Conference

Here you can find more information relating to the topics and themes promoted at our exhibition booth.

Gold

Victoria is a world-class gold province. The central gold province alone has produced 2500 t Au (~80 Moz Au). Results from the Geological Survey of Victoria’s Gold Undercover (2006-2009) initiative estimates that the undiscovered gold endowment of the northern parts of Victoria suggest that there may be an estimated 75 Moz Au yet to be discovered. The 24 Gold Undercover reports and data sets are free to download.

Critical minerals

Victoria has world-class mineral sand deposits that contain demonstrated resources of titanium, zirconium and rare earth elements. There are also other critical and high-tech mineral opportunities throughout regional Victoria, such as copper, antimony, high purity alumina and silica, in addition to promising early-stage mineral exploration for tin, tungsten, lithium and platinum group elements.

The Geological  Survey of Victoria is managing several studies to better understand the state’s capacity to derive value from the potential production and processing of critical minerals that underpin the global energy and technology transition.

State Drill Core Library

Based at Werribee, the State Drill Core Library is an invaluable geoscientific asset, allowing rock and mineral samples to be studied and reanalysed at minimal/no extra cost.

The collection includes rock samples from minerals drill holes, petroleum wells, groundwater bores, government stratigraphic and co-funded industry drilling, geotechnical/infrastructure drilling, extractive drill holes, coal bore holes, geothermal drill holes, government mapping programs as well as hardcopy reports and maps.

Visits are by appointment only. To arrange please email gsv.drillcorelibrary@ecodev.vic.gov.au or phone +61 3 9623 1503.

GeoVic

GeoVic is a free online mapping portal. You can build your own earth resource related maps, perform searches and access data, using a wide range of data sources.

Search across mineral, petroleum and extractive industry tenements. Look at geological maps and interpretations at various scales. Find land-use data, aerial photography as well as gravity, magnetic and radiometric images, borehole and well data. You can also access surface geochemistry results, mines and mineral occurrences and renewable energy data (eg solar, geothermal and wind).

There are also useful instructions to assist with your search.

Victoria's exploration and mining performance

Published annually, the Earth Resources Sector Indicators (ERSI) report series captures the performance of the earth resources sector in Victoria.

3D geological models of the state

3D geomodelling can be a powerful aid to exploration. The Geological Survey of Victoria uses a multidisciplinary approach to building 3D models. Multiple geoscientific datasets are integrated to increase the likelihood of a realistic representation of the structure of the rocks and sediments in the subsurface on a regional scale.

More information about the various Victorian models can be found at the 3D geological modelling page.

Victoria’s data acquisition program

The Geological Survey of Victoria is continuing investigations into the State’s geology, with multiple applied collaborative geoscience research projects with Geoscience Australia, CSIRO, other government agencies and industry.

Current projects include

• National Airborne Electromagnetic Survey (AusAEM) mapping of the subsurface electrical conductivity of rocks, sediments and waters, to detect variations in the conductivity of the ground.
• Australian Lithospheric Architecture Magnetotelluric Project (AusLAMP) national survey of the crust and upper mantle to improve the understanding of the geology and tectonic evolution of the Australian plate.
• Australian Passive Seismic Array (AusARRAY) national survey to use seismic velocity data to map the Australian lithosphere.
• Geochronology a multi-year collaboration project with Geoscience Australia, including contributions to the National Argon Map.
• Southeast Lachlan Crustal Transect seismic survey, including ground gravity and magnetotelluric surveys across the Australian Alps.
• Northeast Victoria Ground Gravity Survey to add to the knowledge of the geological framework for gold under cover in the northern extent of the Melbourne and Tabberabbera zones.
• Greater Melbourne & Eastern Victoria airborne gravity survey to improve the mapping of Victoria’s geological architecture along with enhancing the vertical accuracy of GPS.
• As part of Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future program, the Darling-Curnamona-Delamerian project, including: a deep 2D Crustal Scale Seismic Reflection Survey, ground gravity and broadband magnetotelluric surveying.
• MinEx CRC the world’s largest mineral exploration collaborative project, bringing together government, industry and research organisations, that is focused on a new set of exploration tools and new ways to deploy those tools to collect quality data from the subsurface for discovery.

Current mines and mineral exploration projects map

The Geological Survey of Victoria periodically publishes a map of mineral resource development activity across the state.

The map shows locations of current mines, exploration projects and selected mineral occurrences on a background of 1:1,000,000 seamless geology over the Victorian digital terrain model.

The map demonstrates Victoria’s claim as a world class gold production province and an emerging region for critical minerals (and copper) project development.

Victorian Minerals Update

The Geological Survey of Victoria publishes the Minerals Update, a quarterly newsletter for industry and investor audiences. The newsletter focuses on Victoria’s mineral prospectivity, industry news, resource development activity and new geoscience projects.

Further information

If you want to follow up on anything on our IMARC Exhibition Booth or keep a conversation going, please reach out to:

Exploration and Development Manager
Geological Survey of Victoria
gsv_resources@ecodev.vic.gov.au

Page last updated: 04 Aug 2023