A NEW seismic survey in South Australia’s south-west region will provide the first geographical data for beneath the Nullabor Plain, the state government announced this week.

The Eucla-Gawler survey, extending from the Western Australian border to Tarcoola, will explore the 860-kilometre structure between the Yilgarn and Gawler cratons.

Conducted as part of the PACE initiative, which enables collaboration between industry, academia and state and federal agencies to gather geological information, the survey is expected to potentially open the state up for new resource exploration activity.

“The PACE 2020 initiative has successfully accelerated resource development by providing explorers the information and support they need to guide their investment decisions,” minerals, resources and energy minister Tom Koutsantonis said.

“This survey is very important because it will provide more information about our State and open the door to new minerals and energy exploration and greater investment opportunities.”

A major initiative of PACE 2020, the Eucla-Gawler survey is designed to link up with existing geological information to provide almost 1800 kilometres of continuous data across Australia.

The Eucla-Gawler Seismic Survey follows last year’s release of two new major packages of geoscientific data for the highly prospective Gawler Craton and Marree regions.

The Gawler Craton Gravity Survey – located primarily in the Woomera Prohibited Area – and the Marree Magnetic and Radiometric Survey cover more than 85,000 square kilometres.

The cross-border Eucla-Gawler survey is a collaboration between Geological Survey of South Australia, Geological Survey of Western Australia, Geoscience Australia and AuScope Earth Imaging.

The South Australian Government has contributed $1.75 million to the project’s $3.15 million South Australian segment, with its collaborative partners providing the remaining $1.4 million.