The Fascinating World of Minerals on display

NSW Department of Primary Industries will hold an open day for students at the W.B. Clarke Geoscience Centre at Londonderry next Thursday March 5, giving students a unique insight into how mineral exploration is carried out in NSW.

The open day is being held in partnership with the Australian Museum Trust and the University of Sydney with more than 70 senior school students expected to attend.

Director Geological Survey NSW, Lindsay Gilligan says visitors can learn about current technology and techniques used by earth scientists in the exploration of the State’s geology.

"Geologists, geophysicists and palaeontologists will all be on hand to provide an insight into the range of different career opportunities available in the earth sciences" he said.

There will be a guided tour of the W.B. Clarke Geoscience Centre facilities, including practical demonstrations and activities such as:

• Core logging. Drill core comes about from exploration drilling and provides a permanent sample of the rock strata. Drilling is used to investigate rocks beneath the surface and students will have an opportunity to try their hand at identifying minerals, rocks and how they relate to the environment.
• Help determine the origin, formation and mineral composition of the rocks within the core. Examine the thin-sections under microscopes, identifying rock type and composition.
• Information collected by airborne surveys, surface measurements and boreholes is extremely valuable when it comes to determining the nature and distribution of rocks. Conduct a mini geophysical survey and help identify ‘areas of interest’ for the exploration geologist to drill.
• Palaeontological scene investigation. Examine several fossil death scenes and using observational skills, answer questions about where the animals and plants might have lived and how and where they died.

The core library was established in 1966 and renamed the W B Clarke Geoscience Centre in 2007 in recognition of the father of Australian geology, the Reverend William Branwhite Clarke (1798-1878) who was directly linked with opening up the mineral wealth of NSW, particularly the discovery of gold.

"The core library is a world-class materials handling and storage facility, used by more than forty exploration companies each month" said Mr Gilligan "and is a valuable resource for the exploration industry."

Further reading

Geological Survey of New South Wales