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  • This Record contains new zircon U-Pb geochronological data, obtained via Sensitive High-Resolution Ion Micro Probe (SHRIMP), from two samples of metamorphosed felsic igneous rocks of the Proterozoic Pinjarra Orogen (Western Australia), intersected in diamond drillcore at the base of deep petroleum exploration wells penetrating the Paleozoic sedimentary successions of the Perth Basin. In the southern Perth Basin, petroleum exploration well Sue 1 was terminated at depth 3074.2 m, in crystalline basement rocks of the southern Pinjarra Orogen. Abundant zircon from a biotite-bearing felsic orthogneiss at depth 3073.2-3073.7 m yielded a complex array of U-Pb isotopic data, indicative of significant post-crystallisation disturbance of the isotopic system. A Discordia regression fitted to the array yielded an upper intercept date of 1076 ± 35 Ma (all quoted uncertainties are 95% confidence intervals unless specified otherwise) interpreted to represent magmatic crystallisation of the igneous precursor to the orthogneiss, and a lower intercept date of 680 ± 110 Ma which is our best estimate of the age of the tectonothermal event responsible for post-crystallisation disturbance of the U-Pb system. Crust of known Mesoproterozoic age is rare in the southern Pinjarra Orogen: pre-1000 Ma igneous crystallisation ages in the Leeuwin Complex were previously known only from two c. 1090 Ma garnet-bearing orthogneisses at Redgate Beach (Nelson, 1999), 30 km west of Sue 1. All other dated outcrops have revealed Neoproterozoic (780-680 Ma) granitic protoliths reworked by Early Cambrian (540-520 Ma) magmatism, deformation and metamorphism (Nelson, 1996, 2002; Collins, 2003). In the northern Perth Basin, petroleum exploration well Beagle Ridge 10A was terminated at depth 1482 m, in crystalline basement rocks of the northern Pinjarra Orogen. A leucocratic orthogneiss sampled within the interval 1464.0-1467.0 m yielded only sparse zircon, but four of the seven grains analysed yielded a weighted mean 207Pb/206Pb date of 1092 ± 27 Ma, interpreted to represent magmatic crystallisation of the igneous precursor to the orthogneiss. Our data show no evidence for Neoproterozoic U-Pb resetting of the c. 1090 Ma zircons: where present, post-crystallisation isotopic disturbance is predominantly geologically recent. The two newly dated samples are located at opposite ends of the Perth Basin (about 470 km apart), and although the two magmatic crystallisation ages are imprecise, the date of 1092 ± 27 Ma from the Beagle Ridge 10A leucocratic orthogneiss is indistinguishable from the date of 1076 ± 35 Ma from the Sue 1 felsic orthogneiss. Furthermore, both rocks contain inherited zircon of Mesoproterozoic age (1620-1180 Ma in Sue 1; 1290-1210 Ma in Beagle Ridge 10A), indicating the presence of pre-1100 Ma crustal components in their parent magmas. This is consistent with a suite of Paleoproterozoic Sm-Nd model ages determined by Fletcher et al. (1985) on buried Pinjarra Orogen orthogneisses, which span 2.01 ± 0.06 Ga to 1.78 ± 0.04 Ga in the north (near BMR Beagle Ridge 10A), and including a model age of 1.80 ± 0.04 Ga from a sample of granitic gneiss obtained from Sue 1. Fletcher et al. (1985) argued that the consistency of 2.1-1.8 Ga Nd model ages obtained from crystalline basement in drillcore beneath the southern and northern Perth Basin, and from outcrop in the Northampton Complex and Mullingarra Complex of the northern Pinjarra Orogen, indicated a similar or shared crustal evolution. Our new U-Pb zircon data support this model, expanding the known extent of 1100-1050 Ma felsic magmatism in both the southern and northern Pinjarra Orogen, and indicating that Neoproterozoic tectonothermal overprinting appears to be restricted to the Leeuwin Complex, with no corresponding event discernible in the northern Pinjarra Orogen.

  • This Record presents new Sensitive High Resolution Ion Microprobe (SHRIMP) U–Pb geochronological results for samples collected from the Mary Kathleen Domain, which forms the western part of the Eastern Fold Belt in the Mount Isa Inlier. Eight samples, comprising three granites, one quartz diorite, two metarhyolites, one feldspathic quartzite, and one of matrix material from a breccia, have been analysed as part of ongoing investigations by GSQ in collaboration with researchers from James Cook University. The results enable a better understanding of the evolution of the domain, the associated magmatism, and any related mineralisation. <b>Bibliographic Reference:</b> Kositcin, N., Bultitude, R.J., and Purdy, D.J. Summary of Results. Joint GSQ–GA Geochronology Project: Mary Kathleen Domain, Mount Isa Inlier, 2018–2019. <i>Queensland Geological Record</i><b> 2019/02</b>.

  • To test existing geological interpretations and the regional stratigraphic relationships of the Carrara Sub-basin with adjacent resource-rich provinces, the deep stratigraphic drill hole NDI Carrara 1 was located on the western flanks of the Carrara Sub-basin, on the seismic line 17GA-SN1. The recovery of high quality near-continuous core from the Carrara Sub-basin, in concert with the spectrum of baseline analytical work being conducted by Geoscience Australia through the EFTF program, as well as other work by government and university researchers is greatly improving our understanding of this new basin. While recently published geochemistry baseline datasets have provided valuable insight into the Carrara Sub-basin, the age of the sedimentary rocks intersected by NDI Carrara 1 and their chronostratigraphic relationships with adjacent resource rich regions has remained an outstanding question. In this contribution, we present new sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) geochronology results from NDI Carrara 1 and establish regional stratigraphic correlations to better understand the energy and base-metal resource potential of this exciting frontier basin in northern Australia.

  • New SHRIMP U-Pb zircon ages from the New England Orogen, New South Wales July 2014-June 2015

  • This record presents new Sensitive High Resolution Ion MicroProbe (SHRIMP) U– Pb zircon results for eighteen samples from the Cairns, Cape York and Georgetown regions in Queensland. Samples from the Cairns region comprise one granite and one microgranite. Eight samples from the Cape York region and three from the Georgetown region comprise Paleozoic igneous rocks, all but one of which are part of the Carboniferous to Permian Kennedy Igneous Association. Of particular interest are the results for two rhyolitic intrusions from the Coen Inlier that are host to gold mineralisation and gave ages of approximately 280 Ma. These results are supported by similar ages reported by Kositcin et al. (2016), also from felsic dykes spatially associated with gold mineralisation. Together, they suggest a widespread, early-Permian gold (Kungurian) event in this region. The results for two felsic dykes spatially associated with gold mineralisation much farther to the south in the Georgetown region, also gave similar early-Permian ages. The geochronology of five metamorphic rocks from the Cape York region, which were analysed in support of the Coen–Cape Weymouth geology mapping project has resulted in all samples being reassigned to other formations. The work contained in this report was carried out under the auspices of the National Collaborative Framework (NCF) between Geoscience Australia and the Geological Survey of Queensland. The data and age interpretations are also available in Geoscience Australia’s Geochronology Delivery database (http://www.ga.gov.au/geochron-sapub-web/). <b>Bibliographic Reference: </b>CROSS, A.J., DHNARAM, C., BULTITUDE, R.J., BROWN, D.D., PURDY, D.J. & VON GNIELINSKI, F.E., 2019. Summary of results. Joint GSQ–GA geochronology project: Cairns, Cape York and Georgetown regions, 2015–2016. <i>Queensland Geological Record</i> <b>2019/01</b>.

  • This Record presents new Sensitive High Resolution Ion Micro Probe (SHRIMP) U–Pb geochronological results from the Aileron Province that were obtained during the Northern Territory Geological Survey–Geoscience Australia (NTGS–GA) geochronology project under the National Collaboration Framework (NCF) agreement, in July 2020. Geoscience Australia’s contribution to this project forms part of the Exploring for the Future (EFTF) Program, which aims to better understand the mineral, energy, and groundwater resources of Northern Australia. <b>Bibliographic Reference:</b> Kositcin N, Beyer EE and Reno BL, 2021. Summary of results. Joint NTGS–GA geochronology project: Aileron Province, Jinka and Dneiper 1:100 000 mapsheets, 2020. <i>Northern Territory Geological Survey, Record</i><b> 2021-008</b>.

  • This Record presents twelve new zircon U-Pb geochronological results from the South Nicholson region, conducted on Geoscience Australia’s Sensitive High Resolution Ion Micro Probe (SHRIMP), as part of the Commonwealth Government’s Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program, an initiative to better understand the mineral, energy and groundwater potential of northern Australia. These data will facilitate greater understanding of the geological evolution of the South Nicholson region, a vast and underexplored region extending across north-eastern Northern Territory and far north-western Queensland. Samples were collected from across the South Nicholson region including MOUNT DRUMMOND, CALVERT HILLS, BRUNETTE DOWNS (NT), LAWN HILL and CAMOOWEAL (QLD) 250K mapsheets. Four samples are from outcrop and eight samples from six stratigraphic and exploration drillholes. Samples were collected from the Paleoproterozoic Murphy Province and from overlying successions of the Paleoproterozoic Benmara Group and the Mesoproterozoic South Nicholson Group. Several samples from drillholes, have stratigraphic affinities that are uncertain and speculative.

  • <p>The Isotopic Atlas of Australia is one of the fundamental datasets in Geoscience Australia (GA)’s Exploring for the Future program. It is underpinned by a nationwide coverage of high-quality U-Th-Pb radiometric dates, mostly determined by Sensitive High Resolution Ion Micro Probe (SHRIMP). For the past decade, GA and the international SHRIMP community have relied on SQUID 2.50 software to process isotopic data acquired by SHRIMP for U-Th-Pb geochronology. However, SQUID 2.50 is obsolete because of dependency on Excel 2003, which is unsupported by Microsoft and will not operate on Windows 10. As a result, GA collaborated with the Cyber Infrastructure Research and Development Laboratory for Earth Sciences (CIRDLES.org) at the College of Charleston (USA) to redeploy SQUID 2.50 algorithms in an open-source, platform-independent and freely available Java application (Squid3). Squid3 replicates (rather than seeking to enhance) SQUID 2.50 logic and arithmetic, with substantial improvements in flexibility and interactivity. In this paper, we review documentation detailing widely trusted but little-known SQUID 2.50 algorithms and provide an overview of Squid3, focusing on the implementation and improvement of SQUID 2.50 functionality. The beta version of Squid3 is capable of end-to-end U-Th-Pb data processing, from ingestion of raw SHRIMP .xml files, through finalised summary calculations, to reporting of data arrays suitable for visualisation via packages such as Isoplot, Topsoil and IsoplotR. In production, Squid3 will enable users to sever links with Excel 2003, while ensuring the sustainability, reliability and relevance of SHRIMP data. <p><b>Citation:</b> Bodorkos, S., Bowring, J.F., and Rayner, N.M., 2020. Squid3: Next-generation data processing software for Sensitive High Resolution Ion Micro Probe (SHRIMP). In: Czarnota, K., Roach, I., Abbott, S., Haynes, M., Kositcin, N., Ray, A. and Slatter, E. (eds.) Exploring for the Future: Extended Abstracts, Geoscience Australia, Canberra, 1–4.

  • This Record presents six previously unpublished U–Pb SHRIMP zircon geochronological results from the Aileron Province in the Northern Territory. The data was collected to investigate the timing of localised and poorly documented granulite facies high-T, low-P metamorphism across isolated outcrops in the central and western Aileron Province. The study was also designed to test the maximum deposition ages of the metasedimentary rocks across this large area, and whether the data are consistent with the samples being high-grade equivalents of the Lander Rock Formation. <b>Bibliographic Reference:</b> Kositcin N, and Scrimgeour IR, 2020. Summary of results: Joint NTGS–GA geochronology project: central and western Aileron Province. <i>Northern Territory Geological Survey</i>, <b>Record 2020-011</b>.

  • This Record presents new zircon U-Pb geochronological data, obtained using a Sensitive High Resolution Ion MicroProbe (SHRIMP) for thirty-five samples of plutonic rocks from the New England Orogen, New South Wales. The work was carried out under the auspices of the National Geoscience Accord, as a component of the collaborative Geochronology Project between the Geological Survey of New South Wales (GSNSW) and Geoscience Australia (GA) during the reporting periods 2012-2014.