In April 1994 the Victorian Premier announced new State
initiatives, collectively termed the Victorian Initiative for
Minerals and Petroleum (VIMP), for exploration totalling $16.5
m over three years. The program, initially centred on the
northwest of Victoria, the Eastern Highlands and the Otway
Basin, is due for completion in June 1997 and has been designed
to attract explorers to highly prospective but currently
under-explored parts of the State. Major components of the program include acquisition of
geophysical data (including airborne magnetics and radiometrics,
gravity and seismic data), stratigraphic drilling, geological
mapping and mineral resource data compilation. At the
completion of the current program, 70 per cent of the State will
have been covered by airborne magnetic and radiometric
coverage at 400 m line spacing or better (Figure I) while 20 per
cent of the State will have been covered by new geological
mapping. The completion of database compilations for
geochemistry, mine data and exploration licence summaries
during the VIMP program is shown in Figure 2. The new airborne geophysical surveys have been flown partly
under the VIMP program and partly by AGSO under the National
Geoscience Mapping Accord (NGMA). Data from these surveys
have been interpreted and incorporated into the geological
mapping in order to enhance the quality of map products,
especially in areas of Cainozoic cover. The first series 1:250 000 scale geological map coverage of
Victoria was completed by the Geological Survey of Victoria
(GSV) in 1977, and was based on compilation of historical
geological mapping with minor field checking in most cases. The
first metric 1:50 000 scale geology maps were also commenced
in the 1970s, but were discontinued in the 1980s in favour of
1:100 000 scale map production. Driven by customer survey
findings and with the benefit of detailed airborne geophysical
data in the 1990s, the GSV reverted to 1:50 000 scale map
production in 1995, with 1:10 000 scale maps made in areas of
significant gold production. Geological reports still cover
standard 1:100 000 scale map areas, but are now accompanied by
four 1:50 000 scale maps. These new series 1:50 000 scale
geological maps have been supported by comprehensive mine
data and exploration licence summary databases in addition to the
new geophysics, and benefit from the advances made in structural
geological interpretation over the last decade. The new phase of geological mapping in Victoria, commenced
under the NGMA in 1990 and accelerated under VIMP in 1994,
has been focused in the central Victorian goldfields and eastern
Highlands areas of the State (Figure 1). Results to-date have led
to a number of major advances in the understanding of the
eeoloeical evolution of Victoria.