Authors / CoAuthors
Blewett, R.S.
Abstract
Structures and structural (tectonic) processes provide critical controls on the evolution of hydrothermal mineral systems, both as pathways for fluid flow and as a trigger or driver. Not all these structures or tectonic processes are, however, necessarily obvious, particularly when the scale of study is restricted to a mineral deposit alone. This is because mineral deposits are just a `symptom' of a much larger system 'a mineral system' which involves enormous energy and mass fluxes. Using mineral systems thinking is a powerful tool for explorers. The scale of a mineral system is many orders of magnitude larger than the individual mineral deposit, and consequently, the system offers a far larger target than the deposit. For example, a deposit only 500 m wide may have a fluid outflow zone many tens of kilometres wide, such as in the Eastern Goldfields. Similarly, the zone of depletion of the metal-rich source rock may be many tens of kilometres in extent, such as in Broken Hill. A mineral system is a generic concept. Here, I use an example from the gold mineral system of the Eastern Goldfields Superterrane of Western Australia to consider some of the less obvious, but nevertheless important, structures and their attendant processes, as well how to recognise them.
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nonGeographicDataset
eCat Id
74462
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Cnr Jerrabomberra Ave and Hindmarsh Dr GPO Box 378
Canberra
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Australia
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- External Publication
- Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)
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- Earth Sciences
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- Published_Internal
Publication Date
2012-01-01T00:00:00
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geoscientificInformation
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[-32.0, -25.0, 114.0, 126.0]
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