EGPR 5 - An updated sand resource estimate for the Trafalgar and Darnum area.

Category: Extractive Geoscience Reports	Product Code: MP-R-171426
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Executive Summary:
A new resource estimate for the Trafalgar-Darnum area, on the eastern edge of the Melbourne Supply Area (MSA), has identified 620 million tonnes of sand in the inferred and indicated categories as per current Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) Code guidelines (2012). The 120 million tonnes represent a 19% increase on the estimate undertaken by the Geological Survey of Victoria (GSV) in the early 1990’s. The increase in tonnage largely reflects the application of economic considerations for modern operating sand quarries, including changes to national and state standards and specifications, construction product process improvements and an increase in the availability and usability of geoscience data.

The updated resource estimate is underpinned by 722 drill holes, 297 (41%) of which were extractive industry drill holes extracted, validated, and compiled from historical GSV reports. The drill holes included important down hole attributes such as lithology and particle size distribution test work data. The remainder of the drill holes were groundwater bores, 31% containing down hole lithology, that provided a significant increase in the available data compared with the previous resource estimate. Additional pre-competitive geoscience datasets used to support the new resource estimate, which were not previously available, include state-wide 1:250 000 Seamless Geology, and regional airborne radiometric and high-resolution light detection and ranging data from associated surveys.

Almost all the sand resource is confined to the Pliocene to Pleistocene Haunted Hills Formation, which comprises fluvial silt, sand, and gravel. This is reflected in 8 of the 9 current Work Authorities in the study area that produce construction materials from the Haunted Hills Formation. The increased tonnage and the greater understanding of the distribution of resource quality highlight exploration upside for sand resources within the prospective stratigraphic units.

Bibliographic Reference:
Drochmann, T.K. & Haar, C.L., 2023. An updated sand resource estimate for the Trafalgar and Darnum area. Extractives Geoscience Project Report 5. Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.

Download:
The downloadable version of this report is supplied in PDF format (14 MB), Attachment A1 (ZIP 43MB), Attachment A2 (ZIP 182KB) & Attachment A3 (ZIP 1.3GB).