Product catalogue
Mapping iron oxide Cu-Au (IOCG) mineral potential in Australia using a knowledge-driven mineral systems-based approach
<p>Iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) deposits are consequences of lithospheric- to deposit-scale earth processes, and form where there was a coincidence of ore-forming processes in space and time. Building on previous conceptualisations we view a ‘mineral system’ as an ore-forming geological system in which four components are required to have operated efficiently and coincidentally, namely: (1) available sources of ore metals (i.e., copper, gold, uranium, rareearth elements) and hydrothermal fluids; (2) energy sources to drive fluids in the ore-forming system; (3) active crustal and mantle lithospheric architecture, representing hydrothermal fluid and/or magma flow pathways; and (4) physico-chemical gradients along which ore metals were deposited to form ore bodies.
<p>This holistic multi-scale mineral systems framework has been used to develop a practical, knowledge-based yet data-rich, prospectivity mapping method applicable at regional to continental scales for hydrothermal and orthomagmatic ore-forming systems. We demonstrate how the mineral system components can be translated into mappable criteria and show how maps of mineral potential are generated by integrating diverse and rich input data sets. The method enables prediction of mineral potential not only in brownfields areas but also in greenfields and covered terranes with no previously known mineralisation. Here we report the application of this methodology in regional-scale mapping of the potential for iron oxide Cu-Au (IOCG) deposits in Australia, using examples from five studies over the last decade in northern Queensland, eastern South Australia, and southern and central-eastern Northern Territory. Uncertainties in the results arising from assignment of weightings to input data layers were investigated by the application of Monte Carlo-type probabilistic simulations. The results of 500
iterations using randomly assigned weightings overall support the deterministic results but also show that modelled prospectivity is controlled mainly by variations in intrinsic values of the input geoscientific data sets (e.g. highs and lows of gravity values) rather than by the weightings.
<p>The results of the knowledge-driven data-rich analyses of IOCG potential have been validated against known IOCG deposits (not used directly in the analysis). We find in all five studies (Queensland, South Australia and Northern Territory) a good spatial correspondence, with few exceptions. Statistical analysis of prospectivity mapping results from the Tennant Creek – Mt Isa study area demonstrate that 15 of 16 IOCG deposits occur in the highest modelled prospectivity areas within 4.2% of the study area, representing an area reduction of 95.8%. Moreover, several new discoveries of Cu-Au mineralisation have been made within areas previously highlighted as highly prospective. This success and validation support the utility of Geoscience Australia’s approach as a decision-support tool to assist exploration companies and governments in cratonto regional-scale area selection for discovery of IOCG and other mineral systems.
Simple
Identification info
- Date (Creation)
- 2019-07-15
- Date (Publication)
- 2019-07-16T00:54:12
- Citation identifier
- Geoscience Australia Persistent Identifier/https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/130251
- Citation identifier
- Digital Object Identifier/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2019.103011
- Cited responsible party
-
Role Organisation / Individual Name Details Author Skirrow, R.G.
Author Murr, J.
Author Schofield, A.
Author Huston, D.L.
Author van der Wielen, S.E.
Author Czarnota, K
Author Coghlan, R.A.
Author Highet, L.M.
Author Connolly, D.P.
Author Doublier, M.P.
Author Duan, J.
- Status
- Point of contact
-
Role Organisation / Individual Name Details Point of contact Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)
Voice Point of contact Schofield, A.
MEG Internal Contact Resource provider Resources Division
- Spatial representation type
- Topic category
-
- Geoscientific information
Extent
Extent
))
- Maintenance and update frequency
- As needed
Resource format
- Title
-
Product data repository: Various Formats
- Website
-
Data Store directory containing the digital product files
Data Store directory containing one or more files, possibly in a variety of formats, accessible to Geoscience Australia staff only for internal purposes
- theme.ANZRC Fields of Research.rdf
-
-
EARTH SCIENCES
-
- Theme
-
-
mineral deposits
-
- Theme
-
-
iron oxide copper-gold deposits
-
- Theme
-
-
mineral potential
-
- Theme
-
-
mineral systems
-
- Theme
-
-
australia
-
- Theme
-
-
prospectivity mapping
-
- Keywords
-
-
Published_External
-
Resource constraints
- Title
-
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence
- Alternate title
-
CC-BY
- Edition
-
4.0
- Access constraints
- License
- Use constraints
- License
Resource constraints
- Title
-
Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem
- Edition date
- 2018-11-01T00:00:00
- Classification
- Unclassified
Associated resource
- Association Type
- null
- Title
-
Iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) mineral potential assessment for the Tennant Creek Mt Isa region: geospatial data
- Citation identifier
- 130587
- Citation identifier
- 68e003e7-0fac-4f32-be44-422013758c08
- Language
- English
- Character encoding
- UTF8
Distribution Information
- Distributor contact
-
Role Organisation / Individual Name Details Distributor Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)
Voice
- OnLine resource
-
Link to Journal Article
Link to Journal Article
- Distribution format
-
-
html
-
- OnLine resource
-
Related product: Iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) mineral potential assessment for the Tennant Creek – Mt Isa region: geospatial data
Related product: Iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) mineral potential assessment for the Tennant Creek – Mt Isa region: geospatial data
- Distribution format
-
-
html
-
Metadata constraints
- Title
-
Australian Government Security Classification System
- Edition date
- 2018-11-01T00:00:00
- Classification
- Unclassified
Metadata
- Metadata identifier
-
urn:uuid/67c3d62f-6345-437e-b64d-e2ff0a2abf50
- Title
-
GeoNetwork UUID
- Language
- English
- Character encoding
- UTF8
- Contact
-
Role Organisation / Individual Name Details Point of contact Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)
Voice Point of contact Skirrow, R.G.
Type of resource
- Resource scope
- Document
- Name
-
GA publication: External publication
Type of resource
- Resource scope
- Dataset
- Name
-
GA dataset
Alternative metadata reference
- Title
-
Geoscience Australia - short identifier for metadata record with
uuid
- Citation identifier
- eCatId/130251
- Date info (Creation)
- 2019-07-03T23:45:18
- Date info (Revision)
- 2019-07-03T23:45:18
Metadata standard
- Title
-
AU/NZS ISO 19115-1:2014
Metadata standard
- Title
-
ISO 19115-1:2014
Metadata standard
- Title
-
ISO 19115-3
- Title
-
Geoscience Australia Community Metadata Profile of ISO 19115-1:2014
- Edition
-
Version 2.0, September 2018
- Citation identifier
- https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/130251