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  • Initial lead isotope ratios from Archean volcanic-hosted massive sulfide (VHMS) and lode gold deposits and neodymium isotope model ages from igneous rocks from the geological provinces that host these deposits identify systematic spatial and temporal patterns, both within and between the provinces. The Abitibi-Wawa Subprovince of the Superior Province is characterized by highly juvenile lead and neodymium. Most other Archean provinces, however, are characterized by more evolved isotopes, although domains within them can be characterized by juvenile isotope ratios. Metal endowment (measured as the quantity of metal contained in geological resources per unit surface area) of VHMS and komatiite-associated nickel sulfide (KANS) deposits is related to the isotopic character, and therefore the tectonic history, of provinces that host these deposits. Provinces with extensive juvenile crust have significantly higher endowment of VHMS deposits, possibly as a consequence of higher heat flow and extension-related faults. Provinces with evolved crust have higher endowment of KANS deposits, possibly because such crust provided either a source of sulfur or a stable substrate for komatiite emplacement. In any case, initial radiogenic isotope ratios can be useful in predicting the endowment of Archean terranes for VHMS and KANS deposits. Limited data suggest similar relationships may hold in younger terranes.

  • Australia has a rich uranium endowment. Amongst other favourable geological conditions for the formation of uranium deposits, such as the presence of intracratonic sedimentary basins, Australia is host to widespread uranium-rich felsic igneous rocks spanning a wide range of geological time. Many known uranium deposits have an empirical spatial relationship with such rocks. While formation of some mineral systems is closely associated with the emplacement of uranium-rich felsic magmas (e.g., the super-giant Olympic Dam deposit), most other systems have resulted from subsequent low temperature processes occurring in spatial proximity to these rocks. Approximately 91% of Australia's initial in-ground resources of uranium occur in two main types of deposits: iron-oxide breccia complex deposits (~ 75%) and unconformity-related deposits (~ 16%). Other significant resources are associated with sandstone- (~ 5%) and calcrete-hosted (~ 1%) deposits. By comparison, uranium deposits associated with orthomagmatic and magmatic-hydrothermal uranium systems are rare. Given the paucity of modern exploration and the favourable geological conditions with Australia, there remains significant potential for undiscovered uranium deposits. This paper discusses mineral potential of magmatic- and basin-related uranium systems.

  • Legacy product - no abstract available

  • This dataset is part of a digital geological map of the Granites-Tanami Block which Australian Geological Survey Organisation has prepared by joining together as a seamless coverage 15 of the 1:250 000 geological maps which cover the province.The data layers in the digital map include geology, faults, lineaments structural data, mineral deposits and Australian Geological Survey Organisation drill hole locations. The digital data is available in Arcinfo/ Arcview or Mapinfo format. Topographic and cultural layers are not included: these can be purchased separately from AUSLIG.

  • Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) web services offer a cost efficient technology that permits transfer of standardised data from distributed sources, removing the need for data to be regularly uploaded to a centralised database. When combined with community defined exchange standards, the OGC services offer a chance to access the latest data from the originating agency and return the data in a consistent format. Interchange and mark-up languages such as the Geography Markup Language (GML) provide standard structures for transferring geospatial information over the web. The IUGS Commission for the Management and Application of Geoscience Information (CGI) has an on-going collaborative project to develop a data model and exchange language based on GML for geological map and borehole data, the GeoScience Mark-up Language (GeoSciML). The Australian Government Geoscience Information Committee (GGIC) has used the GeoSciML model as a basis to cover mineral resources (EarthResourceML), and the Canadian Groundwater Information Network (GIN) has extended GeoSciML into the groundwater domain (GWML). The focus of these activities is to develop geoscience community schema that use globally accepted geospatial web service data exchange standards.

  • Legacy product - no abstract available

  • Extended review of mineralexploration in Australia in 2010.