On this page, you will find details on the submission of core and geological samples to the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA). Core and samples are held at either the Perth Core Library or Joe Lord Core Library.
Core submissions to GSWA core libraries are organised according to the relevant regulations and guidelines of the energy and mineral industries.
Any tenement holder or company wishing to submit or donate core should contact the Core Library Coordinator through the details on the right-hand side of this page.
Please submit a copy of the core submission form with your donation.
Core submission for the energy industry
WA State well operators are required to submit cores, cuttings and sidewall core material obtained during drilling under the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Resources (Resource Management Administration) Regulations 2015 and Petroleum (Submerged Lands) (Resource Management and Administration) Regulations 2015. These petroleum and geothermal well samples become available to the public two years after the rig release date of the well unless other conditions apply.
All petroleum and geothermal well samples should be sent to the Perth Core Library. Processing petroleum drillcore into trays: Perth Core Library guidelines outlines the standard process for those handling and viewing drillcore. It covers the best practices for processing drillcore into trays, common mistakes when processing drillcore into trays, and ordering core trays.
Submission of Commonwealth petroleum well samples must meet the NOPDCR Sample Submission Standards.
Core submission for the mineral industry
The department archives valuable drillcore, while the selection criteria also considers the need to promote the mineral prospectivity of Western Australia. A small percentage of the total mineral core drilled is stored in the core libraries.
According to the Mining Regulations 1981 R96D, companies must retain their own core archive and provide at least three months’ written notice if they plan to destroy core so that diamond drill core may be set aside for inclusion in the department’s core libraries.
Record 2002/14 Selection criteria for mineral drillcore in the Western Australian core libraries describes the method used for the selection of mineral drillcore for the core libraries.
All core obtained through the Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) Co-funded Drilling Program is submitted to the core libraries.
Companies may also offer or be requested to donate core.
Core may be selected from:
- Significant mines that have closed or are soon-to-close
- Significant mineralisation that illustrates a range of mineral commodities, styles of mineralisation, or tectonic settings
- Deposits that illustrate a geographic distribution throughout the State
- Areas that may be difficult or expensive to redrill, such as urban areas, national parks, remote areas or deep holes
- Deposits that are excellent examples of stratigraphy, significant structural features or unusual geological features
- Prospects or areas popular with the minerals industry including core from subeconomic prospects that may allow prospectors and mining companies to test innovative processes or ideas, or core from prospects that are under joint-venture proposals and have a large demand for viewing
Mineral core from the Eastern Goldfields and southeastern Western Australia should be submitted to the Joe Lord Core Library in Kalgoorlie.
Mineral core from the Kimberley, Pilbara, Gascoyne, Murchison districts and southwestern Western Australia should be submitted to the Perth Core Library.
For more detailed information, refer to the Guidelines for the submission and delivery of mineral drillcore.
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