Economic fairways assessments across northern Australia

摘要: MethodsWe calculate a series of economic models for IOCG deposits across northern Australia. The economic modelling is undertaken using the Bluecap software platform (Walsh et al., 2020), which we use to estimate (for a hypothetical deposit):• net present value—the sum of discounted future cash flows over the life of the mine• break-even grade factor—the change in ore grade required to make a project break even• annual employment over the life of the project.Bluecap combines large-scale infrastructure datasets to evaluate mining, processing, administrative and infrastructure expenses of mining operations across Australia. A distinguishing feature of the software is its ability to provide rapid geospatial estimates of economic potential across the Australian continent, suitable for early exploration planning. Components of the Bluecap analysis can be accessed through the Economic Fairways Mapper, an assessment tool incorporated in Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future portal. The open-source Bluecap code also provides additional functionality for calculations better suited to offline platforms (eg extended analysis, or calculations involving external software or data).