The Cobar AEM Survey interpretation report

The Cobar Airborne Electromagnetic (AEM) Survey was undertaken as part of the Geological Survey of NSW’s involvement with the Mineral Exploration Cooperative Research Centre (MinEx CRC). MinEx CRC is a 10-year, $220 million collaboration between federal and state governments, the Commonwealth Science, and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), leading Australian universities and the minerals industry. It aims to reveal the covered geology of the Australian continent to aid mineral exploration. The Cobar Basin has had a long history (>150 years) of mining and mineral exploration, with the growth of many towns and other industries in the region driven (and sustained) by its activities. The mineralised outcropping basement rocks in the Basin have largely been identified and incorporated in mining activities. However, these basement rocks extend undercover (for tens to a few hundreds of metres depth) away from these outcrops and have not been accurately mapped and constrained in these areas. Suitable water supplies and water security are also major issues in the Cobar Basin, with many areas relying on water supplied from hundreds of kilometres away and/or intermittent surface water flow. Airborne electromagnetic surveys (used in conjunction with other geoscientific datasets) can be useful techniques to help map the depth, character, and extent of prospective basement rocks. AEM surveys can also help to map groundwater features such as aquifers and palaeochannels that could supply water resources to the mining industry, agriculture, and other human activities/infrastructure.