Australia maps the future with a 3.4 billion geoscience playbook unlocking critical minerals groundwater and net zero opportunities

When a government commits to a multi-billion program over 35 years to a single initiative, it’s worth paying attention. That’s the scale of Australia’s $3.4 billion Resourcing Australia’s Prosperity (RAP) program, and in its first dedicated webinar, Geoscience Australia laid out the roadmap for the next decade. The message? The resources sector isn’t just about digging things out of the ground anymore – it’s about providing the data, certainty, and partnerships that will power Australia’s clean energy future.

A Generational Investment

Opening the webinar, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Madeleine King, described RAP as a “generational investment in geoscience.” For her, the initiative is about more than mapping rocks. It’s about securing supply chains, creating jobs, and ensuring that Australia remains a supplier of choice in a world hungry for the minerals and materials that underpin renewable energy technologies.

“Through government pre-competitive geoscience, we will see economic benefits, deliver well-paid jobs and secure a future made in Australia,” the Minister said. She used the occasion to announce the program’s third regional ‘deep dive’ – a detailed geoscience campaign targeting the Georgetown–Julia Creek region in northwest Queensland, home to significant vanadium and critical mineral potential.

Four Components, One Purpose

At the core of RAP’s design are four interrelated components that feed into each other:

1. Australia-wide geoscience – national data grids, mapping and datasets that provide the building blocks for resource discovery.

2. National resource assessments – commodity-specific analyses of critical minerals, groundwater, hydrogen storage, and CO2 sequestration.

3. Deep dives – intensive, fine-scale studies of selected regions to de-risk exploration and reveal new opportunities.

4. Delivery, awareness and engagement – making the science accessible to governments, industry, communities, and First Nations groups.

Melissa Harris, CEO of Geoscience Australia, stressed that the program’s strength lies in its scale and integration. “Our pre-competitive geoscience helps to de-risk exploration, attract investment, and guide responsible development of our country’s resources,” she said. “This is about building a richer understanding of Australia’s potential – not just where resources are, but how they can be sustainably developed.”

The Big Data Play

Anthony Schofield, Acting Principal Science Advisor, walked through the first 10 years of delivery. His pitch was simple: RAP is as much about information as it is about resources. New flagship datasets – including a national 3D geology map by 2031, updated gravity and magnetics, a modernised gravity network, and an Australia-wide airborne electromagnetics survey – will put Australia at the global forefront of geoscience coverage.

Anthony pointed to one dataset in particular that excites him: a national industry geochemistry compilation. “By pulling together the huge volume of exploration geochemistry collected over decades, we’ll be able to spot new patterns and open up new frontiers,” he explained. “That’s the kind of national-scale work only an organisation like Geoscience Australia can deliver.”

Beyond Minerals: Hydrogen, CO2 and Water

The second component, national resource assessments, highlights just how far the resources conversation has shifted. Yes, rare earths and copper remain high on the list – with prospectuses due in 2026 and 2027 – but RAP also aims to answer the big questions on natural hydrogen, underground hydrogen storage, and CO2 sequestration.

As Anthony explained, “Storage is really at the nut of the problem here.” By 2027, RAP will deliver a national hydrogen storage assessment focused on hubs where industry investment is already underway. A national CO2 storage resource atlas is scheduled for 2028. On groundwater, work will culminate in a national 3D map by 2034 – vital for communities, agriculture and industry in the world’s driest inhabited continent.

Deep Dives: Throwing the Book at the Rocks

The ‘deep dive’ program is RAP’s most tangible regional focus. Chris Lewis, Director of Regional Geology and Drilling, described them as “where we throw the book at a region.” Following the Delamerian and Birrindudu projects, the Georgetown–Julia Creek deep dive will target one of Australia’s most promising mineral provinces, with vanadium at Julia Creek shaping as a standout.

“This is an emerging minerals province with untapped potential for critical minerals and important groundwater systems,” Chris said. “We’re already working with the Geological Survey of Queensland on seismic reflection data to set the foundation.”

More Than Data: Engagement and Trust

The fourth component is where RAP aims to do something different: bringing communities and First Nations Australians into the fold. Jess Scott, Director of First Nations Engagement and Partnership, underscored that the initiative is about collaboration, not just consultation.

“We want to build strong, lasting relationships with First Nations Australians through opportunities that support self-determination,” Jess said. “An important first step is establishing a First Nations Advisory Group this year, to ensure our work is informed by culturally respectful, inclusive and strategic perspectives.”

That commitment extends to delivery tools like GeoInsight – a platform designed to make resource data accessible to non-experts – and to new storytelling approaches that place geoscience in a broader societal context.

Integration Is Everything

The panelists repeatedly emphasised that RAP’s four components are not separate silos. Instead, they reinforce each other. National data informs resource assessments; assessments guide deep dive locations; deep dive results feed back into national models. As Chris put it, the program works through “positive feedback loops.”

Anthony summed it up: “The real value of RAP is that it’s greater than the sum of its parts. Regional projects give us high-resolution data; national datasets provide the context; together, they improve our predictions and open up new opportunities.”

A Long Game with Immediate Stakes

The RAP initiative comes at a moment when Australia’s role in global supply chains is under intense scrutiny. With geopolitical risks rising and demand for clean energy minerals soaring, the government is betting on data, science, and partnerships as the foundation of future prosperity.

For Madeleine, the stakes are both global and local. “Our investment in RAP will help our nation become a supplier of choice for those materials essential to renewable energy technologies,” she said. “It’s also about resilience – securing our future across climate, food and energy systems.”

Melissa was equally clear: “This is a generational investment. It’s about ensuring Australia’s resources sector remains internationally competitive and successful in a net zero world.”

The Rock Wrangler Take

For suppliers, explorers, and service providers, RAP isn’t a distant government science project. It’s the bedrock that will guide exploration dollars, identify future projects, and shape where the next big opportunities lie. Whether you’re chasing rare earths, eyeing vanadium, or positioning for hydrogen storage, the message from Geoscience Australia is that the map to the future is being drawn now – and it will be open for all to use.

In short, the $3.4 billion bet on geoscience is also a bet on industry partnerships, smarter exploration, and a future where Australia digs deeper not just into the earth, but into the knowledge needed to power a cleaner, more prosperous tomorrow.