Authors / CoAuthors
Huston, D.L. | Champion, D.C. | Mernagh, T.P. | Downes, P.M. | Jones, P. | Carr, G.
Abstract
Analysis of the distribution patterns of Pb isotope data from mineralised samples using the plumbotectonic model of Carr et al. (1995), which invokes mixing between crustal and mantle reservoirs, indicates systematic spatial patterns that reflect major metallogenic and tectonic boundaries in the Lachlan and Delamerian orogens in New South Wales and Victoria. This distribution pattern accurately maps the boundary between the Central and Eastern Lachlan. The Central Lachlan is characterised by Pb isotope characteristics with a strong crustal signature, whereas the Eastern Lachlan is characterised by variable crustal and mantle signatures. The Macquarie Arc is dominated by Pb with a mantle signature: known porphyry Cu-Au and high sulphidation epithermal Au-Cu deposits in the arc are associated with a zone characterised by the strongest mantle signatures. In contrast, granite-related Sn deposits in the Central Lachlan are characterised by the strongest crustal signatures. The Pb isotope patterns are broadly similar to Nd isotope model age patterns derived from felsic magmatic rocks, although a lower density of Nd isotope analyses makes direct comparison problematic. The two reservoirs identified by Carr et al. (1995) do not appear to be isotopically linked: the crustal source was not formed via extraction from the mantle source. Rather, the two reservoirs must have formed separately. The mantle reservoir may have been sourced from a subducting proto-Pacific plate, whereas the crustal reservoir is most likely to be extended Australian crust. The data allow the possibility that the proto-Pacific mantle source was isotopically linked to the western Tasmanian crustal source. Comparison of Pb isotope data from the Girilambone district (e.g., Tritton and Avoca Tank deposits) with those from the Cobar district in north central New South Wales indicates a less radiogenic signature, and probably older age, for deposits in the Girilambone district. Hence, a syngenetic volcanic-associated massive sulphide origin for these deposits is preferred over a syn-tectonic origin. The data are also consistent with formation of the Girilambone district in a back-arc basin inboard from the earliest phase of the Macquarie Arc.
Product Type
nonGeographicDataset
eCat Id
82026
Contact for the resource
Custodian
Point of contact
Cnr Jerrabomberra Ave and Hindmarsh Dr GPO Box 378
Canberra
ACT
2601
Australia
Keywords
-
- External Publication
-
- NSW VIC QLD
- Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)
-
- Earth Sciences
-
- Published_Internal
Publication Date
2015-01-01T00:00:00
Creation Date
Security Constraints
Legal Constraints
Status
Purpose
Maintenance Information
unknown
Topic Category
geoscientificInformation
Series Information
Lineage
Unknown
Parent Information
Extents
Reference System
Spatial Resolution
Service Information
Associations
Downloads and Links
Source Information
Source data not available.