Stratigraphic drilling has been undertaken by PIRSA in the South Australian portion of the northern Murray Basin to investigate the stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Cainozoic sedimentary sequences, as well as the heavy mineral sand potential of the area. The subject drilling programme conducted during May 2001 was part of the Targeted Exploration Initiative of South Australia (TEISA). Drill targets were chosen to gain a greater understanding of this part of the basin as well as to determine its potential for heavy mineral sand accumulation. Thirteen vertical RC aircore drillholes with a total penetration of 826 m were completed. They ranged in depth from 22 to 81 m, and they all intersected Quaternary and Late Cainozoic sedimentary sequences. One of the holes (PIVA10) was later redrilled to 254 m total depth, using rotary mud drilling methods, in order to penetrate and identify the basement: this exercise included 8.2 m of bottomhole diamond coring which recovered core comprised of quartz microdiorite, containing minor sulphide mineralisation. The results of the northern Murray Basin drilling outlined variable depositional environments within the Tertiary littoral Loxton-Parilla Sands, and revealed their effect on heavy mineral sand accumulation. Notable concentrations of heavy minerals that were observed in this drilling programme were restricted to the upper shoreface facies of the Loxton-Parilla Sands, where the mineral assemblage was dominated by leucoxene. Palynology was used to derive a detailed palaeo-environmental interpretation for the Tertiary sediments overlying the basement. This study determined that the past sea levels in the Pine Valley area had created water depth environments that were sufficient only for shallow marine sedimentary deposition to occur. Geochronological analysis of basement core samples of undeformed quartz microdiorite gave a Sm-Nd age of 482±20 Ma, which suggests a correlation with the intrusions of the Black Hill Gabbroic Complex located ~170 km to the south-west.