U-Pb
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This record presents new Sensitive High Resolution Ion MicroProbe (SHRIMP) U– Pb zircon results for eighteen samples from the Cairns, Cape York and Georgetown regions in Queensland. Samples from the Cairns region comprise one granite and one microgranite. Eight samples from the Cape York region and three from the Georgetown region comprise Paleozoic igneous rocks, all but one of which are part of the Carboniferous to Permian Kennedy Igneous Association. Of particular interest are the results for two rhyolitic intrusions from the Coen Inlier that are host to gold mineralisation and gave ages of approximately 280 Ma. These results are supported by similar ages reported by Kositcin et al. (2016), also from felsic dykes spatially associated with gold mineralisation. Together, they suggest a widespread, early-Permian gold (Kungurian) event in this region. The results for two felsic dykes spatially associated with gold mineralisation much farther to the south in the Georgetown region, also gave similar early-Permian ages. The geochronology of five metamorphic rocks from the Cape York region, which were analysed in support of the Coen–Cape Weymouth geology mapping project has resulted in all samples being reassigned to other formations. The work contained in this report was carried out under the auspices of the National Collaborative Framework (NCF) between Geoscience Australia and the Geological Survey of Queensland. The data and age interpretations are also available in Geoscience Australia’s Geochronology Delivery database (http://www.ga.gov.au/geochron-sapub-web/). <b>Bibliographic Reference: </b>CROSS, A.J., DHNARAM, C., BULTITUDE, R.J., BROWN, D.D., PURDY, D.J. & VON GNIELINSKI, F.E., 2019. Summary of results. Joint GSQ–GA geochronology project: Cairns, Cape York and Georgetown regions, 2015–2016. <i>Queensland Geological Record</i> <b>2019/01</b>.
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This Record presents new zircon U-Pb geochronological data, obtained using a Sensitive High Resolution Ion MicroProbe (SHRIMP) for five samples of plutonic and volcanic rocks from the central Lachlan Orogen and the Thomson Orogen, New South Wales. The work was carried out under the auspices of the National Geoscience Accord, as a component of the collaborative Geochronology Project between the Geological Survey of New South Wales (GSNSW) and Geoscience Australia (GA) during the reporting periods 2011-2012.
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Australia's North West Shelf (NW Shelf) has been the premier hydrocarbon exploration and production province for over 30 years. Despite the large number of geological studies completed in this region, numerous geological questions remain to be answered such as the provenance of reservoir units and how this relates to reservoir quality, extent and correlation. Submission of offshore sample material by explorers on the NW Shelf has allowed U-Pb age results to be determined; providing insights into the potential provenance and sedimentary transport pathways of various Triassic to Cretaceous reservoir facies. Initial results reveal that the proximal Pilbara, Yilgarn and Kimberly cratons were not major proto-sources during the Middle to Upper Triassic. The prospective, Mungaroo Formation appears to display a Triassic volcanic signature; the source of which remains enigmatic, but numerous grain characteristics suggest a source proximal to the Exmouth Plateau. Many samples show a Gondwana Assemblage age. Sediment sources of this age are absent on the Australian continent suggesting a distal origin - most likely the Antarctic and Indian blocks. Transport pathways, for the Triassic Mungaroo Formation, are interpreted as possibly northward through a proto-Perth Basin or north-westward through the Gascoyne-Hamersley-Pilbara regions. Other results suggest subtle differences in provenance of the sediments between the Exmouth Plateau and Rankin Platform, and that the provenance signatures of the Bonaparte, Canning and Perth basins show distinctively different provenance signatures.
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This Record presents new zircon U-Pb geochronological data, obtained using a Sensitive High Resolution Ion MicroProbe (SHRIMP), and thin section descriptions for four samples of plutonic and sedimentary rocks from the Captains Flat 1:50, 000 special map sheet, Eastern Lachlan Orogen, New South Wales. The work was carried out under the auspices of the National Geoscience Accord, as a component of the collaborative Geochronology Project between the Geological Survey of New South Wales (GSNSW) and Geoscience Australia (GA) during the reporting periods 2012 and 2013. The four samples (Table 1.1 and Figure 1.1) were collected from CANBERRA (small and large capitals refer to map sheet names in the 1:100 000 and 1:250 000 Topographic Series respectively); one sample from CANBERRA (northcentral CANBERRA), two from MICHELAGO (southcentral CANBERRA) and one from ARALUEN (southcentral CANBERRA).
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This Record presents new zircon U-Pb geochronological data, obtained using a Sensitive High Resolution Ion MicroProbe (SHRIMP) for thirty-five samples of plutonic rocks from the New England Orogen, New South Wales. The work was carried out under the auspices of the National Geoscience Accord, as a component of the collaborative Geochronology Project between the Geological Survey of New South Wales (GSNSW) and Geoscience Australia (GA) during the reporting periods 2012-2014.
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This web service provides access to the Geoscience Australia (GA) ISOTOPE database containing compiled age and isotopic data from a range of published and unpublished (GA and non-GA) sources. The web service includes point layers (WFS, WMS, WMTS) with age and isotopic attribute information from the ISOTOPE database, and raster layers (WMS, WMTS, WCS) comprising the Isotopic Atlas grids which are interpolations of the point located age and isotope data in the ISOTOPE database.
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The Kalkadoon-Leichhardt Domain of the Mount Isa Inlier has been interpreted to represent the ‘basement’ of the larger inlier, onto which many of the younger, economically prospective sedimentary and volcanic units were deposited. The domain itself is dominated by 1860–1850 Ma granitic to volcanic Kalkadoon Supersuite rocks, but these units are interpreted to have been emplaced/erupted onto older units of the Kurbayia Metamorphic Complex. This study aims to provide insights into a number of geological questions: 1. What is the isotopic character of the pre-1860–1850 Ma rocks? 2. How do these vary laterally within the Kalkadoon-Leichhardt Domain? 3. What is the tectonic/stratigraphic relationship between the 1860–1850 Ma rocks of the Mount Isa Inlier and c. 1850 Ma rocks of the Tennant Creek region and Greater McArthur Basin basement? Detrital zircon U–Pb results indicate the presence of 2500 Ma detritus within the Kurbayia Metamorphic Complex, suggesting that the Kalkadoon-Leichhardt Domain was a sedimentary depocentre in the Paleoproterozoic and potentially had sources such as the Pine Creek Orogen, or, as some authors suggest, potential sources from cratons in northern North America. Existing Hf and Nd-isotopic data suggest that the ‘basement’ units of the Mount Isa Inlier have early Proterozoic model ages (TDM) of 2500–2000 Ma. Oxygen and Hf-isotopic studies on samples from this study will allow us to test these models, and provide further insights into the character and history of these ‘basement’ rocks within the Mount Isa Inlier, and northern Australia more broadly.
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This Record presents new Sensitive High Resolution Ion Micro Probe (SHRIMP) U–Pb geochronological results for six drill core samples from the Rover mineral field, an area of prospective Palaeoproterozoic rocks southwest of Tennant Creek that is entirely concealed below younger sedimentary cover rocks. The work is part of an ongoing collaborative effort between Geoscience Australia (GA) and the Northern Territory Geological Survey (NTGS) that aims to better understand the geological evolution and mineral potential of this region. SHRIMP U–Pb detrital zircon results from two samples, a meta-siltstone/mudstone from the Au–Cu–Bi Rover 1 deposit (drillhole WGR1D011; sample BW20PGF090) and a volcaniclastic sandstone from the Explorer 142 prospect (drillhole NR142D001; sample BW20PGF156) gave near identical maximum depositional ages of 1849.1 ± 3.1 Ma and 1848.9 ± 3.0 Ma respectively. The euhedral nature of the zircons in both samples and their unimodal age distributions, support the interpretation that the maximum depositional ages of these samples are good approximations for their true age of deposition. These results are a very close match with U–Pb zircon geochronology of some other drill core samples from the Rover mineral field. Two magmatic rocks from drillhole RVDD0002 (located in the East of the Rover field), gave ages of ca 1851–1850 Ma, while a volcaniclastic sandstone from RVDD0002 gave a maximum depositional age of 1854.0 ± 2.9 Ma (Cross et al 2021). Our new results from drillholes WGR1D011 and NR142D001 confirm the widespread presence of detrital zircons at ca 1854–1849 Ma across much of the Rover mineral field. SHRIMP U–Pb detrital zircon analysis was undertaken on four samples from the base metal Curiosity prospect drillhole, MXCURD002. The first sample analysed GS20PGF058 [520.0–525.7 m], has a maxima at ca 1842 Ma but youngest statistical grouping at 1729 ± 17 Ma (n = 6). This is in stark contrast with a previous sample from this drillhole (GS19DLH0056 [437.63–438.18 m]) that is 82 metres above GS20PGF058, and gave a MDA of 1854.0 ± 2.9 Ma (Cross et al 2021). In an effort to further investigate the ca 1729 Ma date given by GS20PGF058, three further samples were collected from drillhole MXCURD002, one sample below, GS20PGF190 [525.7–531.5 m] and two samples above, GS20PGF085 [515.0–520.0 m] and GS20PGF084 [468.1–473.45 m]. Additionally, samples GS20PGF190 and GS20PGF085 are continuations of the same meta-siltstone/mudstone unit sampled by GS20PGF058. These three samples returned maximum depositional ages of 1851.7 ± 3.9 Ma (GS20PGF085), 1846.6 ± 3.2 Ma (GS20PGF190) and 1841 ± 12 Ma (GS20PGF084). They are also indistinguishable within their uncertainties (MSWD = 0.71, POF = 0.49) and have an average date of ca 1848 Ma. Therefore, the evidence from SHRIMP U–Pb detrital zircon studies of four rocks from drillhole MXCURD002 (this study and that of Cross et al 2021), indicates that the metasedimentary rocks in MXCURD002 were probably deposited at ca 1850 Ma, similar to other metasedimentary units within the Rover mineral field. We suggest that the relatively younger statistical grouping in sample GS20PGF058 at ca 1730 Ma is possibly the result of isotopic re-setting due to a thermal and/or fluid event associated with lead–zinc–copper mineralisation at a similar time which has been recently reported by Farias et al (2022). Although other explanations to explain the ca 1730 Ma grains in this sample such as laboratory contamination or that the zircons have in fact preserved their original crystallisation age, cannot be ruled out. <b>Bibliographic Reference:</b> Cross AJ, Farias PG and Huston DL, 2022. Summary of results. Joint NTGS–GA geochronology project: Rover mineral field, Warramunga Province, July–December 2020. <i>Northern Territory Geological Survey</i>, <b>Record 2022-005</b>.
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The late Permian Wandsworth Volcanic Group (WVG) in the southern New England Orogen (SNEO) is dominated by a monotonous series of amalgamated rhyodacitic to felsic eruptives, with minor interbedded flows, intrusives and sediments. The area enclosing known exposures of the WVG cover more than 30,000 km2, with a minimum thickness of 2 km. The top of the succession, as well as the vast majority of the pile representing non-welded material, has not been preserved. Field relationships indicate a broadly contemporaneous (though not necessarily genetic) relationship with late Permian granite magmatism, while Triassic plutons (typically in the range 246-243 Ma) intrude the WVG. SHRIMP U-Pb zircon dating indicates ages around 256.4 ± 1.6 Ma for basal units of the WVG, and 254.1 ± 2.2 Ma for the youngest preserved member of the WVG (Dundee Rhyodacite), defining a short period of substantial intermediate to acid eruptive volcanism. The compositionally unevolved Drake Volcanics to the northeast are older (264.4 ± 2.5 Ma) while those at Halls Peak are older still (Early Permian). Granites of the I-type Moonbi and Uralla Supersuites are dominantly 256-251 Ma and thus overlap in timing (and space) with the WVG event. Interestingly, many mineralized leucogranites (e.g. Parlour Mountain, Oban River, Gilgai) which were formerly regarded as Triassic are now established as synchronous with the Moonbi and Uralla Supersuites and the WVG. The age range of eruption of the WVG permitted by the SHRIMP results (~6 Ma) has been further constrained by CA-ID-TIMS U-Pb zircon analysis which yielded oldest and youngest ages of 255.54 ± 0.16 Ma and 253.26 ± 0.15 Ma respectively, indicating a maximum eruptive time range of ~2 Ma for the preserved pile. Our new results coincide with those determined from CA-ID-TIMS dating of tuffs in the Sydney and Gunnedah Basins. WVG exposures at Attunga are exactly (within ~0.1 Ma) coincident with the age of tuffs within the Trinkey Formation located in the Gunnedah Basin to the west, and the Dundee Rhyodacite is similarly closely matched to the thick Awaba Tuff in the Sydney Basin. Notably, much of the late Permian volcanic and plutonic magmatism in the SNEO is restricted to a remarkably small time range, which coincides exactly with the range of ash fall events in the Sydney and Gunnedah Basins, and possibly further afield. This suggests the SNEO, and the WVG in particular, was the dominant source of volcanic material erupted into these adjacent basins. Further, the adjacent basins may provide a more complete record of Permo-Triassic magmatism in the SNEO than currently preserved within the orogen itself.
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<p>The Mesoproterozoic South Nicholson Basin (SNB) in northern Australia extends across an area approximately the size of Tasmania. It is flanked by the resource rich Mt Isa Orogen and McArthur Basin. Limited outcrop and a dearth of drilling has hampered understanding of the evolution of the Basin, its relationship to other tectonic elements in northern Australia and its resource potential. The lack of any identified interbedded volcanic rocks within the studied sections has led us to concentrate on an extensive SHRIMP U-Pb detrital zircon geochronology program that so far exceeds 40 samples. In addition, we have undertaken SHRIMP U-Pb geochronology of authigenic xenotime. <p>Detrital zircon U–Pb maximum depositional ages (MDA) for the South Nicholson Group (SNG) are up to 100 My younger than previously reported [1]. The new MDA for the Constance Sandstone is ~1470 Ma and is the youngest so far recorded in the SNB. Additionally, it accords with an MDA for the underlying Crow Formation of ~1483 Ma. SHRIMP U–Pb xenotime analyses of authigenic overgrowths on detrital zircons from the Constance Sandstone gave an age of ~1266 Ma. This new data brackets the deposition of the SNG to between 1470 Ma and ~1266 Ma and provides the first evidence that the SNG is broadly contemporaneous with the 1500–1320 Ma Roper Group of the McArthur Basin. Using Multidimensional Scaling of the detrital age distributions has also added an extra dimension to our evolving understanding of the development of the SNB. <p>[1] Carson (2011) Queensland Geological Record 2011/03.