State Budget 2011-12: Building the State - Major survey plans to unlock secrets of Kimberley's geology

A major survey to help unlock the secrets of the Kimberley and direct strategic development of Western Australia's far north is planned for the coming three years.

The Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) will use the 2011-12 budget allocation of $3million in the next three years to map the Kimberley's underlying geology.

The funds, provided through the Kimberley Science and Conservation Strategy (KSCS), will enable three geophysical and geochemical survey programs, together with strategically targeted outcrop mapping.

Funding includes $730,000 in 2011-12, $1.135million in 2012-13 and $1.135million in 2013-14.

Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore said the surveys would close the knowledge gap in understanding the geology of the Kimberley region.

"This project will enable the DMP's Geological Survey of WA (GSWA) to start baseline geochemical and geophysical surveys of the Kimberley Basin as part of the KSCS," Mr Moore said.

"This work will bring our understanding of the geology and landforms of the Kimberley up-to-date and to a standard that is comparable with, or exceeds, that of the rest of northern Australia.

"It will also provide baseline data to help other departments - such as the Department of Environment and Conservation's research on biodiversity, agriculture and landforms.

"Such knowledge is vitally important to the State Government when making land-use decisions which affect the strategic development of the Kimberley region.

"This investment will also help ensure WA remains an attractive investment destination for resources exploration and tourism into the future."

The Kimberley region has a long and complex geological history dating back almost two billion years, while there is evidence the Earth's crust underlying parts of the Kimberley Basin occurred about 2.7 billion years ago.