News EFTF 2024 Showcase
13-16 August
13-16 August
New data and publications featured at the 2024 Showcase.
New and updated web services
View or download the Showcase presentations and watch the recordings:
Since 2016, the $225m Exploring for the Future program has been gathering, analysing and providing precompetitive geoscience data, information and tools to help inform decision-making by government, community and industry on the sustainable development of Australia's mineral, energy and groundwater resources, supporting our transition to net zero by 2050.
Our vision leading this work was to contribute to a strong economy, resilient society and sustainable environment for the benefit of all Australians through a better understanding of our mineral, energy potential and groundwater resources.
The Showcase was a free annual event where geoscience experts shared the latest results from the program and highlighted its impacts, benefits and achievements. This year’s Showcase was our biggest and most insightful event, delivering comprehensive work, including transformed national datasets, improved mineral, energy, and groundwater assessments, unravelled regional geology, new decision support tools and more.
Showcase sessions aimed to inform the minerals, groundwater and energy sectors, our state/Northern Territory and Australian Government colleagues, academia, collaborators and the public.
It was also a unique opportunity to discuss topics of interest directly with our scientists through open Q&A sessions. The event was free and open to everyone!
Below is an outline of the Showcase schedule of talks (20 min each talk).
Time zone: (UTC+10:00) Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Moderator: Dr Steve Hill, Chief Scientist, Geoscience Australia
This session presented an overview and the final results from the Exploring for the Future program, highlighting its impacts, benefits and achievements to date, with a panel discussion on the legacy and value of the program and precompetitive geoscience to industry, communities and government.
Chief Executive Officer, Geoscience Australia
Dr Johnson joined Geoscience Australia in 2006 and has been the CEO since 2017. James is a geologist with nearly four decades of professional experience in mining and mineral exploration and leading diverse geoscience teams and national programs that have attracted exploration investment to Australia. Dr Johnson is a member of the Board of the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) at the Australian National University and the Australian Antarctic Science Council, and a fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering. James has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Sydney and a PhD from the Australian National University. Dr Johnson's vision for Geoscience Australia is one of deploying integrative geoscience for the economic, social and environmental benefit of Australians.
Chief of Division, Minerals, Energy and Groundwater, Geoscience Australia
Dr Heap is the Chief of the Minerals, Energy and Groundwater Division at Geoscience Australia. Andrew has more than two decades of professional experience in leading geoscience research in the public sector, collaborating with industry, academia and government to build a national prospectus of Australia's mineral, energy and groundwater resources that maximise Australia's resource wealth now and into the future. Andrew has published over 100 scientific papers and technical reports after graduating from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and completing his PhD in Earth Sciences at James Cook University, Australia. Dr Heap is a member of a variety of scientific committees providing strategic direction and advice to industry and government on the application of geoscience to address national and global challenges and also served as a non-Executive Director of CO2CRC Ltd, a not-for-profit research company, supporting the establishment of Australia's Carbon Capture and Storage industry.
Director, Geological Survey of South Australia
Bronwyn is the Director of the Geological Survey of SA (GSSA) and has over 30 years' experience in the resources industry as both a geologist and in leadership roles. She has worked across the sector, including oil and gas exploration and development, and government and stakeholder engagement. Bronwyn studied applied geology at the University of South Australia and holds a PhD in engineering science from the University of Adelaide. Working with the GSSA allows her to work with a great team of experienced and highly skilled geoscientists to deliver high quality precompetitive data sets and advice across the mineral and energy sector.
Head of Geoscience Excellence, BHP
Cam is Head of Geoscience Excellence in BHP, leading a global team of experts across all commodities who ensure thought leadership in geoscience applied across the entire value chain. Cam was previously Director of the Centre for Exploration Targeting at the University of Western Australia (UWA) and a Director of SRK Australia. Cam has a PhD from the University of Saskatchewan, is a Board Member of AuScope, an Adjunct Professor at UWA and a recipient of the Gibb-Maitland Medal from the Geological Society of Australia for contributions to Western Australia's geology and mineral exploration.
A/g General Manager of Mining Branch, Department of Industry, Science and Resources
Kym is acting General Manager of the Mining Branch at the Department of Industry, Science and Resources. Kym has held positions in the Australian Public Service in climate change, national security, Prime Minister and Cabinet, and education and employment. Kym has worked across several policy areas, including international capacity building, quantitative analysis, modelling, service co-design, and major project delivery. Kym holds an Executive Masters of Public Administration from the Hertie School of Governance, Germany, a Masters of Environmental Management (UNSW), and a Bachelor of Applied Science (Physiotherapy) (USyd).
Head of Net Zero Industries Division, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
Shane is Head of the Net Zero Industries Division in the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. In this role, Shane has responsibility for industrial decarbonisation, hydrogen, CCS, offshore renewables and new technology deployment. Shane holds a degree in science and has held senior executive roles in energy, resources and environmental regulation. He has represented Australia at International Energy Agency and G20 fora and worked closely with former Chief Scientist, Dr Alan Finkel, in his review of the security of the National Electricity Market.
Time zone: (UTC+10:00) Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Moderator: Clive Rossiter, Chief Transformation Officer, Geoscience Australia
This session shared many ways the Exploring for the Future program engaged with stakeholders, including First Nations and regional communities, improving the way we make our data and insights accessible to everyone.
| Rocks that Shape Australia Sharing stories of Australian geoscience through an exhibition | Dr Verity Normington Director Strategic Science |
| Field work and community engagement across the whole country 8 years of learning | Dr Margaret Sweeney Manager Stakeholder Engagement and Access |
| Sharing geoscience for managing Country | Dr Meredith Orr Activity Leader First Nations Australian Engagement and Remote Community Education |
| Digital pathways for getting our science to users | Mark Webster Director and Divisional Information Officer |
Launch of the pilot GeoInsight application A new digital platform for access to Australian regional geological insights | Dr Kathryn Waltenberg Activity Leader |
| Question and answer session |
Day 2 sessions highlighted our 3 flagship national geophysics surveys - AusAEM, AusLAMP and AusArray, and the ways national datasets have been used to develop transformational geoscience products, such as new maps of the lithosphere and the first national layered solid geology coverage, including a spotlight on the Heavy Mineral Map of Australia and the Isotopic Atlas of Australia.
Time zone: (UTC+10:00) Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Moderator: Dr Donna Cathro, Director, Onshore Seismic and Magnetotellurics, Geoscience Australia
| AusArray Australian lithosphere imaging from bottom to top | Dr Alexei Gorbatov Passive Seismic Leader |
| AusLAMP Mapping lithospheric architecture and reducing exploration space in Australia | Jingming Duan Magnetotelluric Geophysicist |
| Constraining the thermomechanical and geochemical architecture of the Australian mantle Using combined analyses of xenolith inventories and seismic tomography | Dr Mark Hoggard Observational Geodynamicist The Australian National University |
| Question and answer session |
Time zone: (UTC+10:00) Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Moderator: Dr Susannah MacFarlane, Director, Repository, Geoscience Australia
| AusAEM The national coverage and sharpening near surface imaging | Dr Anandaroop Ray AEM Geophysicist |
| Unlocking the surface geochemistry of Australia | Phil Main Activity Leader National Geochemical Framework |
| Spotlight on the Heavy Mineral Map of Australia | Dr Alex Walker Research Fellow Curtin University |
| Question and answer session |
Time zone: (UTC+10:00) Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Moderator: Dr Marie-Aude Bonnardot, Director, Integrated Geological Mapping, Geoscience Australia
| An Isotopic Atlas of Australia - Extra dimensions to national maps | Dr Geoff Fraser Director Geochronology and Stratigraphy |
| First continental layered geological map of Australia | Dr Guillaume Sanchez Integrated Geological Mapping 3D Geoscientist |
| An integrated 3D layered cover modelling approach - Towards open-source data and methodologies for national-scale cover modelling | Sebastian Wong Activity Leader 3D Geoscience Integration |
| Question and answer session |
Day 3 sessions presented our latest research into hydrogen, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and green steel with an overview of the new Green Steel Economic Fairways tool and our work on national inventories of basins for energy and groundwater, mineral and mine waste potential.
Time zone: (UTC+10:00) Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Moderator: Kristina Anastasi, Branch Head, Advice, Investment Attraction and Analysis, Geoscience Australia
| Hydrogen storage opportunities and the role of depleted gas fields | Dr Eric Tenthorey Geoscientist Low Carbon Geoscience and Advice |
| The Green Steel Economic Fairways Mapper | Dr Marcus Haynes Activity Leader Economic Fairways and Lithospheric Geophysics |
| Natural hydrogen The Australian context | Chris Boreham Senior Organic Geochemist Onshore Energy Systems |
| Question and answer session |
Time zone: (UTC+10:00) Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Moderator: Dr Baskaran Sundaram, Director, Groundwater Geoscience Section, Geoscience Australia
| Australian Source Rock and Fluid Atlas Accessible visions built on historical data archives | Dr Dianne Edwards Senior Geochemist Onshore Energy Systems |
| CO2 Where can we put it and how much will it cost? | Claire Patterson Energy Analyst Low Carbon Geoscience and Advice |
| National aquifer framework Putting the geology into hydrogeology | Dr Nadege Rollet Activity Leader 3D Hydrogeological and Geological Integration |
| Question and answer session |
Time zone: (UTC+10:00) Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Moderator: Anthony Schofield, Director, Mineral Potential of Australia, Geoscience Australia
| Towards a national inventory of mineral potential | Dr Arianne Ford Activity Leader Integration and Prospectivity |
| Towards an inventory of mine waste potential | Dr Anita Parbhakar-Fox Group Leader Mine Waste Transformation through Characterisation (MIWATCH), BRC-SMI, The University of Queensland |
| ESG mapping of the Australian mining sector - A critical review of spatial datasets for decision making | Dr Eleonore Lebre Senior Research Fellow on an ARC-DECRA Grant at the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, Sustainable Minerals Institute The University of Queensland |
| Question and answer session |
Day 4 sessions will take a deep dive into our regional projects, including the Delamerian Orogen, the Curnamona Province, Birrindudu, West Musgrave and the upper Darling-Baaka River floodplain.
Time zone: (UTC+10:00) Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Moderator: Marina Costelloe, Branch Head, Mineral Systems, Geoscience Australia
| Scaffold to success An overview of the Delamerian Orogen, and its crustal and lithospheric architecture | Chris Lewis Director Regional Geology and Drilling |
| Only time will tell Crustal development of the Delamerian Orogen in space and time | David Mole Isotope Geoscientist Geochronology and Stratigraphy |
| Is it a big deal? New mineral potential insights of the Delamerian Orogen | Dr Yanbo Cheng Activity Leader Mineral Potential Assessment of the Darling-Curnamona-Delamerian project |
| Question and answer session |
Time zone: (UTC+10:00) Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Moderator: Dr David Robinson, Branch Head, Basin Systems, Geoscience Australia
| Northwest Northern Territory Seismic Survey Resource studies and results | Paul Henson Director Onshore Energy Systems |
| Tracing Ancient Rivers A hydrogeological investigation of the West Musgrave Region | Joshua Lester Hydrogeologist |
| Water's journey Understanding groundwater dynamics in the South Nicholson and Georgina basins, NT and QLD | Dr Prachi Dixon-Jain Hydrogeologist |
| Question and answer session |
Time zone: (UTC+10:00) Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Moderator: Dr Laura Gow, Program Manager, Exploring for the Future, Geoscience Australia
| Groundwater systems of the upper Darling-Baaka floodplain An integrated assessment | Dr Sarah Buckerfield Hydrogeologist |
| Potential for a Managed Aquifer Recharge Scheme in the upper Darling-Baaka floodplain - Wilcannia region | Dr Kok Piang Tan Geologist Groundwater Geoscience |
| Aquifer alchemy Decoding mineral clues in the Curnamona region | Ivan Schroder Senior Geoscientist Regional Geology and Drilling |
| Question and answer session | |
| Final reflections | Dr Karol Czarnota Exploring for the Future Senior Science Advisor |
| Resourcing Australia's Prosperity | Dr Andrew Heap Chief of Division, Minerals, Energy and Groundwater |
Explore: 2023 Showcase, 2022 Showcase
Have a question about the Exploring for the Future program or need help with using our data? Email us at clientservices@ga.gov.au or call 1800 800 173.
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