SCIENCE POLICY

UNCOVER

Searching the Deep Earth: A vision for exploration geoscience in Australia is a call for Australian earth scientists to cooperate in an innovative, structured and nationally coordinated strategic venture that will bring competitive advantage to Australian mineral exploration. The vision requires research groups, surveys and explorers to participate in a cross-institutional joint research venture on a scale never before attempted.

Minister for Resources and Energy, The Hon. Martin Ferguson AM MP launched the document on 8 August 2012, as part of the International Resource Ministers Forum at the 34th International Geological Congress. In his speech the Minister stated:

"The Standing Council on Energy and Resources, I chair, has agreed to develop a National Exploration Strategy to assist Australia in developing greenfields exploration capabilities. This multifaceted long-term strategy is aimed at unlocking our resources through investment in a national Geoscience Research Initiative inspired by the Searching the Deep Earth publication."

Representing research, government and industry sectors, the UNCOVER Implementation Committee was convened under the aegis of the Australian Academy of Science to address the decline in Australian mineral exploration success through implementation of the 2010 Theo Murphy High Flyers Think Tank recommendations (Searching the Deep Earth: The future of Australian resource discovery and Utilisation).
The UNCOVER Implementation Committee met several time during 2011-2012 to identify practical steps towards addressing the Think Tank recommendations.

The UNCOVER Implementation Committee prepared an Exposure Draft document and undertook community consultation. Exposure Draft document and community consultation. Searching the Deep Earth: A vision for exploration geoscience in Australia is the result of this extensive research community consultation.

A hard copy of the document can be obtained by contacting Dr Fiona Leves on uncover@science.org.au

 

UNCOVER Implementation Committee

Phil McFadden (Chair) Australian Academy of Science	Robert Hough CSIRO
Andrew Barnicoat Geoscience Australia	Fiona Leves Australian Academy of Science
Richard Blewett Geoscience Australia	Jon Hronsky Western Mining Services
Dean Collett Newcrest Mining	Cam McCuaig University of Western Australia
Bill Collins University of Newcastle	Mike McWilliams CSIRO
Mark Dransfield Fugro Airborne	Dietmar Müller University of Sydney
Des Fitzgerald Intrepid Geophysics	Tom Whiting Deep Exploration Technologies CRC
Bob Haydon Auscope Ltd	Peter Woodgate CRC for Spatial Information