After emerging from the resources wilderness thanks to its world-class geology and industry-friendly government policies, South Australia is now a leader in Australian mining and hydrocarbon developments over the last decade. In little more than a decade the State has gone from four operating mines to more than 20 and is rated Australia’s second most popular exploration destination. With a comprehensive review of the Mining Act under way, the State’s attractiveness as a place for resources and energy investment is expected to be strengthened. South Australia is now a leader in the exploration for next generation energy sources with companies such as Santos and BP leading the charge, while initiatives such as the Government’s Copper Strategy – designed to treble annual copper production to 1 mtpa – is set to establish the State as one of the world’s premier producers of the red metal. In the energy space, uranium and nuclear energy is another area of keen interest, with the South Australian Government initiating a Royal Commission into Participation in the Nuclear Fuel Cycle in 2016. The State has become synonymous with innovation, cutting-edge development and a remarkable rate of discovery. From uranium prospects, to geothermal energy and the buoyant hydrocarbons sector, South Australia is now a leader in the exploration for next generation energy sources. With full support from the Department of State Development, the South Australian Resources and Energy Investment Conference will continue to showcase this burgeoning sector in 2017. From copper plays in the Gawler Craton, to iron ore and graphite developments on the Eyre Peninsula and the emergence of the State as a new hydrocarbon frontier, South Australia’s resources potential is at last being fully recognised. The conference will feature the success stories and emerging players in the State from both minerals and oil and gas and will also tackle thorny industry issues such as infrastructure, corporate social responsibility and the future of the Woomera Prohibited Area.

1. Exploring
Breakthroughs from
CRC LEME
John Keeling
CRC LEME
Assistant Director - Adelaide
Helix drilling Tunkillia Au prospect
Helix drilling at Tunkillia EXIT

2. LEME has two main themes
in MINEX Programs
• 3D regolith architecture and dynamics
• Metal mobility and predictive geochemistry in
transported regolith
LEME has a large portfolio of integrated
multi-disciplinary and multi-party projects
They cover technology developments, generic
processes, and regional studies

3. 2001-2004 HGB Program
Palaeodrainage in the Gawler Craton
(Baohong Hou and others)

4. Landscape Evolution
Kingoonya Palaeochannel – Gawler Craton
1D
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Tarcoola
TRANS
TARCOOLA–ALICE-SPRINGS
RAILWAY
STUART
HIGHWAY
RAILWAY
AUSTRALIAN
R'
L
M J
O
N
K
I
A'
F
B
CG
E'
D
H
P'
Q
A
R
P
B'
C'
D'
E
F'
G'
H'
I'
J'
K'
M'
L'
N'
Q'
O'
Lake
Harris
Interpreted palaeochannel
Cross sections
A A'
0 10 20 Kilometres
Datum GDA 94 – Projection MGA Zone 53
Publishing Sevices 201763_020
375000 400000 425000 450000 475000 500000 525000
657500066000006625000
# Selected drillholes
4 5 2 0 0 0 m E
4 5 3 0 0 0 m E
4 5 4 0 0 0 m E
4 5 5 0 0 0 m E
4 5 6 0 0 0 m E
4 5 7 0 0 0 m E
4 5 8 0 0 0 m E
4 5 9 0 0 0 m E
4 6 0 0 0 0 m E
4 6 1 0 0 0 m E6 6 0 1 0 0 0 m N
6 6 0 0 0 0 0 m N
6 5 9 9 0 0 0 m N
6 5 9 8 0 0 0 m N
6 5 9 7 0 0 0 m N
6 5 9 6 0 0 0 m N
6 5 9 5 0 0 0 m N
6 5 9 4 0 0 0 m N
6 5 9 3 0 0 0 m N
6 5 9 2 0 0 0 m N
6 5 9 1 0 0 0 m N
6 5 9 0 0 0 0 m N
6 5 8 9 0 0 0 m N
1 0 0
Elevation(mAHD)
2 0
1 2 0
4 0
6 0
8 0
0
- 2 0
- 4 0
- 6 0
- 8 0
- 1 0 0
- 1 2 0
S E C T I O N JN W S E
T ig
P I R S A P u b li s h in g S e r v i c e s 2 0 1 7 6 3 _ 0 0 9
THW
4
PW
P
41
THW
5
THW
6
THW
7
THW
8
THW
9
THW
10
THW
14
TUN
97
T i g
T b p
C c
T i g
T b p
W e a t h e r e d
b a s e m e n t C p
C m
C m
C m
S m
Q
S m
S h
S B 6
S B 4
S B 1
C c
S s
M h
M h
A l m
B a s e m e n t
L m
L t t
G r a v e l ( s a n d y , c la y e y ) a n d / o r
g r a v e ly ( o r g r it t y ) c o a r s e s a n d
C a r b o n a c e o u s ( s a n d y ) g r a v e l a n d / o r
g r a v e ly c o a r s e s a n d
S a n d ( c la y e y )
C a r b o n a c e o u s s a n d
S il t a n d / o r f in e s a n d
C a r b o n a c e o u s s il t a n d / o r f in e s a n d
C la y ( s i lt y a n d / o r s a n d y )
C a r b o n a c e o u s c la y ( s il t y a n d / o r s a n d y )
L i g n i t e ( c l a y e y , s i lt y , s a n d y )
G y p s u m ( c la y e y , s i l t y , s a n d y )
C la y ( c a l c a r e o u s )
U N C O N F O R M I T Y
M a jo r
M a jo r in f e r r e d
M i n o r
M i n o r in f e r r e d
L E G E N D
N O T E :
F o r t h e s t r a t i g r a p h ic ( e . g . T i g ) a n d s e q u e n c e
s t r a t ig r a p h i c s y m b o l s ( e . g . ) s e e T a b l e 2 . 1
a n d F ig u r e s 4 . 1 a n d 4 . 5 .
F o r t h e f a c ie s c o d e s ( e . g . ) s e e T a b l e 4 . 2
S B 4
S m
2D
3D 4D

5. Harris Greenstone Belt (green)
Interpreted basement geology overlain by
palaeochannel sediments (grey)
20 km
Hydrominex (Gray, de Caritat)
• Elevated Cr in greenstones
• High Ni near mineralisation
• Low δ34
S from sulphide

6. Eucla Margins – Coastal Zones
(B Hou et al., AJES 2003)
Late Eocene shoreline
L. Middle
Eocene shoreline Gawler
Craton
Eucla Basin
Eucla
Coastal
Zone 2
Coastal
Zone 3
Coastal
Zone 4
Pidinga Bay
Paling
Bay
Middle Eocene shoreline
HM anomaly
Inferred HM anomaly
Coastal
Zone 1

7. Q
I
Le
Zr
R
Zr
0.5mm17% HM
Transgressive
barrier facies
Zr
I
Le
ZrR 0.3mm
Concentrated
I
Zr
R
0.3mm
62% HM
Lag facies
Le
I
Zr
Q
Zr
I
Zr
25% HM 0.5mm
Aeolian facies
HM anomalies of varied sizes and grade (1- 27%);
an assemblage of ilmenite-zircon-leucoxene-rutile.
32-35% 28-51% 3%8-30%

8. Eocene Coastal Barriers - Evolution

9. Dispersion through
transported cover
In arid/semi-arid regions
need to move metal ions
through a thick vadose zone
• Ionic diffusion
• Capillarity
• Seismic pumping
• Barometric pumping
• Vegetation uptake
• Bioturbation
Examples through 5–10m,
few through >10m cover

10. Barns – Au Dispersion in Dune Sand

11. Moonta Mines - Poona Cu Lode Legend
Migration of acidic water
Al / Si in solution
Aeolian deposits calcreted
Pleistocene clay
with atacamite Cu2Cl(OH)3
Moonta Porphyry saprolith
(Late Miocene – Pliocene)
Halloysite zone
(Pleistocene – Holocene?)
Moonta Porphyry fresh rock
(Palaeoproterozoic)
Chalcopyrite / pyrite
Supergene Cu
Moonta
Porphyry
South North
Cu ore vein
water table
acid pool
40
20
0
-20
-40
-60
50 metres

12. Biota Geochemistry
Ravi Anand and Matt Cornelius (LEME Perth)
• Regolith framework of 6 known mineralised sites (northern Yilgarn)
– variable transported cover thickness (5 to 40 m)
• Sampling of five biota phases A, B, C, D, and E
• Bulk soil (<250 µm) geochemistry
• Selective extractions: enzyme leach, 0.1M hydroxylamine
hydrochloride, 0.25 hydroxylamine hydrochloride, sodium dithionite,
sodium pyrophosphate
• Detailed depth soil sampling (40 mm intervals) to test for any
discrete metal accumulation zones.

13. Site 6 (Au deposit - Northern Yilgarn WA)

17. Further directions for deep sensing geochemistry
• Biota E control sites for:
footprints
mechanisms
other species of vegetation
other physiographic regions
• Hydrominex
Ni in groundwater
δ34
S and SO4
2-
in groundwater
• Soil gas and microbial processes at control sites
• Hydraulic lifting by vegetation is the ‘breakthrough’ area
(Dennis Gee CEO LEME - AMIRA Exploration Managers Conference 2005)

18. Want to Know More?
• Exploration Through Cover Conference, Adelaide University –
24th
June 2005 (organiser: Andreas Schmidt-Mumm)
• CRC LEME website (http://crcleme.org.au/)
– Publications and Conference Abstracts
– Open File Reports
– Monographs (over 80 individual case histories on exploration
geochemistry: download as pdf)
– LEME Minerals Brief (Quarterly research highlights)
• CRC LEME Annual Reports