Supporting data-driven exploration in NSW

Summary NSW legislative changes in 2016 mean that from 1 June 2021, confidential mineral exploration company reports will become open file 5 years after submission. This will result in a large amount of previously confidential data being released on 1 June 2021. In conjunction with the data release, substantial work is being undertaken to improve the quality, accessibility and usability of the datasets. To provide the most functional regional scale geochemical datasets possible, the usability of the datasets must be assessed by following a standard workflow of data validation > exploratory data analysis (EDA) > normalisation > interpolation. Due to the large size of the datasets, programmatical solutions that expedite the validation and EDA processes are necessary. This presentation will give examples of methods used to condition the NSW geochemical data. An innovative data normalisation process will also be demonstrated, addressing the complexity of dealing with spatially overlapping and varied sample methods. An interpolation process that is suitable for use on large volume, large-scale datasets will also be demonstrated.