NRS-15033 | Geological survey reports (GS Reports)

Full description

Geological Survey reports are primarily departmental and company reports detailing exploration activities conducted throughout New South Wales since 1875. A Geological Survey report relates to a particular mining company or mining operation.

Included are company annual reports providing tenement details such as licence number, date the licence was granted, location map, work completed for the year, and annual expenditure. A report may also contain analytical reports for mineral samples, aerial photographs, and a description of planned exploration. Technical reports provide conclusions and recommendations from exploration activities. Petrological Reports may also be included and these give results of mineral sample analysis (type of mineral, composition, and grain size).

A Geological Survey report may include the following: operation and progress reports, mineralogical reports, reports to support applications for drilling aid, and preliminary geological reports. Many reports contain geological plans showing sections and drill hole locations. Some reports are on facsimile paper and some may contain a notice inserted into the report to acknowledge a missing document.

The series also contains copies of papers published in industry and professional journals and papers presented at conferences. Some reports contain oversized reports, maps and plans.

The Geological Survey Report series is part of the Geological Survey collection, a unique collection of unpublished reports on the results of exploration submitted to the then Department of Mineral Resources by companies and individuals as a consequence of exploration and mining licences being granted. The exploration reports are essential sources of information for explorers, and also add to the understanding of the State's geology, mineral, coal and petroleum resources. If the company is still engaged in mining activity or if mining licences are still active then reports may be confidential and unavailable to the public.

The Geological Survey reports may be used in conjunction with the following series: Mine Records (MR), Annual Report Compilations (ARC), Coal Reports (CR), Seismic Reports (SS), Well Completion Reports (WCR), Aeromagnetic Reports (AMO), Gravity Reports (GR), and Petroleum Geological Reports (PGR).

Due to the high access rates for the Geological Survey Collection Reports, the then Department of Mineral Resources undertook a copying program making digitised copies available on the Geological Survey (DIGS). Interested parties can view published and unpublished exploration, mining and Departmental reports on-screen and these can be downloaded. The images have been slightly downgraded to minimise download times, however, higher quality images can be ordered from DIGS.

A note regarding access to the Geological survey reports.
The original reports will not be issued to the public so those interested in accessing them should refer to the Geological Survey (DIGS) web site where copies of non-confidential reports are available. The reports are indexed and can be searched by title, author, subject terms, tenement, location, map reference, report number, and report year. In addition to the reports being indexed, the various documents making up the report, such as contents page, text, maps, and photographs, are also indexed and therefore retrievable.