Authors / CoAuthors
Jiang, W. | Duan, J. | Schofield, A. | Clark, A.
Abstract
The footprint of a mineral system is potentially detectable at a variety of scales, from ore deposits to the Earth’s crust and lithosphere. To map these systems, Geoscience Australia has undertaken a series of integrated studies to identify key regions of mineral potential using new data from the Exploring for the Future program, together with legacy datasets. The conductivity anomaly mapped from long-period magnetotellurics (AusLAMP) data with a half-degree resolution has highlighted a structural corridor to the east of Tennant Creek, representing a potential source region for iron oxide copper–gold mineral systems. To refine the geometry of this anomaly, we used a higher-resolution magnetotellurics survey to investigate if the deep conductivity anomaly is linked to the near surface by crustal-scale fluid pathways. The 3D conductivity model revealed two prominent conductors in the resistive host, whose combined responses result in the lithospheric-scale conductivity anomaly mapped in the AusLAMP model. The resistivity contrasts coincide with major structures preliminarily interpreted from seismic reflection and potential field data. Most importantly, the conductive structures extend from the lower crust to the near surface. This observation strongly suggests that the major faults in this region are deep-penetrating structures that potentially acted as pathways for transporting metalliferous fluids to the upper crust where they could form mineral deposits. This result indicates high mineral prospectivity for iron oxide copper–gold deposits in the vicinity of these major faults. This study demonstrates that integration of geophysical data from multiscale surveys is an effective approach to scale reduction during mineral exploration in covered terranes with limited geological knowledge. <b>Citation:</b> Jiang, W., Duan, J., Schofield, A. and Clark, A., 2020. Mapping crustal structures through scale reduction magnetotelluric survey in the East Tennant region, northern Australia. 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.
Product Type
document
eCat Id
133730
Contact for the resource
Point of contact
Cnr Jerrabomberra Ave and Hindmarsh Dr GPO Box 378
Canberra
ACT
2601
Australia
Point of contact
Resource provider
Digital Object Identifier
Keywords
- theme.ANZRC Fields of Research.rdf
-
- EARTH SCIENCES
- ( Project )
-
- Exploring For The Future
-
- EFTF
- ( Discipline )
-
- Magnetotellurics
- ( Place )
-
- East Tennant
-
- Crust
- ( Process )
-
- mineralisation
-
- Published_External
Publication Date
2020-06-22T07:31:16
Creation Date
Security Constraints
Legal Constraints
Status
underDevelopment
Purpose
EFTF Extended Abstract
Maintenance Information
asNeeded
Topic Category
geoscientificInformation
Series Information
Lineage
With the overarching aim of discovering new frontiers for mineral exploration in covered terranes, Geoscience Australia (GA) has undertaken integrated studies to identify key regions of interest using new data from Exploring for the Future (EFTF) and legacy data.
Parent Information
Extents
[-20.00, -18.80, 135.20, 136.60]
Reference System
Spatial Resolution
Service Information
Associations
Source Information