University of Tasmania, Australia

A new initiative has been established, in collaboration with Monash University and OZ Minerals, which has resulted in significant progress in relation to ambient seismic techniques aimed at constraining the depth to basement in the context of exploration under cover. Initial results are very positive, producing a good match between basement depths, determined using an ambient seismic technique, and a ground-truth value from a nearby borehole. Geophysical modelling is also being carried out to test the likely accuracy of the technique in practical situations.

In-mine seismic work, aimed at in-situ rock mass characterisation, was conducted in collaboration with the Institute for Mine Seismology. The work showed the potential for extracting useful information from source wavelets, from a highly repeatable piezoelectric source, in an underground mine setting. Variations in seismic velocity are a proxy for changing stress in the rock mass, with implications for extraction techniques and mine safety.