The paper describes a spreadsheet system that enables selection of projects and companies that meet the user's corporate exploration and/or acquisition philosophy. A regularly maintained commercially available database has been used as the basis for this system. It provides an easily accessible efficient com- prehensive search method. The technique enables ranking by various criteria, both technical and financial, to provide groups of projects/companies that are of interest._x000D_
Initially, target size parameters such as reserves, production and mine life are applied together with geological criteria such as age and deposit type; the significance of the targets in the context of the Australian gold industry is addressed.