Several important updates to improve guidelines and align with GDA2020
The Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration (DMPE) has released updated Guidelines for Mineral Exploration Reports on Mining Tenements to reflect the change to GDA2020 following the Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Geocentric Datum) Regulations 2025 coming into effect. In addition to making the required changes to the geodetic datum, several improvements have been made to the guidelines to support better quality data and more efficient reporting. Some of these updates are listed below.
- Clear explanation of what is required in a surrender report.
- Instructions to ensure that statistics provided (e.g. number of holes drilled) matches data in the accompanying digital data files.
- Requirement to report all discoveries of minerals of economic significance to the Minister.
- Reference to newly developed smart templates (see below).
- Data housekeeping recommendations.
- More clarity on the requirements for submission of geophysical activities that are becoming more commonly used by industry, such as magneto-telluric surveys.
DMPE has also developed new, macro-based 'smart' templates that provide a more streamlined process for compiling exploration datasets for submission. The templates' functionality includes highlighting missing or incorrect data, and completing validation checks to ensure the data sets meet reporting requirements. The resultant data files will contain all required metadata headings for mineral exploration report submission as .txt format files.
DMPE derived these templates from the originals produced by the NSW Government with their permission.
The smart template suite can be accessed via DMPE's online Data and Software Centre under Map services and resources > Resources > Mineral Exploration Reporting MRT Templates (MRT) > New Smart Templates.
