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BHEI

Broken Hill Exploration Initiative

The Broken Hill Exploration Initiative (BHEI) commenced as a major component of the SAEI in 1994.

The BHEI was a joint program involving the South Australian, New South Wales and Commonwealth Governments through Primary Industries and Resources South Australia (PIRSA) Mineral Resources Group, NSW Department of Primary Industries - Geological Survey of NSW (external site, opens in new window) and Geoscience Australia (external site, opens in new window).

The aim was to provide a new generation of geoscientific data for the Broken Hill-Olary region as a basis for more effective mineral exploration by industry and to help secure the future of Port Pirie and Broken Hill.

Major components of the BHEI program included:

  • Airborne magnetics and radiometrics - PIRSA
    On Olary and Curnamona 1:250 000 sheets at 100m (most) and 200m line spacing. Total 60 000 line km. Completed and released.
  • Airborne magnetics and radiometrics - GA
    On Curnamona, Frome and southern Callabonna at 100m and 400m line spacing. Total 130 800 line km. Completed and released. Merged images of PIRSA, AGSO and company magnetics and radiometrics released.
  • Gravity surveys
    3400 stations at 1 by 2km spacings on Olary and Curnamona - completed in 1995. 4500 stations at 1 by 1 km spacing on Curnamona - completed in August 1996. Both released. Gravity data is playing an important role in exploration in the Benagerie area. A further gravity survey of part of the Benagerie Ridge was conducted as part of the TEISA program.
  • GIS-DVD data package
    Curnamona Province GIS dataset released including drillholes, geochemistry, mineral occurrences, geological mapping and geophysical images.
  • Geological mapping
    A compilation of existing detailed company, university and departmental mapping over part of the outcropping Willyama Supergroup is available as digital data or hard copy. Mapping is available on the Mingary, Olary, and Winnininnie 1:100 000 sheet areas. The Mulyungarie sheet has been completed and is available digitally. Solid geology interpretation of the new geophysical data and geochronology to complement the surface mapping has been undertaken.
  • Metallogenic studies
    First pass compilation of mineral deposits on Olary and Curnamona has been completed. In cooperation with GA further capture of existing information, field and geochemical studies are underway to understand style and genesis of key deposit types and provide the basic data for metallogenic modelling. Reports summarising recently available open file company exploration results have been released.
  • Company exploration expenditure
    In the Curnamona Province (BHEI area) company exploration expenditure has increased significantly as the BHEI progressed with yearly expenditures increasing from $2.6m in 1993 to $16.4m in 1998. The 1998 figure includes sedimentary uranium exploration expenditure of $3.8m.
  • All of the area in and around the Willyama Inliers is covered by Exploration Licences with a mix of large and small companies.
  • A series of significant drill intersections of gold, copper and other base metal mineralisation have been announced in the Benagerie Ridge Project area, about 100km northwest of Broken Hill. The project area includes the Portia (Au) and North Portia (Cu-Au) prospects and nine other prospects within an area of 100km2. Several of these prospects have produced very encouraging drill intersections of copper, gold, lead and zinc.
  • A small inferred gold resource figure of 270 000 tonnes at 7.0g/t has been announced for the uppermost portion of the mineralised zone at Portia.
  • The White Dam Prospect east of Olary has encouraging cold-copper intersections. Exploration of this and other prospects in the area is continuing. In July 2003, EXCO Resources in joint venture with Polymetals undertook extensive costeaning over the White Dam prospect to collect a 25 tonne bulk sample to test the amenability of gold extraction.

BHEI Conferences were held to highlight the advances made during the life of the initiative.

References

Conference abstract volumes are available from Geoscience Australia (external site, opens in new window).

  • Gibson, M. 1998 (Editor). BHEI abstracts from the 1998 annual meeting. Geoscience Australia Record 1998/25.
  • Peljo, M., (Editor). BHEI abstracts from the 2000 annual meeting. Geoscience Australia Record 2000/10.
  • Peljo, M., (Editor). BHEI abstracts from the July conference. Geoscience Australia Record 2003/13.

Relevant excursion guides are also available from NWSDMR and PIRSA including:

  • Ashley, P. M., Conor, C.H.H. and Skirrow, R. G., 1998. Geology of the Olary Domain, Curnamona Province, South Australia: Field guidebook to the BHEI excursion, 13-15 October, 1998. PIRSA (unpublished).
  • Conor, C. H. H., 2002. Geology of the Olary Domain, Curnamona Province, South Australia, 2003 Part 1: Geology. PIRSA Report Book 2002/015.
  • Conor, C. H. H. and Crooks, A. F., 2003. (Compilers). Geology of the Olary Domain, Curnamona Province, South Australia, 2003 Part 2: Field guide and excursion stops. PIRSA (unpublished).