The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety says the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA) to reprioritise its 2020-21 work program.
However, the Department said the GSWA would continue to provide its key statutory and regulatory business functions and other core projects critical for economic recovery.
“It is anticipated that no additional funding will be required to facilitate the modified work program,” the Department said in a statement.
“Most resources can be found within GSWA, although some staff may need to move to new areas temporarily.
“GSWA will provide all staff with an opportunity for upskilling within the division.”
The Department said the modified work program would be structured around two main streams.
The first was a program of accelerated geoscience data synthesis and delivery, with new or emerging mineral potential in areas of critical mineral prospectivity.
The second was a series of short-term, big-win, data synthesis projects that would increase mineral prospectivity across the State.
“Pre-existing geoscience datasets will be integrated for delivery in ways which can be used by exploration companies to generate new exploration targets,” it said.
“Geoscientists from across GSWA will concentrate their efforts on four main projects: Publication of existing data into geographic information systems layers; Data integration and analyses at the Yilgarn Craton; A State-wide critical minerals prospectivity study; and Energy systems including petroleum, geothermal, and carbon capture and storage.”
