The subject area, which covered the western onshore portion of the Polda Trough, was initially acquired to explore buried probable Carpentarian sediments for base metals and uranium, but a subsequent review of available information suggested that there was greater potential for coal and oil shale in the Mesozoic and Cainozoic strata. 22 drillholes (total 2475 m) encountered numerous intersections of coal, but revealed no areas of thickening or shallowing of these coal seams. The thickest intercept comprised 6 m of Tertiary lignite at 30.5 m depth, but it proved to be only a localised occurrence. An experimental seismic survey run by SADME, using a Betsy gun as energy source, appeared to be of limited value for mapping the coal distribution.