The Application of Geophysics on the West Coast of Tasmania

The Tasmanian Mines Department recently initiated a large-scale project to assist exploration in Western Tasmania, one of the world’s most mineralised regions. The geophysical component of the project was designed to determine the geophysical signatures of the type deposits and the effectiveness of the techniques being used in Tasmania, particularly in areas of thick cover.

The study has shown that the replacement tin and polymetallic volcanogenic deposits are good targets for TEM surveys, although small occurrences of non-conducting zinc-rich deposits have been found. A comparison of FEM, TEM and CSAMT surveys over a series of moderate conductors emphasised the limitations of fixed transmitter surveys and demonstrated the potential of CSAMT for discriminating deep targets.