Potential for magmatic uranium systems in Australia Map 2: volcanic-related

Volcanic-related U mineralisation is rare in Australia, with most occurrences restricted to northern Queensland. Deposits associated with volcanic rocks may be very large, as in the case of the Streltsovka Caldera in Russia, and are therefore attractive exploration targets. An assessment of potential for volcanic-related U systems has been undertaken on a continental scale using a GIS-based approach. This has focused on identifying those units or magmatic events which are most favourable for the presence of magmatic-related U systems. Thus, the results do not necessarily identify likely locations of mineralisation, but rather are intended to form the basis for area selection and detailed follow-up work. This map uses surface geology, and therefore no information is given of the potential for these systems undercover.


This map applies a mineral systems approach to assessing the potential for volcanic-related U systems, which is translated into mappable geoscientific criteria. The mineral systems model has three components: (1) melt generation; (2) U concentration; and (3) U deposition. Prospectivity criteria for melt generation (1) are the distribution of felsic or alkaline igneous rocks, geochemical criteria indicating high U solubility in the magma (eg., high alkalis or halogens), and rock descriptions suggesting that U is in a form available to leaching by hydrothermal fluids (eg., rocks with a glassy matrix). Uranium concentration (2) is facilitated by fractional crystallisation, which is quantified using Rb/Sr, and exhibits itself in elevated U or high field strength element contents. Uranium deposition (3) is mapped using U2/Th radiometric anomalies.


The 'fuzzy logic' method is used to combine the disparate prospectivity criteria developed. The result gives an indication of the potential prospectivity on a scale of 0 to 1. This study confirms the high prospectivity of northern Queensland for volcanic-related U systems. High potential is also indicated in provinces already well-known for U, such as the Pine Creek and Mount Isa regions. Additionally, several areas not currently known for U mineralisation have been identified, including the Gawler Range Volcanics of South Australia and in the Halls Creek region of Western Australia. These potentially represent new districts which may be prospective for volcanic-related U systems.


Note that the potential indicated here does not include other 'hybrid-style' systems, which may also have a genetic association with igneous rocks, such as the Olympic Dam IOCG-U deposit.

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Identification info

Date (Publication)
2011-01-01T00:00:00
Citation identifier
Geoscience Australia Persistent Identifier/https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/70460

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Role Organisation / Individual Name Details
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Schofield, A.

 1
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MNHD
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Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)
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Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

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  • Geoscientific information

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Unknown

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Product data repository: Various Formats

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Data Store directory containing the digital product files

Data Store directory containing one or more files, possibly in a variety of formats, accessible to Geoscience Australia staff only for internal purposes

Keywords

  • Thematic Map

Theme

  • mineral exploration

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  • AU

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)

  • Earth Sciences

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  • Published_External

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence

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CC-BY

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License

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Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem

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2018-11-01T00:00:00
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Unclassified
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English
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UTF8

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Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

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OnLine resource

Download the file (pdf)

Download the file (pdf)

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  • pdf

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Unknown

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Non geographic dataset
Other

Thematic Map

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Title

Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem

Edition date
2018-11-01T00:00:00
Website

https://www.protectivesecurity.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

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Unclassified

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English
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UTF8
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Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

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Non geographic dataset
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nonGeographicDataset

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Geoscience Australia - short identifier for metadata record with

uuid

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eCatId/70460

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https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/a05f7892-f972-7506-e044-00144fdd4fa6

Date info (Revision)
2018-04-20T06:16:48
Date info (Creation)
2010-05-19T00:00:00

Metadata standard

Title

AU/NZS ISO 19115-1:2014

Metadata standard

Title

ISO 19115-1:2014

Metadata standard

Title

ISO 19115-3

Title

Geoscience Australia Community Metadata Profile of ISO 19115-1:2014

Edition

Version 2.0, September 2018

Citation identifier
https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/122551

 
 

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Keywords

mineral exploration

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