compliance monitoring and regulatory assessments occur through the life of a regulated activity including: - at the licence issue and during audits of annual reports for work program and licence requirements - to ensure appropriate, adequate and comprehensive environmental objectives are put in place prior to the commencement of activities - in determining approval or otherwise for exploration and production activities and facilities - during in-field surveillance of operations - audits of licensee management systems - audits of licensee royalty returns - investigations and relevant enforcement actions following incidents - adequacy of site rehabilitation and fulfilment of requirements prior to licence relinquishment. The key regulatory outcomes and activities undertaken during 2019 are summarised here and provide direction for where to find further detail in the body of this report.

This geochronological study was undertaken within the scope of the Mineral Systems Drilling Program (MSDP), a program that was aimed at improving the understanding of the geology and prospectivity of the southern Gawler Ranges margin area on northern Eyre Peninsula as a means of stimulating exploration interest in this region. Prior to completion of the work herein reported there were few geochronological constraints on the pre-Mesoproterozoic basement rocks in the Mount Double area, which are represented by a range of variably metamorphosed and deformed lithologies, including granite, granitic gneiss, dolerite, amphibolite and quartzofeldspathic and pelitic metasedimentary rocks. For the study, Archean-Palaeoproterozoic basement rocks exposed in outcrop and intersected in drillholes within the Mount Double area were specifically targeted for U-Pb zircon dating. The rocks were found to fall into four main age groups. The oldest rocks dated in this study are foliated and metamorphosed peraluminous two-mica granites (augen-orthogneisses) of the Sleaford Complex. Their mineralogical and geochemical characteristics indicate that these are equivalents of the Kiana Granite of the Dutton Suite exposed on southern Eyre Peninsula. Our new and previously determined age data show that these metagranites from the Mount Double area have magmatic crystallisation ages within the range 2470–2480 Ma, confirming the correlation with the Kiana Granite. The dated metagranites contain older inherited zircons going back in age to about 3000 Ma, indicating the presence of an underlying Mesoarchean basement. A prominent 2510–2530 Ma zircon population is probably derived from a volcano-sedimentary rock succession into which the Kiana-equivalent metagranites intruded. These volcano-sedimentary rocks, which form part of the unexposed portion of the Sleaford Complex within the Mount Double area, are probably correlatives of the c. 2520 Ma Hall Bay Volcanics. A younger zircon population of about 2420–2430 Ma identified within these metagranites is interpreted to reflect metamorphic zircon growth during the Sleafordian Orogeny. One metagranite sample also yielded a c. 1716 Ma zircon population that documents thermal overprinting of these rocks during the Kimban Orogeny. Two metagranite samples of the Peter Pan Supersuite which was intersected in MSDP drillholes yielded c. 1720 Ma magmatic crystallisation ages, corroborating previous age data for 1710–1735 Ma Kimban magmatism in the study area. Circa 1720 Ma metamorphic zircon overgrowths on older zircons from Sleaford Complex orthogneisses show that Kimban Orogeny metamorphism was contemporaneous with Peter Pan Supersuite magmatism. Dark glassy cathodoluminescence rims on magmatic zircons of the two dated Peter Pan Supersuite metagranites yielded early Palaeozoic to Neoproterozoic apparent ages that indicate isotope disturbance broadly around 500 Ma, coincident with the c. 515–490 Ma Delamerian Orogeny. A feldspar-megacrystic granodiorite exposed in the Waulkinna Hill area and named the Nummee Granodiorite, yielded a c. 1690 Ma magmatic crystallisation age placing it within the age range of the Tunkillia Suite. The Nummee Granodiorite also contains a c. 1725 Ma inherited zircon population, which is most probably derived from quartzo-feldspathic volcanogenic(?) metasediments that occur as large xenoliths within the Nummee Granodiorite. A dated sample of these felsic xenoliths contains a c. 1730 Ma unimodal population of igneous zircons, which is statistically indistinguishable from the c. 1725 Ma inherited zircon population present in the Nummee Granodiorite. These metasedimentary xenoliths are the remnants of a supracrustal rock succession that was deposited contemporaneous with Peter Pan Supersuite magmatism and the Kimban Orogeny but was subsequently disrupted by the intrusion of Tunkillia Suite granitoids.

This report presents the results of a study jointly conducted by the Geological Survey of South Australia and CSIRO Mineral Resources which aimed to enhance the expression of geological structure in geophysical images and to derive depth to magnetic source estimates over Region 7 of the Gawler Craton Airborne Survey; viz. approximately the western two-thirds of the PORT AUGUSTA 1:250k map sheet area. The study was based on magnetic field data acquired during June-August 2018 by this airborne magnetic and radiometric survey commissioned by the Geological Survey of South Australia, that have been combined with ground gravity data from the South Australian state gravity database.

This report presents the results of a study jointly conducted by the Geological Survey of South Australia and CSIRO Mineral Resources which aimed to enhance the expression of geological structure in geophysical images and to derive depth to magnetic source estimates over Region 1A of the Gawler Craton Airborne Geophysical Survey; viz. parts of the MAURICE, GILES and TALLARINGA 1:250k map sheet areas. The study was based on magnetic field data acquired during the period October 2017 to March 2018 by this airborne magnetic and radiometric survey commissioned by the Geological Survey of South Australia, that have been combined with ground gravity data from the South Australian state gravity database.

This report presents detailed industry-derived statistics on the State's output and sales values of earth resource commodities realised during the six month period ended 31 December 2019, and compares the data with that returned for the previous six monthly period. The various specific commodities are broadly categorised under the headings of metallic minerals, energy, petroleum production, opal production, industrial minerals and construction materials (the latter including dimension stone, quarry products, sand products and clay products)

This report presents the results of a study jointly conducted by the Geological Survey of South Australia and CSIRO Mineral Resources which aimed to enhance the expression of geological structure in geophysical images and to derive depth to magnetic source estimates over Region 1B of the Gawler Craton Airborne Survey; viz. the Tallaringa South area. The study was based on magnetic field data acquired during the period September 2017 to May 2018 by this airborne magnetic and radiometric survey commissioned by the Geological Survey of South Australia, that have been combined with ground gravity data from the South Australian state gravity database. The 2017-19 PACE Copper Gawler Craton Airborne Survey (GCAS) provides both higher resolution and more consistent mapping of the magnetic field than are available from previous coverage by multiple geophysical surveys of lesser extent. Advantages of the new survey data are quite evident upon inspection of the primary total magnetic intensity (TMI) data, but it is through the enhancement of that TMI data to assist in recovery of geological information that the advantages are most clearly expressed. Many of the enhancements presented in this report are necessarily of limited application to the TMI data previously obtained across the Gawler Craton area, mainly because of known numerous insufficiencies and imperfections in those data, and they would be hampered by the unavoidable effects of abrupt signal strength contrast that appear on passing between survey datasets acquired on different line spacings, flying heights or flight-line orientations. The GCAS data acquisition consistency and close line spacing therefore support higher resolution and more confident source depth mapping from the magnetic field data. Local magnetic field variations arise exclusively from ferromagnetic minerals which may only constitute of the order of 2% or less of the rock (even for what are considered strongly magnetised rocks), while lateral variations in geology which have no associated variation in magnetisation have no direct expression in the magnetic field imagery. In contrast, gravity data respond to variations in density, to which all components of the rock contribute. Gravity field variations therefore provide a complementary mapping of geology. Suitable combinations and contrasts of gravity and magnetic fields provide more diagnostic information about the subsurface than does the sum of the two fields processed and imaged independently.

This report presents the results of a study jointly conducted by the Geological Survey of South Australia and CSIRO Mineral Resources which aimed to enhance the expression of geological structure in geophysical images and to derive depth to magnetic source estimates over Region 8A of the Gawler Craton Airborne Survey; viz. all of the COOBER PEDY 1:250k map sheet area. The study was based on magnetic field data acquired during the period September to December 2017 by this airborne magnetic and radiometric survey commissioned by the Geological Survey of South Australia, that have been combined with ground gravity data from the South Australian state gravity database. The 2017-19 PACE Copper Gawler Craton Airborne Survey (GCAS) provides both higher resolution and more consistent mapping of the magnetic field than are available from previous coverage by multiple geophysical surveys of lesser extent. Advantages of the new survey data are quite evident upon inspection of the primary total magnetic intensity (TMI) data, but it is through the enhancement of that TMI data to assist in recovery of geological information that the advantages are most clearly expressed. Many of the enhancements presented in this report are necessarily of limited application to the TMI data previously obtained across the Gawler Craton area, mainly because of known numerous insufficiencies and imperfections in those data, and they would be hampered by the unavoidable effects of abrupt signal strength contrast that appear on passing between survey datasets acquired on different line spacings, flying heights or flight-line orientations. The GCAS data acquisition consistency and close line spacing therefore support higher resolution and more confident source depth mapping from the magnetic field data.

This report presents the results of a study jointly conducted by the Geological Survey of South Australia and CSIRO Mineral Resources which aimed to enhance the expression of geological structure in geophysical images and to derive depth to magnetic source estimates over Region 8B of the Gawler Craton Airborne Survey; viz. most of the BILLA KALINA 1:250k map sheet area. The study was based on magnetic field data acquired during the period October to December 2017 by this airborne magnetic and radiometric survey commissioned by the Geological Survey of South Australia, that have been combined with ground gravity data from the South Australian state gravity database. The 2017-19 PACE Copper Gawler Craton Airborne Survey (GCAS) provides both higher resolution and more consistent mapping of the magnetic field than are available from previous coverage by multiple geophysical surveys of lesser extent. Advantages of the new survey data are quite evident upon inspection of the primary total magnetic intensity (TMI) data, but it is through the enhancement of that TMI data to assist in recovery of geological information that the advantages are most clearly expressed. Many of the enhancements presented in this report are necessarily of limited application to the TMI data previously obtained across the Gawler Craton area, mainly because of known numerous insufficiencies and imperfections in those data, and they would be hampered by the unavoidable effects of abrupt signal strength contrast that appear on passing between survey datasets acquired on different line spacings, flying heights or flight-line orientations. The GCAS data acquisition consistency and close line spacing therefore support higher resolution and more confident source depth mapping from the magnetic field data. Local magnetic field variations arise exclusively from ferromagnetic minerals which may only constitute of the order of 2% or less of the rock (even for what are considered strongly magnetised rocks), while lateral variations in geology which have no associated variation in magnetisation have no direct expression in the magnetic field imagery. In contrast, gravity data respond to variations in density, to which all components of the rock contribute. Gravity field variations therefore provide a complementary mapping of geology. Suitable combinations and contrasts of gravity and magnetic fields provide more diagnostic information about the subsurface than does the sum of the two fields processed and imaged independently. The output of this study is a collection of images and digital data products, downloadable herein, which have been generated to facilitate geological interpretation. The products are not themselves interpretive, but provide more direct access to interpretation than do directly measured datasets treated alone. These products, and in particular the magnetic source depth estimates, are designed to provide the genesis of a ‘live’ resource which can be progressively upgraded rather than simply being replaced when further studies are undertaken in the area, the depth solution database is added to, or when new drillhole information is reported.

In December 2018, the South Australian Department for Energy and Mining (DEM) contracted AusGeos Pty Ltd to consolidate/validate geophysical and geological datasets and produce a series of depth structure maps of key aquifers and aquitards that would be incorporated into a transient groundwater model of the South Australian portion of the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) that is being developed by the South Australian Department for Environment and Water (DEW) in conjunction with DEM. This report provides an overview of the methodology adopted for the project, data sources, limitations, assumptions and conclusions. Importantly, it provides a dataflow and directory of datafiles and should be used in conjunction with Far North Prescribed Wells Area Groundwater Model project (Department for Environment and Water 2020), as a first point of reference for future groundwater models.

The eastern Gawler Craton is the location of the Olympic Cu-Au Province, a world-class metallogenic province known for iron oxide - associated copper-gold (IOCG) deposits such as Olympic Dam, Prominent Hill and Carrapateena (Skirrow et al., 2007; Reid, 2019). The Olympic Cu-Au Province is a vast region some 600 km in strike length, with several sub-regions of distinctive geology and mineralisation style. The focus of this report is the southern region of the Olympic Cu-Au Province, in particular the geology of the Yorke Peninsula. This region contains the historical Moonta - Wallaroo mining district, the Hillside deposit in the east, and a range of other prospects and smaller deposits (Conor et al., 2010). This report describes new geochronological and geochemical data obtained from samples that were collected mainly from the Yorke Peninsula. The aim of this project has been to characterise the age and chemistry of the crust in this region. The samples selected are of the Barossa Complex, which is the Proterozoic basement unit of the Adelaide Rift Complex, the Donington Suite, the Wallaroo Group, and granites interpreted to belong to the Hiltaba Suite. These are the main stratigraphic units of the Yorke Peninsula region and, in the case of the Barossa Complex samples, of the reworked eastern margin of the Gawler Craton. As the samples' origins in time extend from the oldest (Donington Suite, c. 1850 Ma) to the youngest (Hiltaba Suite, c. 1580 Ma) stratigraphic units, they provide an insight into the crustal evolution of the region through the later Paleoproterozoic and into the early Mesoproterozoic. The new data have been collected as part of a collaborative project arranged between the Geological Survey of South Australia and the China Geological Survey, Nanjing Key Center. The subject report describes the samples analysed and their analytical results, and provides a brief discussion of their geochronological interpretation. All of the U-Pb dating data are in provided in Appendix 1, and in addition they are available online via SARIG https://map.sarig.sa.gov.au. Whole rock geochemical data and Sr-Nd isotopic data were also collected on selected samples, and they are presented in Appendix 2.

1961 was the third time that the Premier, Sir Thomas Playford, undertook an adventurous bush trip during parliamentary holidays. The first one was his visit to the drilling site of Innamincka 1 and the second was to Birdsville for the crossing of the Simpson Desert via the Kallakoopah in 1960. This year the Premier had decided to follow Cooper’s Creek from Innamincka to Lake Eyre South. As this was long before the resurrection of the settlement at the original site of the old town, his trip had to start at Innamincka Station. Lee Parkin, the Deputy Director of Mines, and I had driven to Innamincka to welcome Sir Thomas Playford’s party. The party included the Minister of Mines, Sir Lyell McEwin; the Under-Secretary, Mr. G.F. Seaman; the manager of Delhi-Taylor Oil Corp. in Adelaide, Charles Easley; and Warren Bonython from ICI Australia Ltd. The Premier’s party arrived at Innamincka air strip on the TAA Channel Service DC3. We were waiting for them with a Land Rover station wagon and two normal Land Rovers, equipped for long range desert travel.

The SHRIMP zircon dating study described herein was undertaken as part of the National Geoscience Agreement (NGA), as a collaborative research project between the Geological Survey of South Australia (GSSA) and Geoscience Australia (GA). Eight samples were collected from the five basement inliers of the Barossa Complex, selected to constrain timing of deposition and provenance of metasediments, early and late magmatism and timing of deformation and metamorphism. This study was initiated as part of a broader program investigating tectonic links between the Curnamona Province and Gawler Craton, both regions of economic significance, hosting some of the largest base metal ore bodies ever found. Whether they have a common tectonic history has not been comprehensively explored. Positioned on the eastern margin of the Gawler Craton through to the western edge of Curnamona Province, the Adelaide Rift containing inliers of precursor Barossa Complex is a valuable intermediary region for gathering data to assist in understanding the relationship between the two provinces, and this study seeks to provide dates that can be used to better understand the depositional and tectonothermal history of this domain. The age spectra for six metasedimentary rocks collected from the five inliers of the Barossa Complex are remarkably similar, with all samples sharing a common thermal (metamorphic) history, confirming that the now structurally separated, isolated inliers were once part of a single crustal block. All of the zircons sampled from within these rocks record Palaeoproterozic to Mesoarchaean ages in their crystal's detrital cores, the revealed age distribution comprising a substantial proportion of c. 1735–1850 Ma zircons (60%), with smaller populations of c. 1920–2100 Ma and 2325–2840 Ma, and a few scattered grains with Mesoarchaean ages, c. 2930–3220 Ma. About 10% of the zircon grain cores are younger than c. 1735 Ma, forming peaks at c. 1658 Ma, 1690 Ma and 1707 Ma. Maximum depositional ages range between c. 1655–1707 Ma, and at c. 1655 Ma, the youngest detrital cores are only c. 20 million years older than the onset of metamorphism in the northern inliers. The earliest magmatic activity recognised is intrusion of the orthogneiss in South Para Gorge at 1717 ± 7 Ma. Given the comparative age of the metasedimentary successions, it is clear that this intrusion does not post-date their deposition. The crystallisation age is within the range of the youngest detrital populations in the Barossa Complex metasediments (c. 1660–1735 Ma). Although an intrusive contact has been reported between the orthogneiss and some metasedimentary units within the South Para Gorge (a biotite-sericite gneiss and sillimanite gneiss, Meaney 2018), the orthogneiss is older than other units in the metasedimentary succession (sample R695753 representing a quartzite bed within the psammopelitic biotite-sericite gneisses contains a few c. 1705–1720 Ma detrital cores), indicating some complexity in the depositional and/or tectonic history of the Houghton Inlier. The deformation preserved in the orthogneiss is consistent with that in the surrounding metasediments (Meany et al. in prep.), and it has been metamorphosed with the metasedimentary succession, supporting the interpretation that it is an early syn-depositional intrusion.

This report presents the results of a study jointly conducted by the Geological Survey of South Australia and CSIRO Mineral Resources which aimed to enhance the expression of geological structure in geophysical images and to derive depth to magnetic source estimates over Region 9B of the Gawler Craton Airborne Survey; viz. all of the KINGOONYA 1:250k map sheet area and the northern half of the GAIRDNER 1:250k map sheet area, plus adjoining small portions of the ANDAMOOKA and TORRENS 1:250k map sheets which cover ground surrounding and to the immediate north of Woomera, The study was based on magnetic field data, acquired during the period 3 August 2018 to 26 June 2019 by this airborne magnetic and radiometric survey commissioned by the Geological Survey of South Australia, that have been combined with ground gravity data from the South Australian state gravity database. The (now) 2017-2019 duration PACE Copper Gawler Craton Airborne Survey (GCAS) provides both higher resolution and more consistent mapping of the magnetic field than are available from previous coverage by multiple geophysical surveys of lesser extent. Advantages of the new survey data are quite evident upon inspection of the primary total magnetic intensity (TMI) data, but it is through the enhancement of that TMI data to assist in recovery of geological information that the advantages are most clearly expressed. Many of the enhancements presented in this report are necessarily of limited application to the TMI data previously obtained across the Gawler Craton area, mainly because of known numerous insufficiencies and imperfections in those data, and they would be hampered by the unavoidable effects of abrupt signal strength contrast that appear on passing between survey datasets acquired on different line spacings, flying heights or flight-line orientations. The GCAS data acquisition consistency and close line spacing therefore support higher resolution and more confident source depth mapping from the magnetic field data. Local magnetic field variations arise exclusively from ferromagnetic minerals which may only constitute of the order of 2% or less of the rock (even for what are considered strongly magnetised rocks), while lateral variations in geology which have no associated variation in magnetisation have no direct expression in the magnetic field imagery. In contrast, gravity data respond to variations in density, to which all components of the rock contribute. Gravity field variations therefore provide a complementary mapping of geology. Suitable combinations and contrasts of gravity and magnetic fields provide more diagnostic information about the subsurface than does the sum of the two fields processed and imaged independently.

South Australia’s mineral resources are owned by all South Australians. The responsible development of these resources needs to balance economic, social and environmental impacts. An area of particular importance is balancing access to land for exploration with landowner rights and interests including Aboriginal Native Title and heritage. The Stronger Partners Stronger Futures program was established to address these issues, give representatives of all parties the opportunity to express their views on the system and build stronger relationships through a shared understanding of each other’s values and interests. Aboriginal heritage management, native title rights and interests, and low impact exploration were particularly important aspects of the discussions. What we heard is that reform is needed in areas of policy and regulation, capacity building and cultural heritage management during low impact exploration. Transparency, compliance and cultural awareness should be improved and a genuine commitment to building strong relationships will encourage successful land access negotiations. Mining and exploration companies and native title groups wanted to review the land access system for mineral exploration, particularly the operation of Part 9B of the Mining Act 1971, which explains the requirements for exploring or mining for minerals on native title land in South Australia. They saw a need to interrogate the Part 9B system and clarify the rights and responsibilities of both explorers and native title groups and how they interact. The Department for Energy and Mining (DEM) has taken actions to address these issues including regulatory reform, policy change and guidance. In January 2021, the Statutes Amendment (Mineral Resources) Act 2019 will come into effect, supported by regulations developed by DEM. It contains important changes to the Mining Act that promote better engagement with all landowners, as defined by the Mining Act, and encourage successful land access negotiations with positive results for all parties. DEM will monitor the use and effect of these changes to determine their effectiveness in addressing stakeholder concerns. Further opportunities for reform will be considered alongside ongoing support for collaboration and engagement through information and leading practice guidance.

This report presents the results of a study jointly conducted by the Geological Survey of South Australia and CSIRO Mineral Resources which aimed to enhance the expression of geological structure in geophysical images and to derive depth to magnetic source estimates over Region 5 of the Gawler Craton Airborne Survey; viz. the southern half of the CHILDARA 1:250k map sheet area and the onshore two-thirds of the STREAKY BAY 1:250k map sheet area. The study was based on magnetic field data acquired during the period June to September 2018 by this airborne magnetic and radiometric survey commissioned by the Geological Survey of South Australia, that have been combined with ground gravity data from the South Australian state gravity database. The 2017-19 PACE Copper Gawler Craton Airborne Survey (GCAS) provides both higher resolution and more consistent mapping of the magnetic field than are available from previous coverage by multiple geophysical surveys of lesser extent. Advantages of the new survey data are quite evident upon inspection of the primary total magnetic intensity (TMI) data, but it is through the enhancement of that TMI data to assist in recovery of geological information that the advantages are most clearly expressed. Many of the enhancements presented in this report are necessarily of limited application to the TMI data previously obtained across the Gawler Craton area, mainly because of known numerous insufficiencies and imperfections in those data, and they would be hampered by the unavoidable effects of abrupt signal strength contrast that appear on passing between survey datasets acquired on different line spacings, flying heights or flight-line orientations. The GCAS data acquisition consistency and close line spacing therefore support higher resolution and more confident source depth mapping from the magnetic field data. Local magnetic field variations arise exclusively from ferromagnetic minerals which may only constitute of the order of 2% or less of the rock (even for what are considered strongly magnetised rocks), while lateral variations in geology which have no associated variation in magnetisation have no direct expression in the magnetic field imagery. In contrast, gravity data respond to variations in density, to which all components of the rock contribute. Gravity field variations therefore provide a complementary mapping of geology. Suitable combinations and contrasts of gravity and magnetic fields provide more diagnostic information about the subsurface than does the sum of the two fields processed and imaged independently. The output of this study is a collection of images and digital data products, downloadable herein, which have been generated to facilitate geological interpretation. The products are not themselves interpretive, but provide more direct access to interpretation than do directly measured datasets treated alone. These products, and in particular the magnetic source depth estimates, are designed to provide the genesis of a ‘live’ resource which can be progressively upgraded rather than simply being replaced when further studies are undertaken in the area, the depth solution database is added to, or when new drillhole information is reported.

This report presents the results of a Geological Survey of South Australia drillhole core samples logging project addressing a selection of the cored historical exploration and stratigraphic holes that have penetrated probable Delamerian Orogeny - age igneous and volcano-sedimentary basement to the Murray Basin in South Australia. It also includes a small number of holes from the eastern range front of the Flinders Ranges, which it was thought might be illustrative of concealed basement in the north-western Murray Basin, where few cored holes exist. The contents of this report are intended to be descriptive rather than interpretative, providing the foundation for further analytical work to be done on the drill cores, such as geochronology and geochemistry, which will be necessary to develop a stratigraphy and characterise the magmatic history of this part of the Delamerian Orogen. The holes were selected based on the information provided in lithological and stratigraphic logs available in SARIG, with the objective of including holes with a broad geographic spread which contain a diverse range of lithologies. There are, however, many cored holes that have penetrated igneous or volcano-sedimentary basement which have not been included. The 95 cored holes described herein were re-logged at the DME Tonsley Core Library during the period October 2018 to July 2020. Only the basement intervals in the holes were logged, which total over 6000 m in length. The descriptions of the cores are supported by thin section petrography, including that for 47 new thin sections collected as part of this study, plus results of the re-examination of 210 thin sections previously collected from these drillholes and stored within the GSSA thin section collection at Tonsley. Existing petrology report findings relating to the logged drillholes, contained within exploration company dataset envelopes and generated by petrography studies done as part of the Murray Basin Basement Transect Project (Farrand, 1991; Farrand & Rankin, 1991; Farrand, 1992), were incorporated into the lithological descriptions accompanying the logs. The study has been structured into five regions, (i) North-western Murray Basin margin, (ii) Truro - Cambrai, (iii) Far West, (iv) Karoonda - Coonalpyn and (v) Tintinara - Padthaway, although no geological significance is implied by these divisions. This volume contains the logs for drillholes from the North-western Murray Basin margin, Truro - Cambrai, Far West and Tintinara - Padthaway regions; the logs for drillholes from the Karoonda - Coonalpyn region will be presented in a second volume (Curtis, in prep.). A graphic lithological log is presented for each hole (except those holes with less than 1 m of core), accompanied by a description of the main lithologies, contact relationships, deformational fabrics, alteration and mineralisation. The level of detail provided in the descriptions is variable between drillholes, being largely dependent on the complexity of the rocks and the amount of petrology information available. The majority of the logs are presented at a scale of 1:100 or 1:200, but a small number are presented at a scale of 1:10 or 1:400 depending on hole length and lithological complexity. The grain size on the lithology logs is taken as the coarsest mineral phase, not the dominant grain size. A legend to the graphic logs is provided in a separate figure (Fig. 3). The cored basement depths, major lithologies, secondary mineralogy (which includes metamorphic and alteration minerals) and structural fabrics for the drillholes from each region are summarised in Tables 1–4.

The results of a study undertaken to produce depth estimates to the top of magnetic anomaly sources are presented within this report. The area of interest is located within the present-day preserved footprint of the ~500 Ma Delamerian Orogenic Belt, and is bounded by the current Geological Survey of South Australia (GSSA)'s Section 15 Gazetted Area boundary. There are some sparse outcrops of pre-Delamerian Orogeny rocks along the subject area's boundary in the west and north, but mostly these older, largely unknown rocks are now covered by sedimentary basins of variable thickness. This study forms part of GSSA’s involvement with delivering the third of three MinEx CRC research programs, namely the National Drilling Initiative (NDI). Data collected from eleven past government and private company airborne magnetic surveys have been investigated, and results are being provided as both a combined coverage set and individual sets created for each survey's coverage. A total of 437 depth estimates have been produced for single causative magnetic anomalies located within the boundaries of the eleven airborne surveys. For the combined coverage result set, the final grid interpolation distance was 250 m, and the produced contour interval was 50 m. As noted by Foss (cf. RB 2020/00018 re. the GCAS Region 9B magnetic data modelling), the data in the grid has been greatly smoothed by the gridding process, and therefore is a poor representation of the true basement surface. This is due to the large grid interpolation distances compared with the scale of local complexity of the true geological surface. Results are presented as magnetic basement depth grids and contours. All calculations were completed using the magnetic inversion tool contained within ModelVision, a proprietary software package marketed by Tensor Research. The methodology used was based on the “sweet-spot” traverse inversion depth-estimation technique described by Foss in appendix 5 of this report.

The Delamerian basement to the Murray Basin has been selected as the focus region for a major Geological Survey of South Australia project being conducted as part of the MinEx CRC National Drilling Initiative https://minexcrc.com.au/program-three-national-drilling-initiative/. This region of South Australia is currently under-explored, primarily due to a lack of geological data and a poor understanding of the nature of the basement rocks concealed beneath the Cenozoic Murray Basin. The objective of the Delamerian Basement to the Murray Basin Project is to stimulate mineral exploration beneath cover of the Murray Basin by providing industry with new data and new constraints on the geological framework and mineral prospectivity in this greenfields region (Curtis and Wise, 2019). The project will include a drilling program partnered with MinEx CRC, which will provide valuable information in this region where there are few existing basement-penetrating drill holes. In July 2019, the Geological Survey took out a Section 15 [which defines a temporary preclusion of prospecting and commercial activities under the provisions of the SA Mining Act] over the Murray Basin region (F2014/00363-9) in order to conduct a regional-scale data review and analysis, prior to selecting the locations for performing the drilling program. Two drilling regions have been selected: Quondong Vale in the northern Murray Basin and Alawoona in the central Murray Basin. These regions will be retained under a Section 15 Gazettal for the duration of the drilling program, and the remaining ground will be released for exploration on 1st September 2020. This Atlas provides a pictorial summary of some of the geological and exploration data available for the Murray Basin region, including land access, current and previous exploration, mineral deposits and occurrences, surface and basement geology, geophysics, and drill hole and rock sample geochemistry. Most of these pages are derived from datasets available on SARIG https://map.sarig.sa.gov.au/, and the Atlas presents a snapshot of the data current as of August 2020. An extensive review of legacy open file exploration data that had previously been acquired over the project region was conducted by the GSSA during the period July 2019–August 2020, focussing on drill holes, lithology logs and surface and downhole geochemistry. A significant proportion of legacy data that was not previously in the GSSA database (accessible via SARIG) has lately been uploaded, including 14,930 drill holes corresponding to 515,757 metres of drilling, 9921 new lithology logs, corresponding to 270,094 metres of logging, 59,696 surface geochemistry samples and 152,822 drill hole geochemistry samples. This data upload represents a 72% increase in the available drill holes over the project region, a 110% increase in lithology logs, a 284% increase in surface geochemistry samples and a 188% increase in drill hole geochemistry samples.

The Department for Energy and Mining (DEM) is the state government agency responsible for the administration, management and regulation of South Australia’s mineral resources industry. egislation governs the access to land and the regulation of exploration and production activities for mineral and quarrying resources in South Australia, as well as environmental management of the industry. This mineral resources regulation report for the period 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020 summarises the regulatory performance of the state’s mineral exploration, mining and quarrying industries. It provides relevant indicators of how companies are meeting their compliance obligations to mitigate and manage genuine risks, and the regulatory, surveillance and compliance activities undertaken by DEM.

The Department for Energy and Mining (DEM) is the state government agency responsible for the administration, management and regulation of South Australia’s mineral resources industry. egislation governs the access to land and the regulation of exploration and production activities for mineral and quarrying resources in South Australia, as well as environmental management of the industry. This mineral resources regulation report for the period 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020 summarises the regulatory performance of the state’s mineral exploration, mining and quarrying industries. It provides relevant indicators of how companies are meeting their compliance obligations to mitigate and manage genuine risks, and the regulatory, surveillance and compliance activities undertaken by DEM. - Appendix Volume

This report presents the results of a study jointly conducted by the Geological Survey of South Australia and CSIRO Mineral Resources which aimed to enhance the expression of geological structure in geophysical images and to derive depth to magnetic source estimates over Region 6 of the Gawler Craton Airborne Survey; viz. the southern half of the GAIRDNER 1:250k map sheet area and the northern half of the YARDEA 1:250k map sheet area. The study was based on magnetic field data acquired in sorties made during the period 31 July 2018 to 23 January 2019 by this airborne magnetic and radiometric survey commissioned by the Geological Survey of South Australia, that have been combined with ground gravity data from the South Australian state gravity database. The 2017-19 PACE Copper Gawler Craton Airborne Survey (GCAS) provides both higher resolution and more consistent mapping of the magnetic field than are available from previous coverage by multiple geophysical surveys of lesser extent. Advantages of the new survey data are quite evident upon inspection of the primary total magnetic intensity (TMI) data, but it is through the enhancement of that TMI data to assist in recovery of geological information that the advantages are most clearly expressed. Many of the enhancements presented in this report are necessarily of limited application to the TMI data previously obtained across the Gawler Craton area, mainly because of known numerous insufficiencies and imperfections in those data, and they would be hampered by the unavoidable effects of abrupt signal strength contrast that appear on passing between survey datasets acquired on different line spacings, flying heights or flight-line orientations. The GCAS data acquisition consistency and close line spacing therefore support higher resolution and more confident source depth mapping from the magnetic field data. Local magnetic field variations arise exclusively from ferromagnetic minerals which may only constitute of the order of 2% or less of the rock (even for what are considered strongly magnetised rocks), while lateral variations in geology which have no associated variation in magnetisation have no direct expression in the magnetic field imagery. In contrast, gravity data respond to variations in density, to which all components of the rock contribute. Gravity field variations therefore provide a complementary mapping of geology. Suitable combinations and contrasts of gravity and magnetic fields provide more diagnostic information bout the subsurface than does the sum of the two fields processed and imaged independently.

South Australia’s Energy and Mining Strategy is a confident statement of the potential for this key sector to build on their enduring strengths, world leadership and capacity for innovation to power a speedy recovery from the unprecedented setbacks of the past year. The combination of last summer’s bushfires, the COVID-19 pandemic response and the recent collapse in oil and gas prices has challenged the resilience of our community, economy and energy and mining industries. Yet their resilience in the face of these combined challenges has reaffirmed their capacity to support the state through extraordinary times and offer a pathway to recovery and prosperity. The rapid and significant sector adjustments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has ensured safe worker operating environments, contributed to containing the virus spread, and resulted in maintained essential energy supplies and mineral production. Attention is turning to economic recovery and our longer-term economic growth. Industry began providing its suggestions for improving the productive capacity of the energy and mining sector in 2019 in response to the Growth State: Our Plan for Prosperity and its ambition to accelerate economic activity towards a sustainable three per cent annual growth rate. DEM has distilled that response, captured initially in the feedback received on the Energy and Mining Consultation Paper then further refined in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic into South Australia’s Energy and Mining Strategy. The work of Infrastructure SA in developing a 20-year Infrastructure Strategy and the ongoing market reforms of the Energy Council and the Energy Security Board have also informed this strategy. The strategy identifies the areas that industry believes the government needs to strengthen to achieve the increase in economic activity that will put South Australia firmly on a growth trajectory. The strategy also sets out the actions the government has already begun to roll out in response to industry and develop further policies and programs. South Australia’s Energy Solution, the Accelerated Discovery Initiative, Battery and Emerging Minerals Strategy and the Electric Vehicle Action Plan foreshadowed in the 2019-2020 State Budget are included in this strategy. Existing industry initiatives include the Copper Strategy, Magnetite Strategy, South Australian Hydrogen Action Plan and the Roundtable for Oil and Gas. Energy and mining is one of nine sectors identified as key contributors to the Growth State ambitions. The Marshall Liberal government will respond to sector strategies developed to support Growth State with carefully considered commitments under the growth enablers of trade and investment, skills and innovation, infrastructure, and land, water and environment. The core strategic aims are to improve the productive capacity of our resource ex porting companies and the supply chain businesses they support, while creating a modern energy system that lowers costs, encourages efficiency and assists in delivering Australia’s targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Energy and mining is a diverse and significant sector of the South Australian economy. It contributes $9.2 billion or 8.3 per cent of our economic output through energy generation, storage, distribution and retail services, mineral resources, extractive materials, oil and gas, value-added processing and products from resources, equipment, technology and services, and direct construction of new projects. The sector contributes $299 million in royalties, $5.32 billion in exports and employs more than 43,900 people.

Exploring effectively through cover is a fundamental challenge for the minerals industry in Australia, and the same need is driving the restructuring of mineral exploration strategies world-wide. The study area chosen for this particular research project is located in the Central Gawler Craton, a well-known regolith-dominated terrain with an extensive and intensely weathered cover. The project aimed to: (1) contribute to existing exploration strategies using Domain knowledge and Digital (D&D) projects by integrating landscape variability, regolith mapping, surface and basement lineament extraction from diverse datasets (e.g. Digital Elevation Model -DEM, magnetics, gravity), robust geological interpretations, and mineral systems insights; (2) contribute to the understanding of the relationship between the fabric of the basement and the variability of the cover in the Central Gawler Craton; and (3) better understand the landscape variability in the region. A new regolith map was produced for the Tarcoola region. This was coupled with the identification of surface lineaments by a knowledge-driven protocol exercised on DEM and satellite imagery. These lineaments correlate with known geological trends, which strongly supports the validity and consistency of the knowledge-driven lineament interpretations. In addition, and to compare outputs of two methodologies for lineament extraction, a new computer-assisted workflow to detect lineaments in diverse datasets (e.g. magnetics, gravity) was developed. This workflow defined surface and basement lineaments based on DEM, radiometric, gravity, and magnetic datasets using a computer-assisted protocol. Statistical analysis of the resulting surface lineaments supports the findings that they are not reliable for geological mapping, but basement lineaments display consistent natural patterns that can be used to complement geological interpretations. The Landscape Pattern Recognition (LPR) algorithm was employed to map five different landscape domains, based on geometrical variability of surface features within in the study area. The resulting LPR domain map does not correlate with basement geology, regolith or surface lineament domains. It rather resembles the different environments of the sedimentary system footprint left behind by the Kingoonya Palaeochannel System. This suggests the potential of the LPR algorithm to map physiographic units. The fabric of the basement in the Central Gawler Craton is mirrored by or through the cover for lineaments extracted from magnetic and DEM data. Some of the major structures correspond to the termination of, or gaps between, areas with of higher density of surface lineaments. However, observations on landscape variability, regolith units, and computer-assisted identified lineament domains, show no evidence of a direct correlation with the fabric of the basement. Based on the outputs summarised above, several target areas in the Central Gawler Craton were delineated for mineral exploration follow-up based on the convergence of five proxies: (1) surface lineament density areas; (2) regional geological structures; (3) key geological structures associated with mineral systems; (4) areas with historical discovery of ore deposits; and (5) areas related to gradients in erosional landscape regimes.

The Mining Act 1971 (Mining Act) has regulated the exploration and mining sector in South Australia for over 50 years. During this time significant and widespread change has occurred in how the mining sector is managed, financed, and regulated. In 2016, the Department for Energy and Mining (DEM) led a major and overdue review of South Australia’s mining laws. This led to the updated Statutes Amendment (Mineral Resources) Act 2019 (SA) (Act) being passed by Parliament in late 2019. Central to the updated Act is the implementation of mining regulations, which sit beneath the Act and detail its application. In 2020, DEM drafted the draft Mining Regulations 2020, draft Opal Mining Regulations 2020 and the draft Mines and Works Inspection (Mine Manager) Variation Regulations 2020 (collectively, the ‘draft regulations’) which, when completed, will support the Mining Act, Opal Mining Act and the Mines and Works Inspection Act 1920 (collectively, the ‘Mining Acts’) when they comes into effect on 1 January 2021. Public consultation on the draft regulations is an important part of overall development of the draft regulations, in order to solicit a diversity of viewpoints and inputs across a variety of stakeholders. This input was carefully considered as part of finalising the regulations. With the draft regulations, public consultation occurred for a six week period from 3 August to 11 September 2020. This report summarises the major themes and stakeholder feedback obtained from public submissions. It also provides details of input relating to the regulatory reform obtained from webinars, meetings, queries, and emails received during public consultation. The report will outline key changes made to the draft regulations as a result of the submissions received during public consultation.

This paper sets out options for improving the native title system for mineral exploration in South Australia. The Department for Energy and Mining (DEM) would like your opinion on these options, which are set out in section 6. The questions asked in this discussion paper are the result of consultation on this issue over the past five years. In 2016, as a result of continuing concern raised by both native title groups and the mineral exploration industry (explorers) about the native title system as it applies to mining and exploration, DEM set up the Stronger Partners Stronger Futures program to consult with both groups about improving the system.

In May 1956 Santos reactivated its exploration activity in the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) initiated by Dr Rudi Brunnschweiler in 1954. He was Chief Petroleum Consultant with the consulting firm Geosurveys of Australia Ltd which had been retained by the newly founded South Australian oil exploration company SANTOS Ltd to look after all its field operations. Geosurveys was owned and managed by renowned South Australian geologist Reginald (Reg) C. Sprigg who, at that stage,was primarily concerned in uranium exploration in the Northern Territory (Sprigg 1993). Shortly after he had founded the company, he engaged the Swiss geologist Dr Rudi O. Brunnschweiler to handle the petroleum side of the business. Rudi, as he was generally known, had flown a small single engine aircraft from Europe to Australia and, prior to him joining Sprigg, had worked extensively for the Bureau of Mineral Resources in the Carnarvon Basin in northwestern Australia. One of Rudi’s first efforts on behalf of Santos was an air and ground reconnaissance of the Oodnadatta region in 1954, resulting in a report on the area including a geological map and a cross section of the Western GAB.

The Officer Basin overlies approximately 375 000 square kilometres of the south central part of the Australian craton (Palfreyman, 1981). It is the third largest of the continent's onshore basins but, in spite of its size, is probably the least known and understood of the intracratonic settings. The lack of knowledge about the basin in large part reflects the poor infrastructure in the region and the general aridity of the environment (Plate 1). There are no made roads crossing the basin and only a small number of largely unmaintained single lane tracks. Because the region is extremely dry, there is little run off and almost no stream drainage. As a consequence the palaeo-stream network that drained into the Tertiary Eucla Basin to the south remains largely intact. This atlas brings together the latest geological ideas, incorporating earlier data gathered in the South Australian part of the basin, in an accessible form. The atlas consists of 30 plates covering a range of topics from topography and surface geology to water resources and potential field data as well as the architecture of the basin fill. The atlas has been arranged to present some of the more general features of the basin such as topography, geology, structure and water resources in the earlier plates whilst concentrating on details of the basin fill in later plates

Acting on behalf of Geoscience Australia (GA), the Geological Survey of South Australia was contracted to scan 1260 m of sonic and diamond drilled core material originating from the onshore portion of the Bonaparte Gulf Basin, which is located both within Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Cores from 19 sonic, 6 diamond and 8 percussion drillholes were scanned using the South Australian HyLogger 3.3 facility installed at the Tonsley Core Library in Adelaide. The cores were initially subjected to detailed depth logging and sample masking, and subsequent spectral scans provided information on the SWIR (short-wave infrared frequency bandwidth) and TIR (thermal infrared frequency bandwidth) - responsive mineralogies that were observed as the respective sensors passed down each hole's core. Gamma ray geophysical log data were also integrated into the TSG digital data output files. These files have been provided to GA to enable further analysis.

This paper sets out options for improving the native title system for mineral exploration in South Australia. The Department for Energy and Mining (DEM) would like your opinion on these options. We will use your comments to determine the level of support for the options and whether they respect the rights and interests of both explorers and native title groups in mineral exploration. All parties have raised concerns about the current land access scheme in South Australia and generally agree that it could be improved. A key concern is how to encourage more effective engagement between native title groups, explorers and government, particularly for early engagement before exploration starts. In this paper we’re seeking your views on options to facilitate relationship building, cultural awareness and cultural competency between the parties and what administrative processes government could implement to support this engagement. We want to understand how any proposed reforms will work in practice within existing structures.

Late Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks of the Arckaringa Basin in northern South Australia include diamictite and sandstone units of the Boorthanna Formation that were deposited as lodgement till under fluvioglacial conditions. The clast size and matrix sedimentology suggest that the diamictite units were sourced from both continental icesheet and valley and/or ice tongue glaciers, a view which is in contrast to accepted models that do not consider multiple glacial influences in sediment deposition. The sandstone units of the Boorthanna Formation were deposited in meltwater streams at the final stage of deglaciation. The uppermost unit of the late Palaeozoic Arckaringa Basin, the Mount Toondina Formation, consists of carbonaceous sandstone and siltstone units. The interbedded nature of this unit as well as the sedimentology implies that the sedimentary rocks were deposited in an alternating lacustrine and fluvial setting. Comparison with the depositional model for temporally equivalent late Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks of the Troubridge Basin shows that the lowermost sedimentary rocks in both basins comprise lodgement till that was deposited via the action of icesheets and valley glaciers. The depositional processes in the two basins then became different so that sedimentary rocks within the Arckaringa Basin were being deposited in a deepening marine setting whilst fluvioglacial and glaciomarine sedimentary rocks were being deposited in the Troubridge Basin. The depositional environment of the Arckaringa Basin then moved to being terrestrial, and alternating lacustrine and fluvial sedimentary rocks were deposited. At this time the Troubridge Basin moved to a deepening glaciomarine environment.

Petroleum exploration in South Australia experienced new impetus when the Texan independent oil producer Delhi Taylor Oil Corp. joined Santos as a partner in 1958 (Sprigg, 1993). The deal between Delhi and Santos included the drilling of two deep exploration wells within the Delhi/Santos licence areas in South Australia and Queensland (Fig. 1). Delhi was to carry the cost of that venture and was also to act as the operator. A seismic reflection survey was carried out under contract by the seismic crew of the South Australia Department of Mines in 1958. It verified the results of our earlier surface mapping (Fig. 2) and proved beyond doubt that the hills and ranges north-east of Innamincka represented an enormous anticline and a prime drilling target. Thus, the decision to drill a wildcat well on that structure had already crystallised in the latter part of 1958.

This report presents the results of a study jointly conducted by the Geological Survey of South Australia and CSIRO Mineral Resources which aimed to enhance the expression of geological structure in geophysical images and to derive depth to magnetic source estimates over Region 9A of the Gawler Craton Airborne Survey; viz. all of the TARCOOLA 1:250k map sheet area, plus the northern half of the CHILDARA 1:250k map sheet area. The study was based on magnetic field data, acquired during the period 5 November 2017 to 2 May 2018 by this airborne magnetic and radiometric survey commissioned by the Geological Survey of South Australia, that have been combined with ground gravity data from the South Australian state gravity database.

This report presents detailed industry-derived statistics on the State's output and sales values of earth resource commodities realised during the six month period ended 31 December 2018, and compares the data with that returned for the previous six monthly period. The various specific commodities are broadly categorised under the headings of metallic minerals, energy, petroleum production, opal production, industrial minerals and construction materials (the latter including dimension stone, quarry products, sand products and clay products).

The Energy Resources Division (ERD) is responsible for administering the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Act 2000 (PGE Act) and associated Regulations on behalf of the Minister for Energy and Mining . The PGE Act enables and regulates the exploration and development of regulated petroleum and geothermal energy resources for the benefit of South Australians. Since 2006, ERD has prepared an annual report on the division’s compliance monitoring activities and an overview of PGE Act licensees’ regulated activities and incident statistics. ERD’s compliance policy emphasises the importance of preventive measures to educate and facilitate a compliant industry, with escalation to persuasive and compulsive measures where necessary. Compliance monitoring activities occur through the life of a regulated activity: from the licence issue, planning and design of exploration and production activities and facilities, in-field surveillance of operations, through to audits of licensee management systems.. The key regulatory outcomes and activities undertaken during 2018 are listed below. -- Activities: Activity notifications are provided to the minister prior to the proposed commencement of any regulated activities. --Field inspections: Field surveillance trips were conducted across the Cooper–Eromanga, Arrowie, Otway and Telford basins. -- Fitness-for-purpose assessment: Section 86A of the PGE Act requires a fitness-for-purpose (FFP) assessment to be carried out for prescribed licences every 5 years in accordance with the Regulations. -- Co-produced water monitoring: The minister has been assigned a water allocation of 60 ML/d, under the water allocation plan for the Far North Prescribed Wells Area. -- Significant environmental benefit contributions: As a delegate for the South Australian Native Vegetation Council under the Native Vegetation Act 1991, ERD enforces the significant environmental benefit (SEB) obligations on licensees relating to vegetation clearances. -- Incidents: The PGE Act includes objectives pertaining to public safety, security of gas supply, and the protection of the natural environment and of the interests of other land users and landowners. -- Loss of containment incidents: The number of produced hydrocarbon and other loss of containment (LOC) events are shown in the chart provided - see report. The upstream pipeline (excluding transmission pipeline) LOC incident rates per 1,000 km per year are shown in the provided chart for 2009 to 2018. -- Root causes of incidents: Inadequate monitoring and inadequate maintenance are consistently the most common determined root causes of incidents reported to ERD.

This report presents the results of a study jointly conducted by the Geological Survey of South Australia and CSIRO Mineral Resources which aimed to enhance the expression of geological structure in geophysical images and to derive depth to magnetic source estimates over Region 4A of the Gawler Craton Airborne Survey; viz. parts of the OOLDEA, NULLARBOR, BARTON and FOWLER 1:250k map sheet areas. The study was based on magnetic field data acquired during January-May 2017 by this airborne magnetic and radiometric survey commissioned by the Geological Survey of South Australia, that have been combined with ground gravity data from the South Australian state gravity database. The 2017-19 PACE Copper Gawler Craton Airborne Survey (GCAS) provides both higher resolution and more consistent mapping of the magnetic field than are available from previous coverage by multiple geophysical surveys of lesser extent. Advantages of the new survey data are quite evident upon inspection of the primary total magnetic intensity (TMI) data, but it is through the enhancement of that TMI data to assist in recovery of geological information that the advantages are most clearly expressed. Many of the enhancements presented in this report are necessarily of limited application to the TMI data previously obtained across the Gawler Craton area, mainly because of known numerous insufficiencies and imperfections in those data, and they would be hampered by the unavoidable effects of abrupt signal strength contrast that appear on passing between survey datasets acquired on different line spacings, flying heights or flight-line orientations. The GCAS data acquisition consistency and close line spacing therefore support higher resolution and more confident source depth mapping from the magnetic field data. Local magnetic field variations arise exclusively from ferromagnetic minerals which may only constitute of the order of 2% or less of the rock (even for what are considered strongly magnetised rocks), while lateral variations in geology which have no associated variation in magnetisation have no direct expression in the magnetic field imagery. In contrast, gravity data respond to variations in density, to which all components of the rock contribute. Gravity field variations therefore provide a complementary mapping of geology. Suitable combinations and contrasts of gravity and magnetic fields provide more diagnostic information about the subsurface than does the sum of the two fields processed and imaged independently. The output of this study is a collection of images and digital data products, downloadable herein, which have been generated to facilitate geological interpretation. The products are not themselves interpretive, but provide more direct access to interpretation than do directly measured datasets treated alone. These products, and in particular the magnetic source depth estimates, are designed to provide the genesis of a ‘live’ resource which can be progressively upgraded rather than simply being replaced when further studies are undertaken in the area, the depth solution database is added to, or when new drillhole information is reported. Notes: Includes, in Appendix 2, the senior author's 232 inversion model magnetic source depth solutions generated from 208 traverses over discrete anomalies discerned in the gridded GCAS TMI data (N.B. some traverses provided solutions from two adjacent anomalies).

This report presents the results of a study jointly conducted by the Geological Survey of South Australia and CSIRO Mineral Resources which aimed to enhance the expression of geological structure in geophysical images and to derive depth to magnetic source estimates over Region 4B of the Gawler Craton Airborne Survey; viz. the near-coast onshore parts of the NULLARBOR and FOWLER 1:250k map sheet areas. The study was based on magnetic field data acquired during January-May 2017 by this airborne magnetic and radiometric survey commissioned by the Geological Survey of South Australia, that have been combined with ground gravity data from the South Australian state gravity database. The 2017-19 PACE Copper Gawler Craton Airborne Survey (GCAS) provides both higher resolution and more consistent mapping of the magnetic field than are available from previous coverage by multiple geophysical surveys of lesser extent. Advantages of the new survey data are quite evident upon inspection of the primary total magnetic intensity (TMI) data, but it is through the enhancement of that TMI data to assist in recovery of geological information that the advantages are most clearly expressed. Many of the enhancements presented in this report are necessarily of limited application to the TMI data previously obtained across the Gawler Craton area, mainly because of known numerous insufficiencies and imperfections in those data, and they would be hampered by the unavoidable effects of abrupt signal strength contrast that appear on passing between survey datasets acquired on different line spacings, flying heights or flight-line orientations. The GCAS data acquisition consistency and close line spacing therefore support higher resolution and more confident source depth mapping from the magnetic field data. Local magnetic field variations arise exclusively from ferromagnetic minerals which may only constitute of the order of 2% or less of the rock (even for what are considered strongly magnetised rocks), while lateral variations in geology which have no associated variation in magnetisation have no direct expression in the magnetic field imagery. In contrast, gravity data respond to variations in density, to which all components of the rock contribute. Gravity field variations therefore provide a complementary mapping of geology. Suitable combinations and contrasts of gravity and magnetic fields provide more diagnostic information about the subsurface than does the sum of the two fields processed and imaged independently. The output of this study is a collection of images and digital data products, downloadable herein, which have been generated to facilitate geological interpretation. The products are not themselves interpretive, but provide more direct access to interpretation than do directly measured datasets treated alone. These products, and in particular the magnetic source depth estimates, are designed to provide the genesis of a ‘live’ resource which can be progressively upgraded rather than simply being replaced when further studies are undertaken in the area, the depth solution database is added to, or when new drillhole information is reported. Notes: Includes, in Appendix 2, the senior author's 272 inversion model magnetic source depth solutions generated from 228 traverses over discrete anomalies discerned in the gridded GCAS TMI data (N.B. some traverses provided solutions from two adjacent anomalies).

The excursion to the Old Boolcoomata region of the Olary Domain, Curnamona Province, in South Australia presents most of the stratigraphy of the late Palaeoproterozoic Willyama Supergroup and evidence for its complex deformation during the ~1600 Ma Olarian Orogeny. The Curnamona Group is characterised by extensive albitisation of its dominantly psammitic and psammopelitic metasediments and intercalated felsic volcanics of the Abminga Subsuite, deposited in a rift basin at ~1720–1710 Ma. It was intruded by syn-rift A-type granite of the Ameroo Subsuite at ~1710 Ma. The Saltbush Group disconformably overlies the Curnamona Group, commencing with quartzite, psammite, calc-silicate and sulphidic metasiltstone of the Bimba Formation and overlying volcaniclastic Plumbago Formation (~1697 Ma), together comprising the Larry Macs Subgroup. This passes up into the dominantly pelitic Raven Hill Subgroup which contains exhalative quartz-garnet lenses similar to those in the broadly equivalent Broken Hill Group of the Broken Hill Domain. The Raven Hill Subgroup is the youngest unit intruded by the mafic Lady Louise Suite (~1685 Ma), coeval with mafic sills and dykes in the Broken Hill Domain. The Olarian Orogeny involved large-scale nappe stacking, thrusting and non-cylindrical folding. Deformation was probably continuous and progressive with overall north-west directed tectonic transport under amphibolite facies conditions, although metamorphic grade generally decreases to the north. The excursion area contains belts of different grade: the Outalpa Subdomain is lower amphibolite facies while the Bulloo Subdomain is mid- to upper amphibolite, accompanied by extensive migmatisation. S-type granites of the Bimbowrie Suite intruded late in the Olarian Orogeny, and are themselves in places deformed by the network of early Mesoproterozoic greenschist-facies shear zones that criss-cross the Curnamona Province, some of which were re-activated in the Cambrian Delamerian Orogeny.

The Tarcoola Goldfield region is located in the central Gawler Craton, and forms the northern portion of the Central Gawler Gold Province. Gold deposits underlying the Tarcoola Ridge and adjacent areas have been exploited by in excess of 50 historic surface and underground mines and by many small-scale workings that were opened up since the first discovery of alluvial gold at Tarcoola in 1893. But in more recent times company-led gold exploration and mining activity in the Tarcoola region has only been intermittent, with WPG Resources Ltd recommencing operations at the Perseverance open cut mine in late 2016. This report presents the results of Laser Ablation–Inductively Coupled Plasma–Mass Spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) analyses done on 7 samples of sedimentary, igneous and mineralised/altered lithologies from the Tarcoola Goldfield region. These samples were collected with several purposes in mind; to examine the sources of sediments in the Tarcoola Formation, to determine the ages of previously unconstrained igneous rocks, and to constrain the ages of signatures of past deformation events seen in regionally significant shear zones and within mineralised structures in the Tarcoola Gold Camp.

The Marshall Liberal government has initiated Growth State – Our Plan for Prosperity recognising we need to do things differently to create an environment that is conducive to economic growth and a more sustainable, prosperous future for South Australians. Carefully designed to leverage South Australia’s competitive advantages, Growth State is a work plan to promote industry growth by responding to the needs of business and industries. At its heart, Growth State articulates what government is doing, informed by what industry needs. Growth State is a coordinated government commitment to real, concrete actions and deliverables. This Consultation Paper defines the scope of the energy and mining sector and suggests ambitious targets to support the objectives of Growth State. It also seeks feedback to define what business needs so further actions can be identified that will encourage confidence and address barriers to investment. The final version of the Strategy will inform government of the energy and mining sector’s priority needs in delivering stronger growth and will highlight relevant government commitments.

This report presents newly acquired Sensitive High Resolution Ion Microprobe (SHRIMP) U-Pb geochronological data produced by analysis of zircon crystals separated from six samples of rocks from the Fowler Domain, western Gawler Craton, that were provided to DEM by Western Areas Ltd. Drilling recently undertaken by Western Areas Ltd in the Fowler Domain has been aimed at understanding the regional geological setting, with a view to discovery of precious or base metals in the region. Some of the data presented here are derived from rocks which the company encountered by drilling two percussion holes and one diamond cored hole within the Barton and Colona Blocks of the Fowler Domain. The rest of the data are derived from rocks encountered within the Central Block of the Fowler Domain by a previous explorer's diamond drilling of two holes during February-March 2011. A drill cuttings sample of metamorphosed quartz-feldspar-biotite-hornblende-garnet gneiss from Western Areas' percussion aircore drillhole WGAC0045 (R2145321) yielded a magmatic crystallisation age of 1586 ± 3 Ma, with a c. 1530 – 1500 Ma metamorphic overprint. A drill cuttings sample of partly retrogressed quartz-K-feldspar-plagioclase-garnet-sillimanite-muscovite gneiss from Western Areas' percussion aircore drillhole WGAC0105 (R2145326) yielded a magmatic crystallisation age of 1611 ± 12 Ma, indicating that this sample is part of the St Peter Suite. Drill core samples R2322229 and R2322230 come from Western Areas' diamond cored drillhole WGD0001, and represent a metagabbro and a two-mica metagranite, respectively. The granite crystallised in the early stages of the Kimban Orogeny, at 1730 Ma, then was metamorphosed at 1698 ± 6 Ma, in the late stage of orogenesis. The metagabbro also crystallised zircon during the late-stage thermal event, at 1697 ± 5 Ma. Drill core sample R2322233 comes from Gunson Resources' diamond cored drillhole FBD1, and represents a plagioclase-quartz-hornblende (+titanite+allanite) granitiod of tonalite composition. The crystallisation age of 1578 ± 9 Ma indicates that this granite is part of the Hiltaba Suite. Finally, drill core sample R2322236 comes from a nearby Gunson Resources diamond cored drillhole, FBD2, and is an aluminous, garnet- and sillimanite-bearing felsic gneiss. The metasedimentary protolith to the gneiss has a maximum age of deposition of 1612 ± 5 Ma, with the gneissic fabric developing during a thermal event that was contemporary with emplacement of the Hiltaba Suite, at 1585 ± 4 Ma.

Convergence on the Coast, the 2019 biennial meeting of the Geological Society of Australia’s SGTSG and SGSEG, 18-22 November 2019, Port Lincoln, South Australia. This year the Specialist Group in Tectonics and Structural Geology has joined forces with the Specialist Group in Solid Earth Geophysics to bring you 'Convergence on the Coast'. Our aim is to bring together the research community in structural geology, tectonics and solid earth geophysics within Australia and internationally to discuss the latest research and developments in these fields. The primary focus of this technical conference is to enable collaboration and exchange of ideas between the geoscience research, government and industry communities. The conference this year is built around eight interdisciplinary themes, headlined by an invited keynote speaker. The themes reflect a broad range of geoscience topics across the structure, tectonics, geodynamics, geophysics, mineral systems and modelling disciplines. The themes include: • Observational geophysics • Geodynamics and thermodynamics • Domes, basins and dynamic topography • The Australia-Antarctic connection • Experimental studies of rocks and structure • Tectonic controls on mineral systems • Multi-scale structures and fluid-rock interaction • Plate margin and intra-plate orogenesis.

Born in 1924 in Austria, Wopfner served in the German air force as a pilot during World War II. After the war he studied geology at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, completing a PhD thesis. In 1955 he married botanist Dr Inge Wagner and in 1956 they left Europe when Wopfner joined Geosurveys of Australia on a four-year contract to undertake oil exploration work on behalf of Santos. Using ground and air reconnaissance, Wopfner and Dr Rudi Brunnschweiler produced the first structural contour map of the entire Santos licence area in South Australia and Queensland. Published in 1958 in the AAPG Bulletin, the map led to the partnership between Santos and the American independent, Delhi Tailor Oil Corporation. In 1960 Wopfner joined the Geological Survey of South Australia and undertook many arduous field trips, often with Inge and their children, into the desert to explore the geology of northeastern South Australia and the Northern Territory. In 1962 he was promoted to Senior Geologist in charge of the newly created Petroleum Geology Section where he was instrumental in ensuring that Delhi–Santos followed up gas shows in Gidgealpa 1 with a second well, Gidgealpa 2, which discovered the Cooper Basin hydrocarbon province. In 1973 Wopfner resigned to join the University of Cologne, Germany, as Professor of Applied Geology where he focused on the economic potential, the tectono-sedimentary facies and the paleoclimatic development of Permo-Triassic depositional sequences of Gondwana and Gondwana-derived terranes. Prior to leaving Australia, Wopfner was elected a Distinguished Member of the Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia and in 1973 was awarded the Sir Joseph Verco Medal of the Royal Society of South Australia. In 2001, on his 75th birthday, Contributions to geology and palaeontology of Gondwana in honour of Helmut Wopfner was published. Although well into his 90s, Wopfner continues to document the history of the early days of the petroleum sector in South Australia through the Department for Energy and Mining’s Report Book series.

Production figures for Commodities by Category for 6 Months ending 30 June 2019 - Comparison with previous corresponding period.

The Department for Energy and Mining (DEM) is the state government agency responsible for the administration, management and regulation of South Australia’s mineral resources industry. Legislation governs the access to land and the regulation of exploration and production activities for mineral and quarrying resources in South Australia, as well as environmental management of the industry. This mineral resources regulation report for the period 1 January 2018 to 30 June 2019 summarises the regulatory performance of the state’s mineral exploration, mining and quarrying industries. It provides relevant indicators of how companies are meeting their compliance obligations to mitigate and manage genuine risks, and the regulatory, surveillance and compliance activities undertaken by DEM. The report aligns with the regulatory principles set out in DEM’s Regulating mineral exploration and mining in South Australia: setting the framework for best practice regulation. The information covers an 18-month reporting period as the report transitions from a calendar year to a financial year reporting cycle.

This report presents the results of a study jointly conducted by the Geological Survey of South Australia and CSIRO Mineral Resources which aimed to enhance the expression of geological structure in geophysical images and to derive depth to magnetic source estimates over Region 10 of the Gawler Craton Airborne Survey; viz. the majority of the LAKE EYRE 1:250k map sheet area. The study was based on magnetic field data acquired during two separate sorties conducted between October 2017 and March 2018 as part of this airborne magnetic and radiometric survey commissioned by the Geological Survey of South Australia, that have been combined with ground gravity data from the South Australian state gravity database. The 2017-19 PACE Copper Gawler Craton Airborne Survey (GCAS) provides both higher resolution and more consistent mapping of the magnetic field than are available from previous coverage by multiple geophysical surveys of lesser extent. Advantages of the new survey data are quite evident upon inspection of the primary total magnetic intensity (TMI) data, but it is through the enhancement of that TMI data to assist in recovery of geological information that the advantages are most clearly expressed. Many of the enhancements presented in this report are necessarily of limited application to the TMI data previously obtained across the Gawler Craton area, mainly because of known numerous insufficiencies and imperfections in those data, and they would be hampered by the unavoidable effects of abrupt signal strength contrast that appear on passing between survey datasets acquired on different line spacings, flying heights or flight-line orientations. The GCAS data acquisition consistency and close line spacing therefore support higher resolution and more confident source depth mapping from the magnetic field data. Local magnetic field variations arise exclusively from ferromagnetic minerals which may only constitute of the order of 2% or less of the rock (even for what are considered strongly magnetised rocks), while lateral variations in geology which have no associated variation in magnetisation have no direct expression in the magnetic field imagery. In contrast, gravity data respond to variations in density, to which all components of the rock contribute. Gravity field variations therefore provide a complementary mapping of geology. Suitable combinations and contrasts of gravity and magnetic fields provide more diagnostic information about the subsurface than does the sum of the two fields processed and imaged independently. The output of this study is a collection of images and digital data products, downloadable herein, which have been generated to facilitate geological interpretation. The products are not themselves interpretive, but provide more direct access to interpretation than do directly measured datasets treated alone. These products, and in particular the magnetic source depth estimates, are designed to provide the genesis of a ‘live’ resource which can be progressively upgraded rather than simply being replaced when further studies are undertaken in the area, the depth solution database is added to, or when new drillhole information is reported.

In April 2019 the Department for Energy and Mining (DEM) under the Stronger Partners Stronger Futures (SPSF) program released three discussion papers recommending options to reform the native title system as it applies to exploration and mining. The discussion papers summarised the priority issues that participants have raised throughout consultation in support of improving the operation of Part 9B of the Mining Act 1971 and sought comment on suggested options for reform. Submissions were invited from over 300 individuals and organisations working in the exploration and mining industry, native title groups and their representatives, government and representative peak bodies. Both formal written and verbal submissions were received with representation from the exploration and mining sector, the native title sector and individual organisations, peak bodies and legal advisors. The purpose of this report is to: -- Provide an overview of the key messages from the submission process. -- Clarify which issues can be addressed by DEM and which issues fall within the jurisdiction of other stakeholders. -- Advise on the next steps for implementation.

The South Australian government is developing an Energy and Mining Strategy to contribute to Growth State: Our plan for prosperity. To ensure an industry-led strategy, key stakeholders were invited to provide their feedback on a consultation paper that outlined what was now being done, defined the challenges ahead and the scope to go further to drive economic activity. The South Australian public and industry were invited to provide their views on key growth opportunities and challenges for the energy and mining sector and comment on the government role and focus for delivering on Growth State’s ambitious economic growth targets. This ‘What we heard’ report has been prepared to summarise and synthesise the submissions received during stakeholder engagement on the Sustainably Growing Energy and Mining in South Australia Consultation Paper. It brings together written submissions provided to the government as well as the information collated from the YourSAy web site, Facebook and Twitter. The wide-ranging feedback will inform the final design of an Energy and Mining Strategy to support the Growth State: Our plan for prosperity.

This regolith material hand specimen atlas displays 246 images of 212 regolith samples which have been collected over the last 30 years by the authors, present and past Geological Survey of South Australia (GSSA) staff and members of the Cooperative Research Centre for Landscape Environments and Mineral Exploration (CRC LEME). The atlas provides a broad overview of a wide variety of in situ and transported regolith located across South Australia, which have formed from rocks of possible Archean to Quaternary age. The atlas also includes regolith examples from adjacent states. It illustrates the composition, fabric, structure and stratigraphy – where applicable – of dominantly in situ regolith, as well as cases of regolith with mixed origin and/or complex overprinting. The atlas aims to be a teaching, guidance and look-up tool for geologists, explorers and other parties interested in regolith, but is far from representing all types of regolith materials occurring in SA. Where available, further references and links to publications are provided. The hand specimens are grouped and described – where applicable – by regolith materials grouped according to regolith terminology and classification developed in the CRC LEME (Pain et al., 2007; Pain, 2008). Each hand specimen has been photographed, in some cases multiple times. The regolith material hand specimen collection is physically stored in the South Australia Drill Core Reference Library at the Tonsley Precinct and can be viewed upon request. Some samples shown in this atlas are privately owned and do not form part of the actual specimen collection held at Tonsley. However, they have been included here as they show important types of regolith material found in the State, and hence complement the GSSA collection.

By the end of 1956 Santos was still concentrating its efforts on locating an elusive oil pool at Wilkatana, in the Torrens Basin, about 45 km north of Port Augusta. Eighteen months after the first hydrocarbons had been encountered in the bore Wilkatana 1, a total of 18 holes had been drilled, but the results hadn’t really been encouraging (Wopfner 2010). The pattern drilling instigated by Reg Sprigg hadn’t produced any tangible results and it became apparent that the oil in the first well and the other shows in the Cambrian dolomite may have been remnants of a much older oil accumulation which had been de-roofed prior to the Tertiary, millions of years ago. Without any positive news, Santos shares went down and the board became somewhat concerned about the future

Sulfide and oxide trace element geochemical analyses have been conducted on more than 290 core chip samples collected from stored drill cores of 39 drillholes located across South Australia, as part of a collaborative project being conducted between the Centre for Ore Deposit and Exploration Science (CODES), University of Tasmania, and the Geological Survey of South Australia. The project aim was to analyse the mineral chemistry of pyrite, hematite and magnetite across a range of deposit styles in SA, and determine whether the technique could be used to provide insights into, and vector within, the various mineral systems. Results suggested that pyrite chemistry can be used to successfully distinguish between IOCG, hydrothermal breccia, MVT and sedimentary copper deposits. However, pyrite trace element compositions from both orogenic gold and Au-magnetite skarn deposits partially overlap with those present in these other deposit styles. Magnetite, although present in fewer of the deposit types compared to pyrite, was nonetheless able to yield compositional data that accurately discriminate between IOCG and Au-magnetite skarn deposits. A case study was made of six drillholes from the GSSA's Mineral Systems Drilling Program. It was concluded that, based on pyrite geochemistry alone, the area around hole MSDP12 may be considered to have the most prospectivity for economic magmatic-hydrothermal mineralisation. A further case study was made of seven diamond cored holes from company exploration carried out recently at the Intercept Hill prospect, which is located near the Emmie Bluff IOCG mineral deposit. Trace element analyses of 512 individual crystals derived from 30 drill core samples revealed fascinating and complex sulphide and oxide mineral parageneses. Also, halite-hematite intergrowths were discovered which are presumably Mesoproterozoic in age; this finding is regarded as very significant and highly relevant to the origin of IOCG mineralisation in the Gawler Craton and beyond. Furthermore, the prevalence of gold-rich pyrite over a large area at Intercept Hill (extending for ~3 km between IHAD1 and IHAD5) suggests proximity to a large (potentially world-class) magmatic-hydrothermal system. Notes: Includes:

Today's landscape in the eastern Musgrave Province, South Australia, comprises vast alluvial and sand plains, aeolian dunes and dunefields. These features formed as a result of episodes of variable alluvial and aeolian activity following the onset of aridity in the Quaternary. However, there have been no geochronological studies in this region with which to understand and reconstruct the transported regolith material dispersion and landscape evolution during the Quaternary. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating was used for the first time in this region to develop a chronology of aeolian landform feature growth and sand plain deposition. This report presents OSL geochronology results from 12 samples collected in the Agnes Creek 1:100 000 map sheet area. These provide the first geochronological constraints for Quaternary deposits in the area. OSL ages of the collected samples range from 24.1 ± 1.5 ka to 64.8 ± 2.7 ka, and show that these deposits formed in the Late Pleistocene. The oldest OSL age for an aeolian deposit in the study area is 62.8 ± 2.5 ka, indicating that prior to 63 ka the area was dominated by extensive sand plains with no or minor isolated dunes. Therefore, major dune development in the eastern Musgrave Province post-dates 63 ka.

In October 2017, the Mineral Resources Division (MRD) within the Department for Energy and Mining brought together a broad range of explorers and traditional owners in Port Augusta to start practical discussions on the common issues faced by Aboriginal groups and explorers when working together under Part 9B of the Mining Act 1971 (SA). This document outlines all of the relevant issues raised throughout consultation to support the next stage of discussions about how changes to our native title system for mineral exploration are designed and implemented. Pages 5-10 of this document outline the key issues for consideration, how we can achieve change, how we will consult, and advice on achieving good outcomes. Pages 11-49 of this document summarise the recommendations from the Co-designing the Future Workshop Issues Paper and the Co-designing the Future Workshop Report, and actions needed to resolve the key issues from consultation.

One interesting aspect of early petroleum exploration which has practically been forgotten is the attempt to establish a recreation centre at Cullyamurra Waterhole by Reg Sprigg. At that stage he was responsible for Santos Ltd’s exploration activities and he was convinced that the first deep exploration well to be drilled on Innamincka Anticline would discover a giant oil field. Thus, he hit on the idea to establish a lodge for visiting American oil men and tycoons at Cullyamurra Waterhole, east of Innamincka Homestead in northeastern South Australia. My children and I were the only ‘guests’ at that intended establishment – but, let’s start at the beginning

This annual mineral resources regulation report for 2017 summarises the regulatory performance of the state’s mineral exploration, mining and quarrying industries, providing relevant indicators of how companies are meeting their compliance obligations to mitigate and manage genuine risks, and the regulatory, surveillance and compliance activities undertaken by MRD. The report aligns with the regulatory principles set out in MRD’s Regulating mineral exploration and mining in South Australia: setting the framework for best practice regulation (PDF, 241 kB), and is described in Section 2 of this report. Resource royalties: In 2017 mineral production in South Australia was reported by 305 mineral producers, contributing $148.2 million of mining royalty revenue. In 2017 the royalty audit compliance program audited 98% of mineral royalty revenue and recovered $3.5 million in mining royalty revenue. See Section 4 for details. Legislation, regulation policy and programs: In 2017, MRD conducted the Leading Practice Mining Acts Review, the most comprehensive review of the Mining Act, Opal Mining Act and Mines and Works Inspection Act ever undertaken. MRD engaged with more than 1,700 stakeholders, including meeting with over 70 organisations and 500 individuals in over 40 regional, community and ‘open house’ meetings. This resulted in 82 recommendations for changes to the law forwarded to the Minister.

This document outlines the compliance policy pursued for various key requirements of the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Act 2000 (the Act) and associated Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Regulations 2013 (the Regulations), licence conditions and Statements of Environmental Objectives (SEO). It has been compiled using the openness and transparency principles of the Act

The Energy Resources Division (ERD) is responsible for administering the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Act 2000 (PGE Act) and associated Regulations on behalf of the Minister for Energy and Mining . The PGE Act enables and regulates the exploration and development of regulated petroleum and geothermal energy resources for the benefit of South Australians. ERD works collaboratively with co-regulators as the lead regulator for petroleum and geothermal energy resources and conducts regulatory surveillance of all licensee operations. ERD compliance monitoring activities occur through the life of a regulated activity from the licence issue, planning and design of exploration and production activities and facilities, in-field surveillance of operations, through to audits of licensee management systems to monitor and enforce compliance with the PGE Act and other relevant legislation. This report provides insight into the compliance activities undertaken by ERD in 2017 and the regulatory compliance of licensees while undertaking regulated activities under the PGE Act. The key regulatory outcomes and activities undertaken in 2017 are summarised here and provide direction for where to find further detail in the body of this report.

DPC Resources and Energy Group. Geological Survey of South Australia; Mineral System Footprints Program; South Australia’s 4D Geodynamic and Metallogenic Evolution Program; Monax Mining Limited Abstract: South Australia’s Olympic Cu-Au Province hosts some of the world’s great iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) deposits, such as Olympic Dam, Prominent Hill and Carrapateena. The same causative thermal event resulted in variants of this deposit class being created throughout the Olympic Province, which include deposits of skarn-dominated mineralisation formed where hydrothermal fluids interacted with calcareous lithologies. As part of a broader study aiming to characterise proximal to distal footprints of IOCG-type deposits in the eastern Gawler Craton, the South Australian Geological Survey (GSSA), in collaboration with Monax Mining Limited, used the Punt Hill region as a case study for developing a multi-disciplinary approach to characterise, map and predict alteration associated with skarn-dominated mineralisation which was emplaced during the same thermal event that formed IOCG deposits in the eastern Gawler Craton. The GSSA used samples from company and historic drillholes to systematically acquire co-located geochemical, spectral and petrophysical data in the Punt Hill and Red Lake areas. These data were collected from a regional and prospect-scale distribution of drillholes. Spectral scans of drill core, in the visible to thermal infrared wavelength range, were made using the HyLogger-3TM hyperspectral core scanner. Selected sample intervals were analysed for 65 elements by ICP methods, and for fluorine by specific ion electrode. Drillhole core sampling was supplemented by measurements of magnetic susceptibility and specific gravity. Inversion models of regional aeromagnetic and gravity data were generated to improve the understanding of the 3-dimensional distribution of magnetic susceptibility and density in the region.

The 5th Australian Regolith Geoscientists Association (ARGA) Conference was held in Wallaroo, South Australia, from 8th to 11th of April 2018. This multi-disciplinary conference displayed a wide variety of regolith-related research news on various topics including UNCOVER, regolith geochemistry, hydrogeology, soils, geomorphology and landscape evolution. Several field trips were also part of this conference, including a pre-conference field trip on the geology, soils and wine of the Clare Valley, and a mid- and post-conference field trip on the geology and regolith of the northern Yorke Peninsula. The subject report includes the extended abstracts for the oral and poster presentations given at this conference. All presentations given at the conference can be downloaded on the ARGA website: http://regolith.org.au/publications.html#arga2018

In January 1957 the American petroleum geologist, Dr I.R. Levorsen was retained by Santos to advise the company on its drilling operation and its future exploration policy (Wopfner 2018). Reg Sprigg was still at Wilkatana to show Levorsen around the drilling operation in the Torrens Basin when I received a handwritten memo of his, dated 4/2/57. It was marked confidential and headed: “Re Geol Cross Section of Mootwingee Ranges, N.S.W.” (Fig. 1).

CSIRO Land and Water. Mineral Resources Div.; South Australia. Department for Energy and Mining; Geological Survey of South Australia; Geoscience Australia Abstract: This hydrogeochemical atlas for South Australia builds on the accompanying notes to the revised hydrogeochemical data from the SA_Geodata groundwater dataset. The dataset is available online (Gray and Bardwell, 2016a; http://doi.org/10.4225/08/5756B3BF09204) and is part of the ‘Continental Scale Hydrogeochemistry’ initiative. The atlas aims to examine regional trends in groundwater chemistry, determine links to underlying lithology and aquifer sources and, if possible, present new areas of interest for mineral exploration. One of the major issues when combining multiple datasets of geochemical sampling results in order to create seamless regional data mapping is that different datasets were collected at different times, analysed through different instruments, and, in the case of some of the older data, these may have been collected using different analysis methods. All datasets included in this atlas have been put through extensive quality assessment/quality control checking. A number of different hydrogeochemical data parameters can be used to help indicate the composition of buried rock types, even when there is deep weathering or transported cover. Higher dissolved concentrations of elements can indicate mafic (Cr, V) or granitic (U, F) rocks, while ratios between elements (e.g. K excess relative to Rb) can differentiate between granitic and sedimentary terrains. These determinations are improved by considerations of multi-element indices and mineral saturation indices. For example, spatially the carnotite saturation index predicts most of the known U prospects. Oxygen and H isotopes highlight groundwater samples that have a composition suggestive of a water source other than meteoric water. This water source has mixed with meteoric water and may be spatially linked to faults, mineralisation or hydrothermal alteration. Individual element values and multi-element associative parameters have been shown to highlight major lithological boundaries as well as major aquifer systems. These aspects provide baselines for conducting environmental and mineral exploration studies on a regional scale. At a smaller scale, some but not all of the major mine camps can be seen in some parameters, depending on the mineralisation style and host rocks, and also the amount of hydrogeochemical data available for each site. Some new areas for potentially finding mineralisation have been identified based on the known mineralisation expressions. These regional data are a starting point, as they demonstrates the value of using hydrogeochemistry for regional lithology mapping, and can aid in the production of geological interpretations under cover. The data are also of value for use in conjunction with smaller scale studies for ore body delineation.

Drill cores from the following PACE collaborative drilling projects were included in the display: - DPY2-02 - RMG Services Pty Ltd, EL 2879 - DPY2-32 - Hillgrove Resources Limited, ML 5776 (Kanmantoo) - DPY2-28 - Terramin Australia Ltd, EL 2839 (Angas) - DPY1-03 - Tasman Resources NL, EL 3209 - DPY2-55 - Havilah Resources NL, EL 2055 (Kalkaroo) - DPY1-16 - Red Metal Ltd, EL 2885 (Moonta) - DPY1-24 - Red Metal Ltd, EL 2979 (Pernatty Lagoon) - DPY2-41 - Stellar Resources Ltd, EL 3089 (Wilgena Hill) - DPY1-32 - Vintage Exploration and Mining Ltd, EL 3295 (Coomandook) - DPY2-52 - Dominion Gold Operations Pty Ltd, EL 3092 (Barton) - DPY1-13 - Adelaide Resources Ltd, EL 2901 (Mount Woods) Notes: A useful historical document requiring to be made accessible in the broader public domain.

CSIRO Earth Science and Resource Engineering; DPC Resources and Energy Group. Geological Survey of South Australia; Geoscientific Information Strategy Team; South Australia’s 4D Geodynamic and Metallogenic Evolution Team Abstract: This report presents the results of a study jointly conducted by the Geological Survey of South Australia and CSIRO Mineral Resources which aimed to enhance the expression of geological structure in geophysical images and to derive depth to magnetic source estimates over Region 2A of the Gawler Craton Airborne Survey; viz. the Murloocoppie area. The study was based on magnetic field data acquired during February-May 2017 by this airborne magnetic and radiometric survey commissioned by the Geological Survey of South Australia, that have been combined with ground gravity data from the South Australian state gravity database. The 2017-18 Gawler Craton Airborne Survey (GCAS) provides both higher resolution and more consistent mapping of the magnetic field than are available from previous coverage by multiple geophysical surveys of lesser extent. Advantages of the new survey data are quite evident upon inspection of the primary total magnetic intensity (TMI) data, but it is through the enhancement of that TMI data to assist in recovery of geological information that the advantages are most clearly expressed. Many of the enhancements presented in this report are necessarily of limited application to the TMI data previously obtained across the Gawler Craton area, mainly because of known numerous insufficiencies and imperfections in those data, and they would be hampered by the unavoidable effects of abrupt signal strength contrast that appear on passing between survey datasets acquired on different line spacings, flying heights or flight-line orientations. The GCAS data acquisition consistency and close line spacing therefore support higher resolution and more confident source depth mapping from the magnetic field data. Local magnetic field variations arise exclusively from ferromagnetic minerals which may only constitute of the order of 2% or less of the rock (even for what are considered strongly magnetised rocks), while lateral variations in geology which have no associated variation in magnetisation have no direct expression in the magnetic field imagery. In contrast, gravity data respond to variations in density, to which all components of the rock contribute. Gravity field variations therefore provide a complementary mapping of geology. Suitable combinations and contrasts of gravity and magnetic fields provide more diagnostic information about the subsurface than does the sum of the two fields processed and imaged independently.

Production figures for Commodities by Category for 6 Months ending December 2017 - Comparison with previous corresponding period.

The Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA) is a military testing range covering 122,188 square km of the land surface of central South Australia. Underlying it are highly economic minerals - prospective rocks of the Gawler Craton, a major province of the Earth's crust which hosts the world-class Olympic Dam copper-gold-uranium deposit and major metal - producing mines such as Prominent Hill and Challenger. This second edition of the "South Australian Atlas of Geoscience and Mineral Exploration Data for the Woomera Prohibited Area within the Gawler Craton" is a compilation of currently available open file spatial information including administrative, geological, geophysical and remotely sensed data. A considerable number of government initiatives have been undertaken since the release of the Atlas first edition in 2013, which have further captured a range of important geophysical and geological data, adding to the richness and complexity of geoscientific data and information covering this important geological region within South Australia.

The Coompana Drilling Project was the culmination of a number of years of precompetitive geophysical data acquisition, analysis and interpretation. It set out to retrieve new basement samples from beneath the Nullarbor Plain that would allow program participants to begin to place new geological constraints on the evolution and prospectivity of this unexplored region. The subject workshop and extended abstracts volume represent the culmination of this program of precompetitive geoscience research, and the final release of much of the acquired data. The presentations made here convey the results of a more than $7M investment in new geoscience made by the South Australian and Federal governments for work undertaken in a true geological frontier. The knowledge and data gained have led to a step-change in our understanding of the covered geology of the west of South Australia, and hopefully this improved insight will pave the way for the next major mineral discovery in South Australia.

Key points relevant to 2017 include: • Brukunga rainfall for 2017 (705.6 mm) was higher than the long-term average (585.0 mm). This resulted in an above average volume of AMD being treated (182.1 ML) by the acid water neutralisation plant in 2017. • Water quality in Dawesley Creek downstream of the mine in 2017 decreased compared to the long-term water quality average (2004 to 2016) as a result of the high rainfall. However, the installation of the Dawesley Creek diversion drain (2014) and a new retention pond and pumps (commissioned June 2016) helped to mitigate potential downstream AMD impacts. • Untreated acid flushes of low pH and metal-rich water are observed downstream of the mine in both the grab and composite sampling data. These flushes usually occur immediately after the drier summer months and to varying degrees sporadically in the wetter months during flood events. • Water quality downstream of the mine generally improves with distance from the mine, with the zone of impact of AMD contamination mostly contained within Dawesley Creek (as opposed to the downstream creeks and rivers). • Metal and sulfate concentrations in Dawesley Creek downstream of the mine exceeded the ANZECC/ARMCANZ safe levels for potable, irrigation and stock water at certain periods of time in 2017 and in most years (usually autumn and winter). Exceeded values relate to sulfate, aluminium, cadmium, manganese and iron. This presently precludes the use of Dawesley Creek water for any beneficial use downstream of the mine at certain periods of the year. • A number of overflow events were notified to EPA in 2017 due to high annual rainfall and frequent storm events in winter and spring.

The Rangelands Desktop Assessment Tool (DAT) is an application to rapidly assess Native Vegetation Council (NVC) Significant Environmental Benefit (SEB) values for clearance and offset applications in the Cooper-Eromanga Basin region. The Rangelands DAT method uses a combination of information derived from the existing Rangelands Assessment Manual (RAM) and Scoresheet method (Native Vegetation Branch 2017), Flora and fauna communities of the Cooper-Eromanga Basin study (Figure 1, Hobbs et al. 2017), and Landsat satellite fractional cover and water observations from space data. This application dramatically reduces the cost of these assessments by virtually eliminating the need for on-ground surveys and detailed reports required under the alternate RAM and Scoresheet method. The Rangelands DAT application also provides uniform and consistent assessment results which eliminates biases or errors which would result from field observations influenced by variations in seasonal conditions or consultants’ knowledge, interpretation and ecological skills. One of the greatest strengths of the DAT is that provides mapping of important ecological assets and permits forward planning to minimise environmental risks and costs of new developments in the region. The application is strongly supported by major energy industry operators in the Cooper-Eromanga Basin region. Rangelands DAT information is available at a spatial resolution of 30 x 30 metres.

This Guide summarises the proposed amendments to the Mining Act 1971 (SA), Opal Mining Act 1995 (SA), and Mines and Works Inspection Act 1920 (SA) outlined in the Statutes Amendment (Mineral Resources) Bill 2018 (the Bill)

After World War II petroleum-production, processing and marketing of end products was dominated by large, internationally operating petroleum companies. The most prominent amongst them were Mobil Oil, British Petroleum (BP), Royal Dutch Shell, Esso, Chevron, Texaco and Gulf Oil. In the jargon of the industry they were referred to as the “Big Sisters” and their financial and political “punch” reached far beyond the influence of governments. In the 1950s, the name “The seven Sisters” came into use, a name which gained notoriety by the sarcastic connotation attached to it (“le sette sorelle”) by Enrico Mattei, chief of the Italian state oil company Agip, (Sampson, 1975).

Mintabie opal resource evaluation: Current value of opal resources and projected value of undiscovered resources.

Deep Exploration Technologies Cooperative Research Centre (DET CRC); The University of Adelaide. Department of Earth Sciences; Department for Energy and Mining. Geological Survey of South Australia; Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia Abstract: The late Palaeozoic Cape Jervis Formation of the Troubridge Basin in southern South Australia provides a sedimentological record of the glacial environment during the Permo-Carboniferous glaciation. The sedimentary sequence is divided into five informal units that comprise the Cape Jervis Formation, and which preserve sedimentological features that have been used to constrain models for the glacial setting and associated depositional mechanisms prevailing during this time. Landscape features such as glaciated pavements and the presence of lodgement till diamictite suggest that the glacial setting was a wet-based, continental icesheet with ice tongue glaciers at the front margin of the icesheet. The icesheet is believed to have advanced in a northwards to north-westwards direction, forming glaciated bedrock surfaces and depositing lodgement till. The presence of fluviolacustrine beds suggests that the icesheet's movement later ceased and its growth stagnated, which facilitated the formation of glacial lakes and meltwater streams. The icesheet then began to melt significantly and its leading edges retreated southward. Ablation of the ice resulted in deposition of a flow till complex and caused a eustatic rise in mean sea level that resulted in a marine transgression and subsequent deposition of glaciomarine sedimentary rocks. Notes: This report presents the results of the sedimentology of the sedimentary rocks carried out on five measured sections of the Cape Jervis Formation in the Troubridge Basin. Measured sections were systematically logged and sampled by the lead author and Dr Steve Hill during field trips made between July 2010 and February 2012. Analytical methods used included close observations of the physical characteristics of the sedimentary rocks, in part involving detailed petrology and mineralogy. Petrological analysis was conducted by the lead author at Adelaide Microscopy at the University of Adelaide, using thin sections prepared by Pontifex and Associated Pty Ltd in Adelaide. Sediment mineralogical (spectroscopic) analysis and data processing was conducted by Georgina Gordon of the GSSA using the HyloggerTM 3-3 at the Glenside Drill Core Storage Facility in Adelaide. This report builds on research initially conducted by Ludbrook (1967) and expanded upon by Alley and Bourman (1984) and Bourman and Alley (1990, 1995, 1999) which focused on the millimetre to centimetre - scale sedimentology as well as the depositional setting of the sedimentary rocks of the Cape Jervis Formation. These previously researched aspects are duly referenced throughout this report. The inferred depositional settings of the glacigene sedimentary rocks of the Troubridge Basin, based on the sedimentology, are presented herein.

In 2017, the Geological Survey of South Australia, in partnership with Geoscience Australia, undertook a regional drilling program in the far west of South Australia: the Coompana Drilling Project. The project sought to obtain geological information about the (then) almost completely unknown crustal entity known as the Coompana Province. This region of SA is completely covered by Neoproterozoic to Cenozoic sediments, and there are no known basement exposures. The primary objective of the project was to obtain high quality drill core samples from the basement units beneath the Nullarbor Plain. Eight new diamond drillholes penetrating basement were completed during the program. The Coompana Province is one of the least understood geological provinces remaining on the Australian Continent. It is situated at the nexus between the West, South and Northern Australian Cratons, and may record the final amalgamation of the proto-Australian Continent during the Mesoproterozoic. This report presents the results of U-Pb dating of the basement units using the Sensitive High Resolution Ion Microprobe (SHRIMP) and chemical abrasion thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (Ca-TIMS) methods. Fourteen samples were collected from seven of the eight new GSSA stratigraphic drillholes, and twelve of these samples have now been dated. In addition, stored drill chip samples from two existing historic water wells, Nullarbor Plains 7 and Albala–Karoo, were dated using SHRIMP. A stratigraphy for the eastern Coompana Province has subsequently been constructed based on the geochronology (this study), geochemistry and isotope geochemistry of lithological units identified during the Coompana Drilling Project. New stratigraphic units (defined elsewhere) include five rock suites and four formations.

The Premier’s Awards in Energy and Mining recognise excellence demonstrated by leading resources and energy sector companies and organisations in the areas of diversity, working with communities and innovation.

Production figures for Commodities by Category for 6 Months ending 30 June 2018 - Comparison with previous corresponding period.

This short course is designed to sample some of the specialist methods currently used to better understand our planet. The course is prepared for high school students who are keen on the sciences, particularly those who cannot take Earth Sciences at their school. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is treated in the context of the Earth Sciences, for this course. No prior knowledge is assumed. This handbook is complimented by briefing lectures, demonstrations or field visits to introduce new concepts. These lectures are not included in the book.

This study provides spatial mapping of multiple environmental values, and indicators of landscape functions, vegetation and soil conditions, and environmental risks. This information allows rapid, routine and consistent assessments of the potential impact of existing or new industry activities on important ecological and cultural assets, and landscape functions. This spatial information has been produced at a locational accuracy of less than 30 metres to allow more precise evaluations of risk and optimal siting of industry activities to avoid ecologicallysensitive areas, such as wetlands, groundwater-dependent ecosystems, ecological refugia and habitats for threatened species. Spatial data and desktop tools provided by this study dramatically reduce the cost of many environmental assessments and monitoring activities by greatly reducing the need for on-ground surveys. These applications provide uniform and consistent results by eliminating biases or errors resulting from field observations influenced by variations in seasonal conditions or ecological knowledge of assessment staff. One of greatest benefits of this approach is that all industry sectors can efficiently identify from their desktops the location of important ecological assets and plan developments and activities in ways which minimise environmental risks and costs. An application of this data and remote-sensing technologies has recently been adopted for legislated assessments for most native vegetation clearance, offset applications and compliance matters in the Cooper-Eromanga Basin region. Notes: This report is also published as Department for Environment and Water 'DEW Technical report 2018/04'.

The Geological Survey of South Australia Discovery Day provides a forum for the discussion and delivery of new geoscience data and information. In 2018, Discovery Day was held on the 5th December at the Adelaide Convention Centre consecutively with the South Australian Mining and Exploration Conference on the 6th December. These two events form demonstrate new geoscience and mineral exploration activity in South Australia and demonstrate the vibrancy of the South Australia geoscience community. In 2018 two other workshops run by the Geological Survey of South Australia (GSSA) have also been held. The first is a workshop on the Gawler Craton Airborne Survey (GCAS). Focussed on the delivery of the new aeromagnetic data and interpretation, this workshop was held on the 3rd December. The second workshop was the AusLAMP release day held on the 4th December and which celebrated the release of the complete magnetotelluric dataset for the state of South Australia together with interpretations of the data from South Australia and elsewhere across Australia. The first week in December 2018 has truly become a week of geoscience and resource information. At Discovery Day 2018, a range of geoscience talks were delivered including an overview of the new MinEx Cooperative Research Centre (CRC); the results of drilling for groundwater in northern South Australia as part of a collaboration of GSSA with SA Water; and two talks that relate the outcomes of GCAS and new work in the central Gawler Craton that has utilised the new aeromagnetic imagery from GCAS. The second session was focussed on the emerging technologies for non-destructive analysis of geological materials with both a panel session, and talks on the use of the Hylogger instrumentation by GSSA and on new technologies being utilised and developed by CSIRO. In addition, talks on lithospheric architecture and mantle composition across South Australia were also delivered that investigate these broad-scale features and their relationships to mineral systems. The third session also represents the delivery of new results from two Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage programs underway that are supported by GSSA. The range of talks on offer thus capture the broad themes of work being undertaken by GSSA and collaborating organisations. In addition to the talks, a range of poster presentations were developed by GSSA and others that investigate the major geological domains of South Australia. These posters were presented in the exhibition space adjoining the plenary hall. The GSSA posters were accompanied by a range of student posters that showcase the vibrant research community within Adelaide.

This paper sets out options for improving the native title system for mineral exploration in South Australia. The Department for Energy and Mining (DEM) would like your opinion on these options. We will use your comments to determine the level of support for the options and whether they respect the rights and interests of both explorers and native title groups in mineral exploration. The closing date for submissions is 26 July 2019. All parties have raised concerns about the current land access scheme in South Australia and generally agree that it could be improved. A key concern is how to encourage more effective engagement between native title groups, explorers and government, particularly for early engagement before exploration starts. In this paper we’re seeking your views on options to facilitate early engagement between the parties, when ‘early’ (low impact) exploration should trigger engagement and what administrative processes government could implement to support this engagement. We want to understand how any proposed reforms will work in practice within existing structures.

The Coompana area is characterised by several thick basin cover sequences dominantly composed of limestone, and forms the topographically flat Nullarbor Plain. Consequently, this region was previously considered too challenging for mineral exploration. However, a strong magnetic anomaly exists at Coompana and preliminary geochemical work by other researchers suggested that a surface geochemical signature was present and may be linked to this deep subsurface feature/anomaly. A collaboration between the Geological Survey of South Australia (GSSA) and CSIRO aimed to understand the regional surface geochemistry, potential geochemical dispersion through the cover and also to establish a workflow for large scale, rapid geochemical sampling that is transferable to other regions of interest for GSSA. The work reported herein builds on the findings of geophysical studies (Foss et al., 2017) and of the Coompana exploratory drilling program (Dutch et al., 2018a), and specifically determines the multi-element geochemistry of the near surface on a regional basis, with the addition of some limited determinations of down regolith profile geochemistry which were integrated with laboratory assay results for the cored drillhole basement chemistry obtained as part of the Coompana exploratory drilling program. The area covered for regional surface sampling covers an estimated 50 km x 80 km grid, with samples taken at 4 km spacing. The sampled area overlaps with the Coompana magnetic anomaly and extends further west and north. GSSA completed a much more detailed regolith map of this area, too, which provided regolith and landform control (Krapf & Irvine, 2018). The project successfully characterised the background geochemistry of the surface, providing a valuable baseline data set for future exploration in related areas. It also was highly successful in developing a workflow for the rapid regional characterisation of large tracts of land. The combination of best practice regional geochemistry with surface samples, landscape models and existing geophysical and down-hole drilling studies provides new geoscience products and a better understanding of the Coompana region.

This report presents the results of a study jointly conducted by the Geological Survey of South Australia and CSIRO Mineral Resources which aimed to enhance the expression of geological structure in geophysical images and to derive depth to magnetic source estimates over Region 3A of the Gawler Craton Airborne Survey; viz. all of the ANDAMOOKA 1:250k map sheet area. The study was based on magnetic field data acquired during February-June 2017 by this airborne magnetic and radiometric survey commissioned by the Geological Survey of South Australia, that have been combined with ground gravity data from the South Australian state gravity database. The 2017-18 Gawler Craton Airborne Survey (GCAS) provides both higher resolution and more consistent mapping of the magnetic field than are available from previous coverage by multiple geophysical surveys of lesser extent. Advantages of the new survey data are quite evident upon inspection of the primary total magnetic intensity (TMI) data, but it is through the enhancement of that TMI data to assist in recovery of geological information that the advantages are most clearly expressed. Many of the enhancements presented in this report are necessarily of limited application to the TMI data previously obtained across the Gawler Craton area, mainly because of known numerous insufficiencies and imperfections in those data, and they would be hampered by the unavoidable effects of abrupt signal strength contrast that appear on passing between survey datasets acquired on different line spacings, flying heights or flight-line orientations. The GCAS data acquisition consistency and close line spacing therefore support higher resolution and more confident source depth mapping from the magnetic field data. Local magnetic field variations arise exclusively from ferromagnetic minerals which may only constitute of the order of 2% or less of the rock (even for what are considered strongly magnetised rocks), while lateral variations in geology which have no associated variation in magnetisation have no direct expression in the magnetic field imagery. In contrast, gravity data respond to variations in density, to which all components of the rock contribute. Gravity field variations therefore provide a complementary mapping of geology. Suitable combinations and contrasts of gravity and magnetic fields provide more diagnostic information about the subsurface than does the sum of the two fields processed and imaged independently. The output of this study is a collection of images and digital data products generated to facilitate geological interpretation (see the contents of GDP 00096). The products are not themselves interpretive, but provide more direct access to interpretation than do directly measured datasets treated alone. These products, and in particular the magnetic source depth estimates, are designed to provide the genesis of a ‘live’ resource which can be progressively upgraded rather than simply being replaced when further studies are undertaken in the area, the depth solution database is added to, or when new drillhole information is reported.

This report presents the results of a study jointly conducted by the Geological Survey of South Australia and CSIRO Mineral Resources which aimed to enhance the expression of geological structure in geophysical images and to derive depth to magnetic source estimates over Region 3B of the Gawler Craton Airborne Survey; viz. all of the TORRENS 1:250k map sheet area. The study was based on magnetic field data acquired during March-June 2017 by this airborne magnetic and radiometric survey commissioned by the Geological Survey of South Australia, that have been combined with ground gravity data from the South Australian state gravity database. The 2017-18 Gawler Craton Airborne Survey (GCAS) provides both higher resolution and more consistent mapping of the magnetic field than are available from previous coverage by multiple geophysical surveys of lesser extent. Advantages of the new survey data are quite evident upon inspection of the primary total magnetic intensity (TMI) data, but it is through the enhancement of that TMI data to assist in recovery of geological information that the advantages are most clearly expressed. Many of the enhancements presented in this report are necessarily of limited application to the TMI data previously obtained across the Gawler Craton area, mainly because of known numerous insufficiencies and imperfections in those data, and they would be hampered by the unavoidable effects of abrupt signal strength contrast that appear on passing between survey datasets acquired on different line spacings, flying heights or flight-line orientations. The GCAS data acquisition consistency and close line spacing therefore support higher resolution and more confident source depth mapping from the magnetic field data. Local magnetic field variations arise exclusively from ferromagnetic minerals which may only constitute of the order of 2% or less of the rock (even for what are considered strongly magnetised rocks), while lateral variations in geology which have no associated variation in magnetisation have no direct expression in the magnetic field imagery. In contrast, gravity data respond to variations in density, to which all components of the rock contribute. Gravity field variations therefore provide a complementary mapping of geology. Suitable combinations and contrasts of gravity and magnetic fields provide more diagnostic information about the subsurface than does the sum of the two fields processed and imaged independently. The output of this study is a collection of images and digital data products generated to facilitate geological interpretation (see the contents of GDP 00097). The products are not themselves interpretive, but provide more direct access to interpretation than do directly measured datasets treated alone. These products, and in particular the magnetic source depth estimates, are designed to provide the genesis of a ‘live’ resource which can be progressively upgraded rather than simply being replaced when further studies are undertaken in the area, the depth solution database is added to, or when new drillhole information is reported.

Ten glacial megaclasts, unique perhaps from a global perspective, have been identified in the half-graben rift of the MacDonald Corridor. The MacDonald Corridor is the most easterly of four half-grabens containing Neoproterozoic low-grade metasedimentary rocks situated between inliers of Palaeoproterozoic-Mesoproterozoic basement at the south-western margin of the Curnamona Province. These corridors originated as extensional structures during the last of three major episodes of rifting that led to the eventual break-up of the supercontinent Rodinia. This rift phase was synchronous with the older (Sturtian-age) of the two major Cryogenian glaciations of the 850–600 Ma glacio-epoch that are recorded in the rift complex of the Adelaide Geosyncline in South Australia. It was during this epoch that complex life forms, including the first animals, evolved on Earth. Sedimentation in the MacDonald Corridor half-graben commenced in the early Sturtian, with deposition of siltstone and quartzite of the Belair Subgroup of the Burra Group. These are disconformably overlain by the glacially-related Yudnamutana Subgroup, comprising diamictite and sandstone of the Pualco Tillite, succeeded by the conformably overlying Benda Siltstone, followed unconformably by the Wilyerpa Formation. The Benda Siltstone contains abundant dropstones demonstrating the presence of floating ice, and interfingers on all scales with a complex variety of facies, including cross-bedded and structureless sandstones, the bedded sedimentary Braemar ironstone facies, diamictite (both ferruginous and non-ferruginous), arkosic grit, and the Old Boolcoomata Conglomerate Member composed predominantly of clasts of Bimbowrie Suite granite. Mostly the conglomerate occurs only in the lower part of the Benda Siltstone, but it interfingers to such an extent that it locally makes up the whole thickness of this unit. This latter feature, the Christmas-tree Fan, is an accumulation of coarse debris derived from a granitic source within the adjacent Kalabity (basement) Inlier.