No abstract available

The primary aim of the investigation was to determine the reserves and distribution of monazite in the deposits of heavy mineral sands along the East Coast. These deposits contain most of the known world reserves of zircon and rutile for which they are being exploited at various localities, mainly from North Stradbroke Island in Queensland to Ballina in New South Wales. Monazite forms little more than 0.5 per cent of the mixed concentrates, but can be recovered as a by-product from the separation of the other minerals. The monazite forms a source of supply of cerium and also of thorium. The thorium content of the monazite is determined on the basis of its radioactivity. This report gives an account of the field and laboratory work carried out. The results of the laboratory work, which included the separation and examination of minerals, the radiometric determination of quantities of monazite, and the investigation of the thoria content of monazite, are described in this report.

Legacy product - no abstract available

Regolith materials spatially and chemically associated with various types of ore deposits, such as iron oxides, manganese oxides and gold deposits for example, have the potential to be mapped and characterised using remote sensing techniques. With the release of new state-scale multispectral data such as the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflectance Radiometer (ASTER) Geoscience map of Western Australia (Figure 1), these applications may be tested and evaluated, along with identifying ore deposit types and characteristics best suited to using remote sensing techniques. A world-first continental scale ASTER mosaic and pre-competitive geoscience products for Australia are planned for public release in August 2012. The ASTER products are designed to provide broad scale mineral group information for mineral explorers at the continental to prospect scale. The product will be particularly useful for obtaining information on remote or difficult to access areas of Australia. ASTER data consists of 14 bands from Visible and Near Infrared (VNIR) light, through Short Wave Infrared (SWIR) and Thermal Infrared (TIR) encompassing different reflectance and emission spectras from the top few microns of material on the Earth's surface (Figure 2).

This report gives an overview of the known bauxite resources of Victoria. Descriptions are given of the general geology of the area, of the individual deposits, and of the bauxite.

Specimens of radioactive ferruginous sandstone from Madigan's Prospect, Bynoe Harbour, N.T., have been examined by autoradiographic, mineragraphic, mineralogical, and petrographic methods, and tested treated, and analysed chemically; radiation measurements have been made at appropriate stages in the investigation to ascertain the behaviour and distribution of the radioactive material.

Identifying and mapping regolith materials at the regional and continental-scale can be facilitated via a new generation of remote sensing methods and standardised geoscience products. The multispectral Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflectance Radiometer (ASTER) is the first Earth observation (EO) system to acquire complete coverage of the Australian continent. The Japanese ASTER instrument is housed onboard the USA's Terra satellite, and has 14 spectral bands spanning the visible and near-infrared (VNIR - 500-1,000 nm - 3 bands @ 15 m pixel resolution); shortwave-infrared (SWIR - 1,000-2,500 nm range - 6 bands @ 30 m pixel resolution); and thermal infrared (TIR 8,000-12,000 nm - 90 m pixel resolution) with a 60 km swath. Although ASTER spectral bands do not have sufficient spectral resolution to accurately map the often small diagnostic absorption features of specific mineral species, which can be measured using more expensive 'hyperspectral' systems, current coverage of hyperspectral data is very restricted. The extensive coverage and 30m pixel size of ASTER make it well suited to national scale work. The spectral resolution of ASTER make it best suited to mapping broader 'mineral groups', such as the di-octahedral 'Al-OH' group comprising the mineral sub-groups (and their minerals species) like kaolins (e.g. kaolinite, dickite, halloysite), white micas (e.g. illite, muscovite, paragonite) and smectites (e.g. montmorillonite and beidellite). Extracting mineral group information using ASTER, using specially targeted band combinations, can find previously unmapped outcrop of bedrocks, weathering products, help define soil type and chemistry, and delineate and characterise regolith and landform boundaries over large and remote areas.

As a result of the field activities of the Bureau during 1953 regional geological maps have been prepared for the Rum Jungle district, the Katherine-Edith River district and the Coronation Hill-Goodparla district, which cover the Katherine, Lewin Springs and Mt. Todd 1 mile military sheets and portions of the Marrakai, Mt. Tolmer, Batchelor, Tumbling Waters, Goodparla North, Goodparla South and Mt. Evelyn sheets. Detailed geological and geophysical reports and plans have also been prepared for all known radioactive mineral prospects, costeaning and diamond drilling has been undertaken to test some of the prospects and inspectional reports have been made on practically all airborne scintillometer anomalies located during surveys in 1952, and on some of those found during 1953. Prospecting operations have also been undertaken. A summary of the activities of the Bureau during 1953 and the results achieved is given in the following pages, and further details can be obtained from reports mentioned in the list of references.

Legacy product - no abstract available

The most important known deposits of what are commonly referred to as the beach sand minerals are situated along the most easterly part of the Australian coast. The geographical distribution, physiography, formation, origin, composition, and reserves of heavy minerals along the east coast are discussed in this report.