Exploring for the Future- X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) data release of sedimentary rocks in the South Nicholson Basin and Isa Superbasin, Northern Australia

The Exploring for the Future program is an initiative by the Australian Government dedicated to boosting investment in resource exploration in Australia. The four-year program led by Geoscience Australia focusses on northern Australia and parts of South Australia to gather new data and information about the potential mineral, energy and groundwater resources concealed beneath the surface. As part of the Exploring for the Future program, this study aims to improve our understanding of the petroleum resource potential of northern Australia. As a component of this project, collaboration between the Onshore Energy Systems Branch of Geoscience Australia, the Geological Survey of Queensland (GSQ) and Northern Territory Geological Survey (NTGS) is designed to produce pre-competitive information to assist with the evaluation of the petroleum prospectivity of onshore Northern Territory basins. This data release contains X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) data of 600 samples selected from 12 drill cores from the South Nicholson Basin and Isa Superbasin that are housed in GSQ’s Brisbane core repository and NTGS’s Darwin core repository. These samples covered nine formations: the Mesoproterozoic Mullera Formation (n = 11) and Constance Sandstone (n = 91) of the South Nicholson Basin, in addition to the Paleoproterozoic Lawn Hill Formation (n = 210), Doomadgee Formation (n = 34), Termite Range Formation (n = 36), Riversleigh Siltstone (n = 96), Mount Les Siltstone (n = 32), Lady Loretta Formation (n = 3) and the Walford Dolostone (n = 66) of the Isa Superbasin. This data was generated at the Inorganic Geochemistry Laboratory at Geoscience Australia as part of the Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program. The results demonstrated that 23 different minerals were identified in the entire region. Out of these minerals there were seven dominant minerals; quartz, kaolinite, microcline, muscovite, dolomite, calcite and siderite. These dominant mineral components were highly variable between all formations analysed in this study, demonstrating the utility of high resolution XRD to determine mineral compositions and variability through sedimentary successions. This publically available dataset is provided in preparation for future work to generate statistics quantifying the spatial distribution and composition of sedimentary rocks, providing information to de-risk resource decision making and investment of northern Australian basins.