This report book presents the results of seven geochronology research projects completed during 2009 and 2010 as a new part of the ongoing PACE Initiative geoscientific data gathering activity underwritten by the South Australian Government. It...
This report book presents the results of seven geochronology research projects completed during 2009 and 2010 as a new part of the ongoing PACE Initiative geoscientific data gathering activity underwritten by the South Australian Government. It has been compiled from individual reports that document in detail the geological setting, geochronological rationale and geochronological results for each project. Two projects attempted to determine the timing of Cu-Au and Zn-Pb-Cu-Au mineralisation within the eastern Gawler Craton in what is referred to as the Olympic Domain iron oxide - associated copper-gold (IOCG) mineralised province. The first was a project with Rex Minerals Ltd investigating the timing of mineralisation and magmatism at the newly discovered Hillside deposit on Yorke Peninsula (PGC01-06). Hillside is a Cu-Au resource developed within subvertical structures within a major regional shear zone. The PACE Geochronology project dated allanite and titanite from within mineralised and altered rocks and showed that hydrothermal processes operated at ca. 1585 Ma, within error of the emplacement of two granite samples dated at ca. 1580 Ma. This confirms that Hillside is related to the Hiltaba Suite magmatic event. The second project, which also focussed on mineralisation occurring in the eastern Gawler Craton, was a collaboration with Monax Mining Ltd within the Punt Hill prospect (PGC01-02). Punt Hill occurs as a geophysical anomaly on the Stuart Shelf and includes Zn-Pb-Cu-Au mineralisation within an altered metavolcanic-metasedimentary sequence. Sm-Nd dating of garnet-diopside skarn alteration indicates it developed at ca. 1580 Ma. Zircon U-Pb dating of an altered granite within the prospect indicate it is ca. 1855 Ma in age, and is therefore part of the Donington Suite and is a passive host rather than being directly associated with the mineralisation. Two projects were completed in collaboration with Centrex Metals Ltd to date samples from tenements in the vicinity of the Middleback Ranges. This area has received considerable interest in recent times following the discovery that there is a large granitic batholith in this region that is Mesoarchaean in age, ca. 3150 Ma, and after the release of information from the recent deep seismic profile completed along the northern Eyre Peninsula. The dates emerging from the PACE Geochronology projects extend our knowledge of the Mesoarchaean crustal block in the northern Eyre Peninsula, and give insights into the nature of crustal reworking prior to the Kimban Orogeny, ca. 1740-1730 Ma, in this area. The first of the Centrex projects investigated the depositional age and timing of magmatism within the Bungalow prospect (PGC01-04). The data appear to indicate that the iron formation was deposited some time after ca. 2555 Ma and may therefore be correlative of the iron formations in the Middleback Range itself, with recent maximum depositional ages for schist in the Middleback Range being ca. 2565 Ma. Granites, including garnet-bearing S-type leucosomes were emplaced into the Bungalow iron formation-bearing sedimentary sequence at ca. 1730 Ma, likely during the early phase of the Kimban Orogeny. One of these granites has inherited zircons as old as ca. 3445 Ma. The second of the Centrex projects investigated the timing of magmatism and metamorphism within the region to the west of Iron Duke mine, immediately west of the southern Middleback Range (PGC01-05). The data show that Mesoarchaean magmatism in the region extends back to ca. 3250 Ma, and that there was a significant metamorphic event in this region at ca. 2510 Ma. Gneissic rocks with a protolith of ca. 3250 Ma make these samples the oldest yet dated from South Australia. Metamorphism at ca. 2510 Ma has been documented in the northern portion of the Mesoarchaean region, and this result extends the distribution of this metamorphic event. Two samples, a granite and a metagabbro were also dated as part of this project and show that magma was being emplaced in the Mesoarchaean region immediately prior to the Kimban Orogeny at ca. 1740 Ma. Also completed in the vicinity of the Middleback Range was a collaborative project with OneSteel Ltd, which focussed on the age of metasedimentary and granitic host rocks to the Moola copper prospect (PGC01-09). The metasedimentary unit is variably mineralised and has been dated at ca. 1790 Ma, indicating that it is a correlative of the Palaeoproterozoic sequences which occur in the north-eastern Eyre Peninsula, in particular the Broadview Schist and Myola Volcanics. The granitic rock sample was taken to test if a possible Hiltaba Suite intrusion is present in the drillhole; if so, this may be related to the hydrothermal alteration and mineralisation at the prospect. It was found that the granite is ca. 1740 Ma in age, and is not part of the Hiltaba Suite but rather part of the pre-Kimban magmatic event that is widespread in the northern Eyre Peninsula, as evidenced by the several samples dated as part of the PACE Geochronology program and documented in the recent SHRIMP work from Geoscience Australia. The timing of mineralisation remains unresolved at present, and further geochronology is warranted. The age of felsic volcanics in the western Curnamona Province was also investigated in a project in collaboration with Geothermal Resources Ltd. (PGC01-12). The project was able to confirm the ca. 1590 Ma age for the felsic volcanics and thereby link them to the Benagerie Volcanic Suite of the Curnamona Province. Finally, a series of samples were dated via zircon U-Pb methods from the Paralana geothermal project of Petratherm Ltd (PGC01-01). This geothermal project aims to use engineered geothermal systems technology to extract heat from sediments of the Arrowie Basin. The Paralana 2 drillhole was drilled to 4 km depth to test the geothermal gradient in this region, and selected drill core samples from the lower 2 km section in this hole were dated to refine our understanding of the stratigraphy. In addition, several samples were analysed for whole rock geochemistry and Sm-Nd isotopes to investigate the geochemical correlations that may be present between the mafic units in the Paralana 2 drillhole and those known from elsewhere in the Curnamona Province.
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