VCMSM Report 10 - Baseline soil geochemistry of northwest Victoria.
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Product description:Executive Summary:As part of the Victorian Critical Minerals Roadmap, new soil geochemistry data was collected in northwest Victoria to support an initial reconnaissance baseline geochemistry study. Newly acquired samples of near-surface soil were collected in 2025 at 104 sites covering 57,000 km2 of northwest Victoria. Soil samples were analysed for element concentration by both a partial aqua regia and a total digest, and for mineral composition. The study includes sample locations around demonstrated mineral sand occurrences, which are known to include critical minerals with the following elements: titanium (TiO2), zirconium (Zr) and rare earth elements + yrttrium (REE). The soil geochemical concentrations vary systematically across the study area, for example TiO2 is elevated in the southern survey area relative to the north, and Zr and REE are elevated in the southeast of the survey area relative to the north or southwest. A sharp, approximately north-south orientated break in gold (Au) concentration in soil shows elevated Au concentrations in the Stawell Zone relative to areas further west, and germanium (Ge) in soil is elevated above buried granite bodies in the southwest of the study area. Geology is the dominant control on soil element concentrations, with additional physiographic control from rivers (and river catchments). Other influences may include the addition of fertilisers for agricultural production, which can contribute to elevated concentrations of elements such as Sulfur (S) in the soil. The results show that soil parent material in the southern part of the study area is typically fluvially derived, sourced from river catchments originating in basement rocks to the south, or from calcareous dune deposits and associated sedimentary rocks in the north of the study area. The soil element concentrations appear to not vary with distance to mineral sand occurrences. The soil geochemical baseline data and atlas presented in this report provide a snapshot of soil geochemistry in 2025 in northwest Victoria. It will be supplemented by samples and analyses of groundwater, vegetation, lake sediment and salt precipitate to be presented in future reports. The geochemical baseline data can be used as a basis for future monitoring and evaluation. Bibliographic Reference: Martin, A.P., Campbell, A.G., Reid, N., Thorne, R.L., Travers, S.J., Herley, S.S., O'Neill, C.D., Lampinen, H.M. & Fenselau, K., 2026. Baseline soil geochemistry of northwest Victoria. Victoria's Critical Minerals and Strategic Materials Report 10. Geological Survey of Victoria, Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Melbourne, 192 p. Download: The downloadable version of this report is supplied as (PDF 130 MB), Attachment A1 (PDF 2 MB), Attachment A2 (PDF 1.4 MB), Attachment A3 (PDF 1.5 MB), Attachment A4 (PDF 4 MB), Attachment A5 (XLSX/ODS 42 KB), Attachment A6 (XLSX/ODS 62 KB), Attachment A7 (XLSX/ODS 94 KB) & Attachment A8 (XLSX/ODS 130 KB). | ||||||
