About the CMXUC

Aims

The aim of the South Australian Centre for Mineral Exploration Under Cover (CMXUC) is to facilitate mineral discovery by defining and implementing the next generation of mineral exploration science.

The major focus of the CMXUC is to understand and penetrate the veneer of weathered rock and alluvium that covers the prospective geology of much of Australia.  This cover represents the single most important impediment to the discovery and exploitation of Australia's untapped mineral wealth.

This will be achieved by building a portfolio of collaborative research projects between academic institutions, the government sector and mineral exploration companies.

Background

The South Australian Centre for Mineral Exploration Under Cover (CMXUC) is a collaborative research initiative of Primary Industries and Resources, South Australia (PIRSA) and the University of Adelaide.

The Centre was established in 2005 with a $1.2 million (AU) grant from PIRSA as part of the Plan for Accelerated Exploration (PACE) and is housed within the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Adelaide.

The CMXUC builds on established research strengths at the University of Adelaide and PIRSA - in the fields of Tectonics and Metallogeny, Regolith and Landscape Evolution and Geophysical exploration.

These research strengths define the three research themes of the CMXUC.

Research Goals

The major long-term research goals of the Centre are:

• To build an integrated four-dimensional model of the structure and evolution of the South Australian crust, including the basement and cover rocks and their associated mineral prospectivity.
• To develop a range of tools and methods for effectively exploring within and beneath cover.

Research is focussed in three broad themes: Tectonics and Metallogeny, Geophysical Exploration and Regolith and Landscape Development.