ian scrimgeour, northern territory geological survey - exploration in the wider region – future...

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Exploration in the Wider Katherine Region - Future Potential Minerals and Energy Projects Ian Scrimgeour Executive Director, Northern Territory Geological Survey

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Ian Scrimgeour, Executive Director, Northern Territory Geological Survey, Department of Mines and Energy delivered the presentation at 2014 Katherine Regional Mining & Exploration Forum. The 2014 Katherine Regional Mining & Exploration Forum featured presentations from explorers active in the region, operating mines, project developers and the many other parties associated with resources projects being developed in the wider Katherine region. For more information about the event, please visit: http://www.informa.com.au/katherinemining14

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Page 1: Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future potential mineral and energy projects

Exploration in the Wider Katherine Region - Future

Potential Minerals and Energy Projects

Ian Scrimgeour

Executive Director, Northern Territory Geological Survey

Page 2: Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future potential mineral and energy projects

• The Territory’s largest industry

• >$3B in mineral production in 2012/13

• Most important driver of regional economic development

• Exploration is the key to maintaining and growing the industry

• Mineral exploration experiencing a major downturn

• Onshore oil and gas is a potential game-changer for the NT

Importance of minerals and energy to the NT

Page 3: Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future potential mineral and energy projects

2013 –

$113.3M

2011 –

$228.4M

Page 4: Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future potential mineral and energy projects

Mineral ELs on which significant on-ground

exploration was reported to DME in 2013

Green = geophysics

Red = drilling

Blue = geochemistry

Notes:

1. This reflects exploration reported by industry in

technical reports submitted in 2013. Exploration

may have taken place during 2012 or 2013, and

not all exploration undertaken in 2013 is included

2. Only includes exploration on ELs, not MLs

3. Excludes petroleum exploration

Where minerals exploration is happening

Page 5: Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future potential mineral and energy projects

Fraser Institute mining survey 2013/14

• NT 9th in the world (first in Australia) for geological data

• NT 6th in the world (second after WA) for current practise mineral potential

• NT 17th in the world (second after WA) for overall investment attractiveness

• WA, NT and SA consistently higher ranked than eastern states

Escondida, Chile

(or Katherine region, 2025?)

Page 6: Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future potential mineral and energy projects

Key highlights

Full production at Cosmo

Deeps

New resources (541 koz)

announced at Union Reefs

Thor Mining submit NoI for

development of Spring

Hill

4.0 Mt @ 2.32 g/t Au

Mount Todd resource

upgrade: 350 Mt @ 0.81

g/t Au

45% increase in gold production to 74 106oz; 0.72 Mt mined at 3.57 g/t Au

Crocodile Gold operations: Measured and Indicated: 30.8 Mt @ 2.5 g/t Au

Gold north of Katherine

Page 7: Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future potential mineral and energy projects

• ongoing active exploration

in western Arnhem Land

Gorrunghar:

7m @ 0.29% U3O8

Alligator Energy

• Ranger 3 Deeps

exploration decline and

drilling underway

39m @ 0.88% U3O8

10m @ 1.47% U3O8

35m @ 0.55% U3O8

ERA – Ranger 3 Deeps

Thundelarra Exploration

• Cu and U exploration at Allamber

• Sale of Hayes Creek uranium project to private Australian company

Copper, iron ore and uranium north of Katherine

Frances Creek iron ore - ~ 1.4 Mt mined in 2012/13

Page 8: Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future potential mineral and energy projects

Iron ore and ilmenite in Roper field

Western Desert Resources: Roper Bar

Total resource: 611 Mt @ 40.3% Fe

Includes: 47.4 Mt @ 57.3% Fe

In production

Sherwin Iron: Roper River

Total resource: 488 Mt @ 41.7% Fe

Includes 41.1Mt @ 57.8% Fe

Bulk sample exported

Australian Ilmenite Resources: SILL80

Ilmenite sand sourced from weathered Derim Derim

Dolerite

Planning commencement during 2014Oolitic hematite ore

Page 9: Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future potential mineral and energy projects

Project name: Skyfall/Stromberg Company: Spectrum Rare Earths

Commodity: Rare earth elements Status: Exploration

Location: 130 km west of Katherine

• Flat lying orebodies rich in high-value heavy rare earth elements

• At surface, tabular bodies; soft xenotime-bearing clay

• Additional new discoveries, potential for a new district of rare earths deposits

Page 10: Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future potential mineral and energy projects

• Major new zinc discovery (2014)

• Similar deposit to McArthur River, but deep (up to 1 km)

Hole 1: 26.4m @ 13.3% Zn+Pb, from 1060m including 8.0m @ 21.2% Zn+Pb

Hole 2: 20.1m @ 15.0% Zn+Pb from 944m including 12.5m @ 19.5% Zn+Pb

Hole 3: 16.3m @ 14.3% Zn+Pb from 905m

Hole 4: 14.9m @ 10.4% Zn+Pb from 676m

Other zinc highlights–

• Teck exercise $10M option in Reward JV

• MMG enter $10M exploration JV with Sandfire

• Teck enter JV with Brumby Resources

• Pacifico Minerals JV with Sandfire

Start of new zinc exploration boom?

Project name: Teena Company: Teck Australia - Rox Resources

Commodity: Zinc Status: Exploration

Location: 10 km west of McArthur River mine

Page 11: Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future potential mineral and energy projects

Onshore petroleum in the NT

• Unprecedented boom in onshore petroleum

exploration

• Driven by opportunity of unconventional oil

and gas

• Many areas being explored for the first time

• Potential ‘game changer’ for the NT

• Rapid increase in tenure coverage in past 4

years to >90% of onshore area

• NT moving to a competitive process for

future acreage release

• Massive potential, but production is not

imminent

Page 12: Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future potential mineral and energy projects
Page 13: Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future potential mineral and energy projects

The greater McArthur Basin – undercover extent

Represents over 20% of the Territory’s geology

Roper

Group +

equivalents

McArthur

Group +

equivalents

Page 14: Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future potential mineral and energy projects

Batten Fault Zone:

Armour Energy

• 3 wells in 2012, 2 wells

in 2013

• flows equivalent to 3.3

million standard cubic

feet of gas per day from

Glyde-1 well (2012)

• Live oil in shales in

Lamont Pass-3 well

(2013)

Beetaloo Sub-basin: Falcon Oil and Gas

• 3490 line km of 2D seismic in 2012/13 under

previous farm-in with Hess

Beetaloo Sub-basin (west) : Pangaea Resources

• Previously unexplored area

• 1400 line km of 2D seismic in 2013

• Very large airborne gravity survey

Beetaloo Sub-basin (east) : Santos

• 500 line km of 2D seismic in 2013

Onshore Gas and Oil Activity in 2012/13

Page 15: Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future potential mineral and energy projects

Ngukurr-Limmen area: Imperial Oil and Gas

• Seismic and cored wells planned

Batten Fault Zone: Armour Energy

• Continuing exploration in Borroloola area

including seismic and drilling

Beetaloo Sub-basin: Origin Energy, Sasol and

Falcon Oil and gas

• New phase of exploration to commence, focussed

on drilling

Beetaloo Sub-basin (west) : Pangaea Resources

• First well spudded last weekend

• 3-4 wells to be drilled in 2014

Beetaloo Sub-basin (east) : Santos

• Very deep well planned west of Cape Crawford

Onshore Gas and Oil Activity in 2012/13

Onshore Bonaparte Basin: Beach Energy

• 2 wells to be drilled in 2014

Page 16: Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future potential mineral and energy projects

Origin-Sasol-Falcon JV in Beetaloo Sub-basin

• Nine well, $165M exploration and appraisal

program over five years

• Four vertical exploration wells

• Five stimulated horizontal exploration/appraisal

wells, including production testing

• • Drilling/testing specifically planned to take the

project towards commerciality

• Origin Energy to be operator

Page 17: Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future potential mineral and energy projects

Challenges for greenfields

exploration

• Difficulties in raising funds for

greenfields exploration

• Rising costs of discovery, especially in

Australia

• High-risk nature of undercover

exploration

Role of Government is to lower the risk

and cost of discovery relative to other

jurisdictions

Page 18: Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future potential mineral and energy projects

Northern Territory Geological Survey (NTGS)

• Role: to provide the highest quality geoscientific information and advice to NT

Government and the resources industry.

• Through a series of NT govt

initiatives, undertake new

generation geoscience to stimulate

exploration

Page 19: Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future potential mineral and energy projects

Creating Opportunities for Resource Exploration (CORE)A new 4 year, $23.8M exploration initiative

• New focus on understanding the Territory’s onshore petroleum potential

• Major new geoscience programs to lower risk for minerals and petroleum

exploration

• Programs to attract investment into NT resources projects

• Co-funding of industry greenfields drilling and geophysics

Page 20: Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future potential mineral and energy projects

Dunmarra

(magnetic-radiometric)

Northern

McArthur

(gravity)

Southern

McArthur

(gravity)

Major programs underway

in Katherine region

• Coverage with

fundamental geophysical

datasets

• Targeted geological

fieldwork

• Systematic analysis of

drillcore

• Interpretation of seismic

and 3D model of entire

greater McArthur Basin

• Regional petroleum

assessment

Page 21: Ian Scrimgeour, Northern Territory Geological Survey - Exploration in the wider region – Future potential mineral and energy projects

Summary

• Despite the downturn, the greater Katherine region has potential for significant

mining developments for commodities including zinc, iron ore, ilmenite, rare

earths, gold and diamonds

• Gas exploration and development is emerging as a major industry

• NT Geological Survey has major programs underway to stimulate exploration in

the region through the CORE initiative