Broken Hill core storage facility officially opened

A new exploration drill core storage facility in Broken Hill, named after a geo-scientist with strong links to the region, has been officially opened.

The EC Andrews drill core facility will initially hold up to 80,000 metres of drill core, which will be used by successive generations of explorers for analysis and interpretation.

By storing the core permanently the rocks can always be made available for further analysis, employing new technologies not presently available  and increasing the chances for new discoveries to be made.

The exploration industry is very keen to retain access to the regional exploration drill core, much of which was stored on the North Mine lease in Broken Hill.

The new half million dollar facility will also increase the effectiveness of exploration activities in the region.

It will also complement the State’s valuable reference mineral and petroleum exploration drill core centre at Londonderry, west of Sydney.

The centre has been named after E C Andrews, the NSW Chief Government Geologist from 1920 to 1931.

Mr Andrews had immense energy and almost all his fieldwork in mapping the Broken Hill area was carried out on foot. He went on to play a major role in Australian geoscience.