The Delamerian Orogen is a key greenfield target for the Geological Survey of South Australia under the MinEx CRC National Drilling Initiative (NDI). The project includes a geoscientific drilling program and allied research to understand the geology and mineral potential of both the Delamerian basement and overlying Murray Basin cover. This article focuses on understanding the characteristics of the cover sediments and geological–depositional environment of sedimentary basins in the study area. The sedimentary basins, together with the underlying basement (e.g. Delamerian), are ones of the most underexplored Neoproterozoic–Paleozoic–Cenozoic provinces in the Delamerian region. The potential for discovery of new heavy mineral sand deposits, and further extensions of existing ones, are high.