The low-hanging fruit was picked long ago. Explorers will have to search deeper than before to discover the ore bodies that will sustain Australian mining through the 21st century.

A team of scientists leading a modestly-funded (by mining standards) $A16 million project will take a different approach to identifying the markers which point to the presence of mineral deposits.

The project will focus on the Capricorn region of Western Australia, bringing together experts from CSIRO, Curtin University and the University of Western Australia.

“The Distal Footprints project is about addressing the fundamental limitations to mineral discovery,” said Graeme Hunt, who is Transfield Services CEO and chair of the National Resource Sciences Precinct.

“Although there are potentially huge mineral deposits under its thick surface, the Capricorn region is a poorly explored and poorly understood area.

“By bringing together some of the best scientists in Australia, the project will tackle some of the technical risks and help industry to unlock this vast potential resource.”

Searching for underground resources is complex and expensive. Australia in particular has a unique geological make-up “with a blanket of cover built up over millions of years making it difficult to detect deposits and therefore develop new mine sites”

The project’s groundbreaking approach to exploration aims to expand the search area used to identify the markers that point to large mineral deposits.

“The project will deliver new data, interpretations, understanding and technologies to help discover mineral wealth in regions that until now have been difficult to explore,” said Hunt.

“We will be able to arm industry with the information they need to discover if resources are nearby, and in what direction and how deep they are.

“Distal Footprints are signatures we might expect to find around an ore deposit from distances of up to several tens of kilometres.”

It’s hoped the new capability will increase exploration certainty in Australia, making it an attractive destination for investment, ensuring that the resources sector remains globally competitive.

The project is supported by funding awarded under the federal government’s Science and Industry Endowment Fund, as well as contributions from the WA government’s Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia, industry, the Geological Survey of WA and the National Resource Sciences Precinct foundation research partners.

It’s one of the first to be conducted under the auspices of the NRSP, a partnership between CSIRO, Curtin University and the University of Western Australia. NRSP says it is “connecting the world’s best researchers with industry and government to tackle some of the most complex challenges facing the resources industry”

Exploration has been one of the main casualties of the mining industry’s focus on cost-cutting in recent years. Experts have called for a smarter approach to the search for minerals deposits that doesn’t rely entirely on throwing endless amounts of money at this sector.

The future of Australia’s mining industry may well depend on the success of projects such as Distal Footprints.