Resourcing the Territory is an annual ongoing $9.5 million program designed to support mineral and petroleum exploration in the Northern Territory.
Administered by the NT Geological Survey (NTGS), the Resourcing the Territory's focus for 2026 and beyond will be to bring forward delivery of programs that will make a more immediate impact on stimulating the NT’s competitiveness as an exploration investment destination.
The five main areas of focus are:
Exploration grants
Resourcing the Territory allocates $4 million annually to co-fund industry projects that address geoscientific knowledge gaps and advance exploration. This support helps drive new discoveries and progress resource development across the Territory.
Applications for each round open in February, close in April, with successful recipient announced in June of each year. For more details on the Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations (GDC) program, visit exploration grants.
Upgrading geophysical coverage
Resourcing the Territory is focused on delivering higher-resolution, pre-competitive geophysical data to industry to reduce risk and accelerate exploration. Geophysical data (primarily magnetic, radiometric and gravity data) is the fundamental baseline dataset that industry use to select areas for exploration and generate targets for drilling.
In 2026, NTGS will deliver the largest geophysical acquisition program ever undertaken in the NT, including:
Two airborne geophysical magnetic and radiometric surveys (Pine Creek and Cape Scott airborne surveys) at 200-metre flight line spacing, covering 48,000 km2 of the Top End west of Kakadu.
A ground gravity survey (South Georgina gravity survey) at a spacing of 4km or less in the southern Barkly area, completing a 20-year program to cover the entire NT with ground gravity geophysics.
Industry will be offered the opportunity to participate in all of these surveys to infill areas of interest.
Regional geoscience studies of the Territory’s geology and resource potential
Resourcing the Territory delivers high-quality, pre-competitive geoscience across the Northern Territory to strengthen and refine the geological framework. This supports more consistent and reliable assessment of mineral potential and reduces uncertainty for exploration investment.
In 2026, NTGS will focus on targeted studies to upgrade geoscience knowledge, including:
The Basement Geoscience team working in the Pine Creek Orogen, revising the stratigraphic framework with a focus on characterising the link between magmatism, sedimentation, and deformation throughout the Central domain.
The Basin Geoscience team working to map and understand the stratigraphy of the Territory’s sedimentary basins, with a current focus on building a basin wide understanding of the Amadeus and greater McArthur basins, and evaluating their energy systems and carbon capture and storage potential.
Resourcing the Territory is committed to improving data so it is findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR). Easy access to high-quality data enables industry to efficiently assess resource potential and is a key factor in attracting exploration to the Territory. The main focus of this effort will be to increase the findability and accessibility of open file industry datasets managed by NTGS and ensuring these can be easily consumed and interrogated by explorers within their own systems.
Upgrading NTGS’s ability to deliver large datasets. By April 2026, NTGS intends to have all open file geophysical datasets from minerals exploration (irrespective of size) to be available for download from online systems.
Releasing all legacy open file industry drilling and geochemistry from the Pine Creek region and accelerating the delivery of a Territory-wide digital dataset of every drillhole and geochemical assay ever reported by industry.
Upgrading the STRIKE web-mapping system to allow individual geophysical surveys to be viewable and downloadable.
Industry engagement and promotion
Resourcing the Territory supports targeted engagement to grow the exploration sector and encourage investment. Through the Engagement and Advice team, NTGS works closely with industry to promote opportunities, support project advancement, and help explorers access funding.
Releasing the expanded Critical Minerals and Gold in the NT guide to including all mineral commodities including gold, uranium and iron ore, making it a complete prospectus on the Territory’s minerals endowment and key projects. The flagship document for promotes the Territory’s mineral resource potential. It will be translated in Japanese, Korean and Indonesian.
Maintaining timely advice and information on the NT's exploration and resources sector.
Participating in key domestic and international resource sector events, including Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC), Australian Energy Producers (AEP), NT Resources Week and Annual Geoscience Exploration Seminar (AGES), and participation in Australia Minerals delegations to North America, Japan and South Korea.
Supporting industry proponents to access key international markets for investment and offtake, including though webinars and participation in delegations.
