The very heart of the Northern Territory will be top of the agenda at the NT’s premier mineral and petroleum exploration conference.

New geological survey data for the Barkly Tablelands and exciting drill results from the Beetaloo sub-basin will be detailed at the Annual Geoscience Exploration Seminar in Alice Springs from April 20-21.

The Territory’s chief geologist, Dr Ian Scrimgeour, who is Executive Director of the NT Geological Survey, says survey data shows that there is great potential for copper and gold mining in the Barkly.

The data is given to explorers free of charge.

“It’s all about making the Territory more attractive to investors,” Dr Scrimgeour says. “We want to make the Territory as data rich as possible.

“The AGES program will include the release of new information that will transform industry’s understanding of what lies beneath the Barkly Tableland.”

It will include interpretation of an

800-kilometre seismic survey, acquired by Geoscience Australia and the NT Geological Survey, and the results of research drilling that has revealed the resource potential of rocks lying hundreds of metres below the surface.

Dr Scrimgeour says the opening of even one new mine on the Barkly would be of “enormous importance” to Tennant Creek, which the NT Government wants to develop as a mining and energy hub.

AGES, which is a key element of the Northern Territory Government’s efforts to attract and support resources exploration, will highlight new geoscience results from the NT Government’s four-year Resourcing the Territory initiative.

It is also an opportunity for the industry to share information on results and discoveries.

Origin Energy and Empire Energy will detail drilling results from the Beetaloo sub-basin, which the industry believes are encouraging enough to lead to the development of a multibillion-dollar onshore oil and gas industry in the Territory.

KGL Resources will discuss the Jervois copper and silver project, 380 kilometres by road north-east of Alice Springs, which is expected to go into production within the next two years. 

A session will also focus on the Rover mineral field, 80 kilometres southwest of Tennant Creek.

Castile Resources will highlight high-grade drill results from the rapidly developing Rover 1 copper-gold project.

And the NT Geological Survey will present new geoscience from Rover that has implications for the discovery of further deposits across the Barkly

Prodigy Gold will discuss the latest results from its gold exploration projects in the Tanami. This will be complemented by new results of collaboration between the NT Geological Survey and CSIRO to use new geophysical data to map the geology hidden beneath the Tanami Desert

The Top End will also feature at AGES with Core Lithium discussing resource growth at its Finniss project near Darwin.

PNX Metals will talk about the potential of its gold and base metal projects near Adelaide River and Pine Creek.

For further details about AGES visit: https://resourcingtheterritory.nt.gov.au/