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  • <div>Diamond exploration over the past decade has led to the discovery of a new province of kimberlitic pipes (the Webb Province) in the Gibson Desert of central Australia. The Webb pipes comprise sparse macrocrystic olivine set in a groundmass of olivine, phlogopite, perovskite, spinel, clinopyroxene, titanian-andradite and carbonate. The pipes resemble ultramafic lamprophyres (notably aillikites) in their mineralogy, major and minor oxide chemistry, and initial 87Sr/ 86Sr and <em>ε</em>Nd-<em>ε</em>Hf isotopic compositions. Ion probe U-Pb geochronology on perovskite (806 ± 22 Ma) indicates the eruption of the pipes was co-eval with plume-related magmatism within central Australia (Willouran-Gairdner Volcanic Event) associated with the opening of the Centralian Superbasin and Rodinia supercontinent break-up. The equilibration pressure and temperature of mantle-derived garnet and chromian (Cr) diopside xenocrysts range between 17 and 40 kbar and 750–1320°C and define a paleo-lithospheric thickness of 140 ± 10 km. Chemical variations of xenocrysts define litho-chemical horizons within the shallow, middle, and deep sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM). The shallow SCLM (50–70 km), which includes garnet-spinel and spinel lherzolite, contains Cr diopside with weakly refertilized rare earth element compositions and unenriched compositions. The mid-lithosphere (70–85 km) has lower modal abundances of Cr diopside. This layer corresponds to a seismic mid-lithosphere discontinuity interpreted as pargasite-bearing lherzolite. The deep SCLM (&gt;90 km) comprises refertilized garnet lherzolite that was metasomatized by a silicate-carbonatite melt.</div><div><br></div><div>Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future program provides precompetitive information to inform decision-making by government, community and industry on the sustainable development of Australia's mineral, energy and groundwater resources. By gathering, analysing and interpreting new and existing precompetitive geoscience data and knowledge, we are building a national picture of Australia’s geology and resource potential. This leads to a strong economy, resilient society and sustainable environment for the benefit of all Australians. This includes supporting Australia’s transition to net zero emissions, strong, sustainable resources and agriculture sectors, and economic opportunities and social benefits for Australia’s regional and remote communities. The Exploring for the Future program, which commenced in 2016, is an eight year, $225m investment by the Australian Government.</div><div><br></div><div><strong>Citation:</strong></div><div>Sudholz, Z. J., et al. (2023). Petrology, age, and rift origin of ultramafic lamprophyres (aillikites) at Mount Webb, a new alkaline province in Central Australia. <i>Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems</i>, 24, e2023GC011120.</div><div>https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GC011120</div>

  • This report was compiled and written to summarise the four-year Palaeovalley Groundwater Project which was led by Geoscience Australia from 2008 to 2012. This project was funded by the National Water Commission's Raising National Water Standards Program, and was supported through collaboration with jurisdictional governments in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. The summary report was published under the National Water Commission's 'Waterlines' series. This document is supported by related publications such as the palaeovalley groundwater literature review, the WASANT Palaeovalley Map and associated datasets, and four stand-alone GA Records that outline the detailed work undertaken at several palaeovalley demonstration sites in WA, SA and the NT. Palaeovalley aquifers are relied upon in outback Australia by many groundwater users and help underpin the economic, social and environmental fabric of this vast region. ‘Water for Australia’s arid zone – Identifying and assessing Australia’s palaeovalley groundwater resources’ (the Palaeovalley Groundwater Project) investigated palaeovalleys across arid and semi-arid parts of Western Australia (WA), South Australia (SA) and the Northern Territory (NT). The project aimed to (a) generate new information about palaeovalley aquifers, (b) improve our understanding of palaeovalley groundwater resources, and (c) evaluate methods available to identify and assess these systems.

  • This Record presents data collected in March 2021 as part of the ongoing Northern Territory Geological Survey–Geoscience Australia (NTGS–GA) SHRIMP geochronology project under the National Collaborative Framework (NCF) agreement and Geoscience Australia's Exploring for the Future Program. New U–Pb SHRIMP zircon geochronological results derived from two drillhole samples of igneous and meta-igneous material from basement to the Amadeus Basin in the Northern Territory are presented herein. <b>Bibliographic Reference:</b> Kositcin N, Verdel C and Edgoose CJ, 2022. Summary of results. Joint NTGS–GA geochronology project: Crystalline basement intersected by the Mount Kitty 1 and Magee 1 drillholes south of Alice Springs, March 2021. <i>Northern Territory Geological Survey</i>, <b>Record 2022-002</b>.