In 2022-2023, broadband magnetotelluric (MT) data were acquired through the collaboration of the Geological Surveys of South Australia and Victoria, in partnership with Minex CRC, along two ~E-W trending profiles across the Delamerian orogen in...
In 2022-2023, broadband magnetotelluric (MT) data were acquired through the collaboration of the Geological Surveys of South Australia and Victoria, in partnership with Minex CRC, along two ~E-W trending profiles across the Delamerian orogen in South Australia and the Lachlan orogen in Victoria. The MT profile follows a geotransect of reflection seismic and gravity data acquired by Geoscience Australia across the Proterozoic-Phanerozoic transition to illuminate the crust and constrain the tectonic evolution and mineral potential of the region. MT images the bulk conductivity of the subsurface and can help to understand the lithosphere beneath surface expressions of crustal domains and faults and address questions on the tectonic evolution of Australia. Signatures from past tectonothermal events can be retained in the lithosphere for hundreds of millions of years when these events deposit conductive mineralogy that is imaged by MT as electrically conductive pathways. The Cambrian-Ordovician Delamerian orogen is a key region in the geological evolution of the Australian continent, as it marks the transition along the eastern margin of Proterozoic Australia from a passive to an active continental margin. This region also has potential for a variety of mineral systems, including porphyry Cu±Mo±W, sediment-hosted Cu of various origins, epithermal Au-Ag, orogenic Au, volcanic-hosted massive sulphide Cu-Pb-Zn-Au, skarn (Cu,Mo,W,Pb,Zn,Fe,Sn) and magmatic Cr-PGE. A total of 222 broadband MT sites were collected along two main profiles from Spencer Gulf in South Australia to Pinnaroo on the Victorian-South Australian border, and across the Murray Basin from Murray Bridge to Swan Hill in Victoria. Each MT station recorded five components (Bx, By, Bz, Ex, Ey,) using Phoenix MTU-5C recorders at a minimum of 40 hours for most sites that were converted to periods between 10^(-4)-?5×10?^3s.
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