Exploration NSW, launched in July 2000, is the NSW government's seven year A$30m initiative to promote a sustainable mineral and petroleum exploration industry in the state. Exploration NSW programs aim to enhance the state's framework of geological, geophysical and mineral resources mapping and information. The minerals and petroleum programs have been committed to the Broken Hill region, the Far West, Central and North West, and the New England regions. This has delivered the following major achievements:

• completed coverage of 70% of the state's area with high quality airborne magnetic and radiometric surveys, 150 000 square kilometres of coverage having been added over the past 3 years;
• new airborne high resolution geophysical surveys to be flown in 2005 will add a further 95 000 square kilometres and will result in a complete data coverage for NSW;
• new regional mapping and mineral resource assessment, drilling and geochemical surveys and data releases over the mineral-rich rocks from the central Lachlan Orogen (Lake Cargelligo to Cobar and Bourke in the central north of the state) and the eastern Lachlan Orogen (Goulburn region);
• new mineral resource mapping and data releases covering the western area of the New England region; and
• new high resolution airborne and seismic geophysical surveys and data packages to stimulate petroleum exploration in the vast sedimentary basins of the state, particularly in the Eromanga Basin, the Surat/Bowen Basin and over the Darling Basin.

The Exploration NSW initiative has also been committed to the delivery of the state's geoscience databases to industry and government through CD ROM packages and internet sevices. Many new statewide and regional databases are now available. Major advances in information delivery has been achieved with launches of:

• The DIGS internet service, which provides global access to the state's open-file exploration results, including company exploration reports covering the past 125 years; and
• The MinView internet service, which provides on-line map viewing of the state's exploration and mining titles, geology and other geodata coverages.

Exploration NSW Projects

• Petroleum program
• Minerals program
• Information program

For further information, please contact geoscience.products@dpi.nsw.gov.au.