The Tasman Orogen represents a long-lived accretionary orogen with numerous orogenic cycles of extension and subsequent orogeny. Although details of the orogen are controversial, it is evident that the present configuration represents the cumulate products of many orogenies including both accretion and significant rearrangement of terranes. As a result the Tasman Orogen plays host to a significant array of commodities within a myriad of deposit styles, related to a variety of tectonic regimes. It is also evident that many mineralisation styles are repeated through the different orogenic cycles, and commonly during the same parts of the orogenic cycle. For example, volcanic-hosted massive sulphide deposits form early in cycles, whereas lode gold deposits form during contractional orogenesis that terminates the cycle. The geological complexity is both an advantage and disadvantage. Although the complexity can hinder regional exploration, it offers significant potential for identifying regions where previously unrecognised mineralisation styles may be present, particularly under cover where the geology (and tectonic history) is less well constrained.

Valuable new insights into the distribution and geological settings of U, Th and K rich (HHP) granites in Australia have come from interrogation of national datasets, supplemented by wide-ranging regional studies and inversion modelling conducted under a major Government energy security initiative. The increasing attention being paid to these granites in Australia reflects their importance in relation to geothermal energy and uranium mineralisation, which will be outlined. The oldest HHP granites in Australia are potassic, siliceous I-type late Archean (2.85 and 2.65-2.63 Ga) granites in the Pilbara and Yilgarn Cratons, Western Australia. These were produced by melting of Archean TTG-rich crust. The HHP granites were produced on a massive craton-wide scale in a geodynamic environment that is poorly understood, although high geothermal gradients appear necessary. This magmatism effectively redistributed U and Th into the middle and upper crust and stabilized the Pilbara and Yilgarn Cratons. The Proterozoic in Australia, particularly in the age range 1.8-1.5 Ga, is typified by granites with high K and, locally, very high U and Th abundances. In general, these HHP granites were also emplaced late in the evolution of the Proterozoic crust and are considered to be the result of crustal reworking, under high geothermal gradients. It is probable that there was associated crustal thinning, and mantle contributions of heat and some material. I- and S-type HHP granites also occur within the Australian Paleozoic. Their chemical compositions, including the elevated U and Th contents in the majority of these rocks, reflect extensive and efficient fractional crystallisation processes in magmas derived predominantly by crustal melting. Geodynamic environments are considered to range from late syn-tectonic, to post-collisional and back-arc extension.

We compare GPS derived geodetic strain rates with estimates from seismic moment release for the Western Australian Seismic Zone. The geodetic strain rates were derived from occupations, in 2002 and 2006, of a 48 site regional network in the SW corner of Australia. The high precision nature of the experiment enabled us to identify 16 sites where antenna errors were the cause of the anomalous displacements. The cause of this is considered to be due to errors in the phase centre of three antennas. The ~1200 km2 study area is one of the most seismically active areas of mid-continental crust worldwide. The geodetic and seismic derived compressional strain-rates are 0.8±0.8 x10-9 yr-1 and 4.9 ±1.9 x10-9 yr-1 (±1) respectively. In effect, the geodetic strain rate would appear to be significantly less than the seismic rate which is amongst the highest of all mid-continental crust rates. With over 95% confidence we can exclude the geodetic and seismic strain rates being the same. This suggests that the contemporary seismic moment release it significantly higher than the long-term moment release. Thus the seismicity of this region is possibly not following the Poissonian behaviour normally observed for inter-plate earthquakes and may be episodic. Thus estimates of the long-term seismic hazard in this area based solely on the earthquake data are likely to be overestimates. Whether the geodetic stain rate reflects the Australian continental average or an intermediate value will require several repeat occupations.

One of the main outputs of the Earthquake Hazard project at Geoscience Australia is the national earthquake hazard map. The map is one of the key components of Australia's earthquake loading standard, AS1170.4. One of the important inputs to the map is the rate at which earthquakes occur in various parts of the continent. This is a function of the strain rate, or the rate of deformation, currently being experienced in different parts of Australia. This paper presents two contrasting methods of estimating the strain rate, and thus the seismicity, using the latest results from the seismology and geodynamic modelling programs within the project. The first method is based on a fairly traditional statistical analysis of an updated catalogue of Australian earthquakes. Strain rates, where measurable, were in the range of 10-16s-1 to around 10-18s-1 and were highly variable across the continent. By contrast, the second method uses a geodynamic numerical model of the Australian plate to determine its rate of deformation. This model predicted a somewhat more uniform strain rate of around 10-17s-1 across the continent. The uniformity of the true distribution of long term strain rate in Australia is likely to be somewhere between these two extremes but is probably of about this magnitude. In addition, this presentation will also give an overview of how this kind of work could be incorporated into future versions of the national earthquake hazard map in both the short and long term.

New geochronological data combined with existing data suggest that the Neoproterozoic period in Australia was reasonably well mineralised, with two major periods of mineralisation: (1) 850-800 Ma sediment-hosted Cu, unconformity U, and diamond deposits, and (2) 650-630 Ma epigenetic Au-Cu deposits. The early period appears to be associated with extension related to initiation of Rodinia break-up, whereas the geodynamic setting of the latter, more restricted, event is unclear.

Geological regions with abnormally high endowment in metals appear to have resulted from the fortunate juxtaposition in space and time of numerous, possibly exceptional, processes. The Archean eastern Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia is such a region. The approach taken in this Special Issue is to consider the gold mineral system in the eastern Yilgarn Craton in terms of a series of integrated components, referred to by Price and Stoker (2002) and Barnicoat (2007) as the Five Questions: 1. What are the geodynamic and P-T histories of the system? 2. What is the architecture of the system? 3. What are the fluid reservoirs? 4. What are the fluid flow drivers and pathways? 5. What are the metal and sulphur transport and depositional processes? In order to better understand these components and the geological processes which define them, a range of scales needs to be considered. At each scale, however, the relative benefits of considering any one of the five components are varied. For example at the terrane scale, an analysis of the geodynamics and architecture provides most insight, whereas an analysis of deposition mechanisms is best conducted at a deposit scale. This Special Issue focuses specifically on the first two questions, in order to provide a greater understanding of the geodynamic and architectural processes which have contributed to the elevated endowment of gold in the eastern Yilgarn Craton. The papers in this Special Issue reports some of the results produced by the Predictive Mineral Discovery Cooperative Research Centre (pmd*CRC, www.pmdcrc.com.au), a research centre funded for seven years by the Australian Government, universities and mineral exploration industry partners.

In July 2009, Geoscience Australia initiated a new project within the Geospatial and Earth Monitoring Group to update the national earthquake hazard map using current methods and data. The map is a key component of Australia's earthquake loading code. As part of developing the project, between the 20th and 22nd of October 2009 Geoscience Australia hosted a workshop with Australian experts in seismic hazard assessment. The aim of the workshop was to scope out the short and long term direction of the earthquake hazard project and the national map. This report was developed from the input and advice received from that workshop.

In 2008, as part of its Onshore Energy Security Program, Geoscience Australia and PIRSA acquired 262 km of vibroseis-source, deep seismic reflection data as a single north-south traverse (08GA-C1) in the Curnamona Province in South Australia. This line started in the south near outcrop of the Willyama Supergroup, ran to the east of Lake Frome along the Benagerie Ridge, and ended in the north to the northeast of the Mount Painter and Mount Babbage Inliers. Almost the entire route of the seismic traverse was over concealed bedrock, with only a few drillholes which could be used as control points. Overall, the crust imaged in the seismic section is relatively reflective, although the central part of the section contains an upper crust which has very low reflectivity. The lower two-thirds of the crust contain strong, subhorizontal reflections. The Moho is not sharply defined, but is interpreted to occur at the base of the reflective package at about 13 s two-way travel time (TWT), about 40 km depth. The highly reflective crust can be tracked, from the southern end of the seismic section, northwards for a distance of about 200 km. In the north, where rocks of the Mount Painter and Mount Babbage Inliers are exposed close to the section, the crust has a marked lower reflectivity, compared to the rest of the line. This contrast in crustal reflectivity suggests that the crust beneath the Mount Painter region is different to that beneath the Willyama Supergroup of the Curnamona Province in the south, raising the possibility of an ancient crustal boundary between the two regions.

Beginning in the Archean, the continent of Australia evolved to its present configuration through the accretion and assembly of several smaller continental blocks and terranes at its margins. Australia usually grew by convergent plate margin processes, such as arc-continent collision, continent-continent collision or through accretionary processes at subduction zones. The accretion of several island arcs to the Australian continent, through arc-continent collisions, played an important role in this process, and the geodynamic implications of some Archean and Proterozoic island arcs recognised in Australia will be discussed here.

This Resource Package contains two major products: GA Record 2009/41 and two full-colour, A0-sized map sheets (containing maps at 1:5 million, 1:6 million, and 1:3 million scales) that show the continental extent and age relationships of Archean mafic and ultramafic rocks and associated mineral deposits throughout Australia. These rocks have been assigned to twenty-six Archean Magmatic Events (AME) ranging in age from the Eoarchean ~3730 Ma (AME 1) to the late Neoarchean ~2520 Ma (AME 26). The temporal and spatial relationships of these Magmatic Events in the Pilbara Craton, Hamersley Basin, Sylvania Inlier, Yilgarn Craton, and Gawler Craton are represented on a Time-Space-Event Chart on Sheet 1. An enlarged inset map on this sheet provides in more detail the polygon and line data of the events in the Pilbara Craton, Hamersley Basin, and Sylvania Inlier. Sheet 2 shows the interpreted distribution and characterisation of Archean mafic-ultramafic magmatic rocks in the Yilgarn Craton. In particular, potential new areas of komatiitic rocks under cover that elsewhere in the craton host significant resources of nickel, copper, and platinum-group elements, are highlighted. Other maps on Sheet 2 summarise the nickel resource endowment and crustal neodymium model ages of various geological provinces in the Yilgarn Craton. These map sheets, when used in association with another recently produced map 'Australian Proterozoic Mafic-Ultramafic Magmatic Events (GeoCat 66114; published in 2008)', summarise the temporal and spatial evolution of Precambrian mafic-ultramafic magmatism in Australia. Record 2009/41 (Geocat 69935) is a user guide for the `Australian Archean Mafic-Ultramafic Magmatic Events' map (Geocat 69347). It compiles all the geological and geochronological data that underpins the information portrayed on the map. The Resource Package also contains in addition to the maps and record, a spreadsheet of data that support the maps and a time-series animation summarising all the Archean Mafic-Ultramafic Magmatic Events. <h3>Related products:</h3><a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/products/servlet/controller?event=GEOCAT_DETAILS&amp;catno=69935">Guide to using the Australian Archean Mafic-Ultramafic Magmatic Events Map</a> <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/products/servlet/controller?event=GEOCAT_DETAILS&amp;catno=70461">Proterozoic Mafic-Ultramafic Magmatic Events Resource Package</a> <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/products/servlet/controller?event=GEOCAT_DETAILS&amp;catno=66114">Australian Proterozoic Mafic-Ultramafic Magmatic Events: Map Sheets 1 and 2</a> <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/products/servlet/controller?event=GEOCAT_DETAILS&amp;catno=66624">Guide to Using the Australian Proterozoic Mafic-Ultramafic Magmatic Events Map</a> <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/products/servlet/controller?event=GEOCAT_DETAILS&amp;catno=69213">Proterozoic Large Igneous Provinces: Map Sheets 1 and 2</a> <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/products/servlet/controller?event=GEOCAT_DETAILS&amp;catno=70008">Guide to using the Map of Australian Proterozoic Large Igneous Provinces</a>