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DISCOVERYVICTORIA’S EARTH RESOURCES JOURNAL MAY 2003 INSIDE THIS ISSUE • NEW SEARCH STRATEGY • DEEPWATER DRILLING • NEW ACREAGE RELEASE An exciting range of new geoscience data at the 15th VIMP data release. 26 MAY 2003 The products to be released include: • new geology and regolith maps and reports; • geophysical data; 15th VIMP • a 3D coal model; • GIS CDs; and • digital open file exploration data. 1.00pm – 5.00pm Thomas Carr Centre 278 Victoria Parade East Melbourne DATA To register, contact: Chandri Nambiar RELEASE Phone (03) 9412 5061 Geological Survey Victoria, Minerals and Petroleum Division DISCOVERYVICTORIA’S EARTH RESOURCES JOURNAL MAY 2003 contents NEW PLAYER IN GOLD SEARCH 2 Reliance Mining develops new strategies in its search for gold BENDIGO TO DECLARE RESERVES 4 Look for a June quarter announcement OVERVIEW PRESENTS HEALTHY PICTURE 5 Victoria’s petroleum industry is in good shape NEW ACREAGE RELEASE 6 Six new oil and gas exploration areas are up for tender CASTLEMAINE IS THE CENTREPIECE 10 New maps of the central Victorian goldfields are about to be released NEW MAPPING PROJECT 11 GSV plans a major project in north-eastern Victoria DEEP DIVER HAS HIGH HOPES 17 cover picture Santos is hoping to rewrite the history of Victoria’s oil industry The past and the present. Our main cover picture NEXUS JOINS GIPPSLAND BASIN SEARCH 18 shows the interior of the famous Long Tunnel It’s a core area with ‘considerable potential’ says the company mine at Walhalla, which is now a major tourist attraction. (Picture courtesy of the Baw Baw Shire MPI MINES ITS ‘GOLDEN GIFT’ 19 Council). The mine gave access to the world- Trial mining starts at Stawell renowned Cohens Reef, which produced, in total, 47 tonnes of gold, and was one of Australia’s UNDERCOVER WORK AIDS SEARCH 21 principal reef gold producers in the period 1885 New exploration techniques encourage our biggest goldminer to 1908. Our small inset picture is a modern-day geological image of the Walhalla/Woods Point ORIGIN EMERGES AS A FRONT RUNNER 22 area, which is the focus of a major new GSV A ‘reborn’ company emerges in the energy industry mapping project starting later this year. (See our story on page 11). GOVERNMENT BACKS SMELTER STUDY 24 Another boost for a proposed magnesium plant in the Latrobe Valley STRAIT GAS FLOWS STRAIGHT TO SYDNEY 25 OMV brings its Patricia/Baleen gas field into production POINT HENRY SMELTER TURNS 40 27 It’s a happy birthday for Alcoa and Victorian industry COSTERFIELD UNEARTHS MORE SURPRISES 28 Latest results continue to encourage AGD Mining DISCLAIMER: This publication may be of assistance to you, but the State of Victoria and its officers do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particu- regular features lar purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any infor- mation in this publication. VIEWPOINT 9 Energy and Minerals Victoria acknowledges contributions made by Minister Theo Theophanous gives his views private enterprise. Acceptance of these contributions, however, does not endorse or imply endorsement by the Department of Natural NEWS BRIEFS 12 Resources and Environment of any product or service offered by the A roundup of Victorian industry news contributors. VICTORIA’S RESOURCES 14 All photographs, maps, charts, tables and written information in this Victoria’s mineral, oil and gas resources publication are copyright under the Copyright Act and may not be reproduced by any process whatsoever without the written permis- MINERAL LICENCE REVIEW 16 sion of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. Who’s doing what with mineral exploration licences © Minerals and Petroleum Victoria 2003. Published quarterly on behalf of the Minerals and Petroleum Division, Department of Primary Industries. Editorial and advertising enquiries to Rex Banks, RBA Communications, 86 Cooloongatta Rd, Camberwell Vic 3124 Tel: (03) 9889 1094 Fax: (03) 9889 9997 EMail: [email protected] Editorial: Rex Banks. Distribution and NRE enquires to Chandri Nambiar, Manager Marketing Development, Minerals and Petroleum Division, Department of Primary Industries, Level 7, 240 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne, Vic, 3002, Tel: (03) 9412 5061 Fax: (03) 9412 5155. Website: <http://www.nre.vic.gov.au/minpet/index.htm> Australia Post Print Publication PP349472/00128. ISSN Number 13282409. 1 GOLD EXPLORATION New player in gold search significant new player, with long-term Reliance Mining’s Stephen gold exploration and production Twyerould and Paul Chapman. experience, believes that Victoria has A the potential to return to the glory cash in the near term, or the ability to produce days of the 1850’s when some of the world’s a substantial discovery.” biggest gold fields were discovered Dr Twyerould, Reliance Director of throughout the state. Operations, said two examples of the compa- Reliance Mining Limited, a reconstruction of ny’s approach and focus are the Andean gold Geographe Resources, has become one of belt in Peru and the Victorian gold belt. Victoria’s largest exploration tenement hold- In Victoria, the company has acquired or ers, and is forecasting a major boost in the applied for approximately 7,000 square kilo- search for new orebodies. metres of ground containing targets ranging It will concentrate its search for new from major undercover extensions of known ‘Greenfield’ gold deposits around Rutherglen gold belts like Bendigo, Ballarat and Stawell in the state’s north, Kerang, Ararat South and to ‘Brownfields’ exploration targets over his- St Arnaud. toric high-grade mining camps. The company also will look for extensions to “If you are looking for elephants, you have to “By July this year, Reliance’s teams in both known goldfields or ‘Brownfield’ areas at look in elephant country,” Mr Chapman said, Victoria and Peru will have completed addi- Ballarat West, Lauriston East, Granya and quoting an old mining adage. tional fieldwork to validate anomalies and pri- oritise targets for drilling,” Dr Twyerould said. Reedy Creek. Reliance Mining Limited was established in Reliance Mining recently returned to the November 2001 by former senior executives Reliance believes Victoria has enormous Australian Stock Exchange trading list with a of WMC Ltd to pursue world-class gold and potential for the discovery of multi-million new management team and a new approach to base-metal projects. ounce gold deposits and says the time is right for significant investment in the state. discovering gold deposits. Apart from a large portfolio of projects in Made up of several former senior executives Australia and overseas, it also has a strategic Mr Chapman said that exploration strategy from Western Mining Corporation’s gold and alliance with WMC Resources Ltd, which experience has shown that, “if you’re looking nickel division, Reliance plans to use their provides an ongoing pipeline of mineral to make a significant gold discovery, there are expertise developed and honed within WMC exploration projects. two criteria that have been shown to be in the search for hidden gold deposits, with the extremely effective”: team looking specifically for covered exten- • Go to a province that has produced signifi- sions to Victoria’s major gold fields. RELIANCE BELIEVES VICTORIA HAS cant quantities of gold in the past. This shows all the right processes have been This ‘Brownfield’ strategy is the same focus ENORMOUS POTENTIAL FOR THE operating on an appropriate scale. used by Bendigo Mining which is developing major extensions to the Bendigo goldfield, DISCOVERY OF MULTI-MILLION • Find the under-explored areas of that Ballarat Goldfields which is working on a OUNCE GOLD DEPOSITS AND SAYS province that exhibit the right geological ingredients for gold mineralisation. similar expansion of the Ballarat fields and THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR SIGNIFICANT Perseverance Mining which is rapidly extend- “Victoria certainly meets the first criteria,” ing the known boundaries of the Fosterville INVESTMENT IN THE STATE. Mr Chapman said. “It is the world’s premier sulphide deposit. slate-belt gold province with total production In addition, a Co-operative Research Centre exceeding 80 million oz. project on Predictive Mineral Discoveries is The Reliance management team includes five “Twelve goldfields produced more than 1m oz looking specifically at the science of discover- former WMC executives - Dr Stephen of gold with the largest deposits being ing new mineral deposits where the orebodies Twyerould, the former head of gold geology Bendigo (23m oz), Ballarat (13m oz), are hidden by overlying material. and exploration; Paul Chapman, former com- Castlemaine (5m oz) and Stawell (4m oz),” mercial manager of nickel and gold; Brian To meet the second criteria, Reliance has Up to now, every major Victorian goldfield Kennedy, former general manager of the Mt taken two approaches: has been discovered by the outcropping por- Keith and Kambalda nickel mines; Tim tions, which led miners to the deeper deposits. Craske, the former principal project genera- • Greenfields Strategy: Target the covered But Reliance Mining Director, Paul Chapman, tion geologist in the WMC exploration divi- extensions of known gold-belts, and, says the future for mining in Victoria is to look sion and Craig Reddell, the former exploration • Brownfields Strategy: Acquire under- for the hidden targets. manager for nickel and gold. explored, near-mine extensions to old gold He believes Victoria is still highly prospec- Mr Chapman told Discovery that, “We plan to camps. tive, and almost totally unexplored by modern ‘turn over’ a high number of projects and pick Reliance is also adopting the strategy that has standards. those that have the capability of generating produced large gold discoveries in Western 2 GOLD EXPLORATION Australia where the modern exploration effort the dating techniques allow some overlap of Above: The area around Stawell-Ararat is one of has been far more intense.