Landmark geoscience program lays the groundwork for a future made in Australia

Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future program has officially concluded, celebrating its success with an online Showcase starting today, and a publication that summarises its results, achievements and impacts.

Exploring for the Future: An overview of Australia’s transformational geoscience program shares the success of the 8-year $225 million program.

Since 2016, Exploring for the Future has been gathering, analysing and providing precompetitive geoscience data, information and tools to help understand what lies beneath our feet.

This has informed decision-making by government, community and industry on the sustainable development and management of Australia’s mineral, energy and groundwater resources, supporting our transition to net zero emissions.

Geoscience Australia Chief Executive Officer Dr James Johnson said the Exploring for the Future program was leaving a remarkable legacy.

“Over the last eight years, the Exploring for the Future program has unearthed over 1000 new precompetitive geoscience datasets and products,” Dr Johnson said.

“Its innovative techniques and technology have led to ground-breaking and world-leading maps and tools that present our latest understanding of Australia’s resource potential.”

According to Deloitte Access Economics, precompetitive geoscience supported $76 billion of added value to the Australian economy and 80,000 full-time equivalent jobs in 2021-2022 alone. Economic analysis by ACIL Allen in 2020 and 2022 estimated that for each dollar the Australian Government spends on precompetitive geoscience, up to $1,546 would be returned to the Australian economy.

“This huge value add to the Australian economy has led the Australian Government to invest $3.4 billion into the future of precompetitive geoscience with the 35-year Resourcing Australia’s Prosperity initiative,” Dr Johnson said.

“Mapping Australia’s groundwater systems, unlocking our nation’s critical minerals potential and discovering opportunities for alternative energy storage takes time, research and investment.

“Under this initiative, our top geoscientists will provide a detailed understanding of Australia’s prospectivity and potential for the resources essential for supply chains and green technology today and into the future.”

The Showcase is a free online event where geoscience experts are sharing the latest results from the Exploring for the Future program and its impacts, benefits and achievements.

Read the publication here.