Geoscience Australia’s researchers are well known for getting deep into their work.
In this case, they drilled 3023 metres below the surface to learn more about the under-explored Adavale Basin in south-eastern Queensland.
The recently completed campaign – the deepest in Geoscience Australia’s history – was conducted as part of the organisation’s Resourcing Australia’s Prosperity initiative and the final phase of the Data Driven Discoveries program.
Undertaken in collaboration with the Geological Survey of Queensland, the drilling aims to assess the Adavale Basin’s geology and its potential for resources and underground storage by characterising and sampling rocks buried beneath younger sedimentary basins and weathered surface material.
Geoscience Australia head of advice, investment, attraction and analysis Mitchell Bouma said the data would provide critical insight into the region’s mineral and groundwater potential, along with a more complete understanding of the only known thick salt deposit in eastern Australia.
“Basin systems like the Adavale Basin can host a variety of critical minerals and strategic materials, including copper, zinc and cobalt, which are essential for wind turbines and electric-vehicle batteries. So we’re excited to see what we can discover through improving our geological models,” Bouma said.
Alongside seismic and airborne data acquisition, the drilling was carried out to help researchers better understand the composition and connectivity of deep groundwater resources, as well as the basin’s subsurface geology, to support future resource assessments.
Bouma said the basin’s salt deposits were a particular focus.
“Large salt bodies are safely used across the world to store hydrogen, natural gas and even compressed air, as they are impermeable and provide a very secure storage option. We believe the Adavale Basin could be a suitable area for potential hydrogen storage,” he said.
To access the geology beneath younger sediments and surface materials, the campaign drilled a stratigraphic borehole southeast of Blackall and collected modern datasets including rock chips, groundwater samples, high-resolution geophysical logs and 976 metres of drill core.
The data generated from this campaign – and the wider program – will help identify ways to locate and map the extent of salt bodies in the Adavale Basin, as well as understand their geological controls, to support further storage assessments and exploration.
The results will be made available on the Geoscience Australia website next year after undergoing quality control and data-processing.