Northeast Tasmania Au-Sb prospectivity study

To support the government’s Critical Minerals Strategy, MRT is developing a series of statewide prospectivity maps, using machine learning techniques to identify areas with high potential for critical minerals required to meet the demands of the energy transition. The initial study (Report No. TR48) focused on granite-related tin-tungsten-fluorine-rubidium mineral systems. Current work has shifted to turbidite-hosted gold-antimony mineralisation in northeast Tasmania. The modelling applies a mineral systems approach, considering the large-scale processes that must coincide in space and time for a mineral deposit to form.

An updated machine learning workflow has been developed using an ensemble random forests approach, providing improved performance and a reduction in bias, while maintaining model interpretability. All modelling results are reviewed by MRT's Geological Survey team to ensure consistency with our current geological understanding.

Although no antimony deposits are known in the study area, analogous turbidite-hosted gold deposits in Victoria commonly contain significant antimony, suggesting the potential for this commodity in northeast Tasmania may have been overlooked. In addition, many of the region’s gold deposits have not been systematically explored using modern exploration techniques, leaving considerable potential to extend known mineralisation and discover new deposits.

A report describing the methodology, together with a data package including the prospectivity map, is available for download from our documents database. The results can also be viewed via the MRT Map Viewer.