Geoscientific data held by the Australian government is a valuable and strategic resource, The application of open data practices to this data will not only directly benefit the mining and exploration industry and government but also a broad range of professionals and organisations, from farmers to archaeologists, engineers and environmentalists

1. IDSE10 & Locate 2017
OPEN DATA POLICY IN THE EARTH SCIENCES
Exploring its application across government and industry data

2. IDSE10 & Locate 2017
Value of Geoscientific Data
“Explorers highly regard the accessibility and provision
of pre-competitive data by Australia’s geological survey
organisations.” Mineral and Energy Resource Exploration, Productivity
Commission Inquiry Report no.65
“World-leading geoscience has been a key competitive
advantage of Austalia’s exploration sector”
www.minerals.org.au/policy_focus/exploration
“Data on Australia’s landscape and climate has been
collected for more than 100 years and this information
can be used to inform national decisions about natural
disasters, water, food, and resource management.”
https://www.education.gov.au/unlocking-australia-s-geographic-time-machine
“Understanding and analysing when and where things
are happening is essential for government, industry and
researchers to make decisions and improve national
economic, environmental and social outcomes for the
nation.” www.ga.gov.au/about/corporate-plan
Value can not be measured in just $$$

3. IDSE10 & Locate 2017
Government Policy
“Recognises intrinsic economic and social value of data.
And that’s its value is exponential increase by sharing it,
making it accessible with the appropriate considerations
to commercial, privacy and security sensitivities”
State Policies
Accessibility of Data is key

4. IDSE10 & Locate 2017
Government Policy
“Recognises intrinsic economic and social value of data.
And that’s its value is exponential increase by sharing it,
making it accessible with the appropriate considerations
to commercial, privacy and security sensitivities”
 Where possible, ensure non-sensitive publically funded
research data is made open for public use
 Make high-value data available for use by the public, industry
and academia, in a manner that is enduring and frequently
updated using high quality standards
 Engage openly with the States and Territories to share and
integrate data to inform matters of importance to each
jurisdiction and at the national level
 Ensure all new systems support discoverability, interoperability,
data and information accessibility and cost-effective access to
facilitate access to data
State Policies
Accessibility of Data is key

5. IDSE10 & Locate 2017
Geological Exploration
Literature Review
(Data collation)
Regional selection
Resource identification
Area selection
Regional Prospecting
(Geophysical Survey)
Feasibility
Targeted Prospecting
(Drilling)
Epithermal deposits are typically
high grade, small tonnage and
relatively shallow deposits.
Vast quantity and variability of data is produced

6. IDSE10 & Locate 2017
Role of Geological Surveys as Data Curators
Long tradition
• 140 years cumulative
scientific inquiry
• Geological Surveys
since late 1800s
Core business functions
• Provide advice
• Improve geological
understanding
• Store and delivery data
Long shelf life
• Old and new data
• Observations
• Measurements
• Interpretations
• Models
Open systems
• Non-proprietary
• Data services
Critical responsibility that requires resources

7. IDSE10 & Locate 2017
Research
initiatives IndustryGovernment
Geoscience Data
Managed by State Geological Surveys Different resources/crossing sectors

8. IDSE10 & Locate 2017
Company reports
Managed by State Geological Surveys
Geological reports Environmental reportsAcceptable File formats
Drilling data templates
Mandated requirement

9. IDSE10 & Locate 2017
Value of Geoscientific Data
Geoscience information is the currency of exploration
$350,000 - $500 ,00011,000kmsq. $300,000
Airborne Geophysical Survey Diamond drilling
300m
Examples of costs

10. IDSE10 & Locate 2017
Reporting Requirements & Data Standards
National Mineral Exploration Data
Submission Standards
Government Geoscience Information Committee
 Mandatory metadata
 File naming conventions
 Acceptable formats for digital data
 Templates
CoalLog Standard
Collaboration btw mining companies,
software companies funded by Australian
Coal Industry Research program
 Data entry sheets
 Std codes lookup tables
 Transfer formats
Useability & quality

11. IDSE10 & Locate 2017
Open Geoscience
Benefits
“Open data enables a situation where the collective genius of
thousands of researchers produce insights and analyses,
inventions and understanding beyond what isolated individuals
with their silos of data can product”
Sir Nigel Shadbolt Chairman and Co-Founder Open Data institute ,
State of Open Data report
Completeness
Scale (detail)
Reduced duplication
Quality
Focus on advancement
Pursuit of innovation
Simplification of accessRepurposing

12. IDSE10 & Locate 2017
Open Geoscience Data
Challenges
Rules of access / confidentiality – eg as applied to exploration reports
Commercial in confidence. A classification that identifies information that, if disclosed, may result in
damage to a party's commercial interests, intellectual property or trade secrets.
Intellectual property (IP) is the property of your mind or proprietary knowledge.
It is a productive new idea you create. This can be an invention, trade mark,
design, brand or even the application of your idea
Copyright provides legal protection for people who express ideas and information in certain
forms. The most common forms are writing, visual images, music and moving images.

13. IDSE10 & Locate 2017
Australia geology overlaid Google Maps services : http://portal.geoscience.gov.au/gmap.html
Photo mosaic :
Australian Open Data Policy Statement www.dpmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/aust_govt_public_data_policy_statement_1.pdf
Cross section image: http://daciangold.com.au/overview/westralia/
Epithermal diagram : www.geologyforinvestors.com/epithermal-gold-deposits/
Australia’s geology and geophysicalimagery overlaid Google Maps services : http://portal.geoscience.gov.au/gmap.html
Others :Geological Survey NSW
Images and diagram credits