Geoscience Australia's Graduate Recruitment Program

Anna's Story

My second rotation was with the Paterson Project in the Minerals Division. The project's aim was to better understand the mineral systems in the Paterson region of northern Western Australia. Although the region hosts one of Australia's largest gold deposits (Telfer) and many smaller mines and prospects, its geology has only recently been mapped and its geological history and mineralisation remains poorly understood.

The project involved working as part of a small team that brought together sedimentologists, economic geologists, geochemists, geophysicists and structural geologists. My contribution to the work was to ground truth ASTER hyperspectral satellite images of the area using PIMA (a portable spectral analyser) to determine whether this type of data could contribute to the regional understanding of the mineral systems.

Prior to joining Geoscience Australia (GA), I studied at Deakin University, Melbourne, where I focussed mainly on deep-water clastic sedimentology. I had never worked with spectral data or the software used to process it. However, with the support of my graduate rotation supervisor and other GA scientists, I was able to rapidly develop the skills necessary to complete the project.

I spent three weeks out in the Paterson with other GA geologists. For part of this time we stayed at the Nifty (copper-base metal) mine and at a Barrick Gold exploration camp analysing drillcore and accessing their data. I spent the remainder of my time out in the desert living in a swag and walking transects with a GPS to collect samples for PIMA and make observations. I also got to go underground, fly in a six-seater plane and meet numerous camels!

The project was a fantastic opportunity to learn from experienced scientists, and better understand mine operations and their data needs. I was also able to gain one-on-one instruction in hyperspectral data processing and interpretation from people with considerable experience in this area. The project gave me the freedom to design my own sampling strategy and outputs and to explore areas of scientific interest.

During the four months I spent in this project, I produced a GIS for two study areas that characterised some regional trends in hydrothermal alteration. This work and the skills I developed during my rotation have led to ongoing opportunities for publication.

Anna is now working in the Marine and Coastal Environment project within the Petroleum and Marine Division.