Product catalogue
The Hera orebody: a complex distal (Au-Zn-Pb-Ag-Cu) skarn in the Cobar Basin of central New South Wales, Australia
The Hera Au–Pb–Zn–Ag deposit in the southeastern Cobar Basin of central New South Wales preserves calc-silicate veins/skarn and remnant carbonate/sandstone-hosted skarn within a reduced anchizonal Siluro-Devonian turbidite sequence. The skarn orebody distribution is controlled by a long-lived, basin margin fault system, that has intersected a sedimentary horizon dominated by siliciclastic turbidite, with lesser gritstone and thick sandstone intervals, and rare carbonate-bearing stratigraphy. Foliation (S1) envelopes the orebody and is crosscut by a series of late-stage east–west and north–south trending faults. Skarn at Hera displays mineralogical zonation along strike, from southern spessartine–grossular–biotite–actinolite-rich associations, to central diopside-rich–zoisite–actinolite/tremolite–grossular-bearing associations, through to the northern most tremolite–anorthite-rich (garnet-absent) association in remnant carbonate-rich lithologies and sandstone horizons; the northern lodes also display zonation down dip to garnet present associations at depth. High-T skarn assemblages are pervasively retrogressed to actinolite/tremolite–biotite-rich skarn and this retrograde phase is associated with the main pulse of sulfide mineralisation. The dominant sulfides are high-Fe-Mn sphalerite–galena–non-magnetic high-Fe pyrrhotite–chalcopyrite; pyrite, arsenopyrite and scheelite are locally abundant. The distribution of metals in part mimics the changing gangue mineralogy, with Au concentrated in the southern and lower northern lode systems and broadly inverse concentrations for Ag–Pb–Zn. Stable isotope data (O–H–S) from skarn amphiboles and associated sulfides are consistent with magmatic/basinal water and magmatic sulfur inputs, while hydrosilicates and sulfides from the wall rocks display elevated δD and mixed δ34S consistent with progressive mixing or dilution of original basinal/magmatic waters within the Hera deposit by unexchanged waters typical of low latitude (tropical) meteoritic waters. High precision titanite (U–Pb) and biotite (Ar–Ar) geochronology reveals a manifold orebody commencing with high-T skarn and retrograde Pb–Zn-rich skarn formation at ≥403 Ma, Au–low-Fe sphalerite mineralisation at 403.4 ± 1.1 Ma, foliation development remobilisation or new mineralisation at 390 ± 0.2 Ma followed by thrusting, orebody dismemberment at (384.8 ± 1.1 Ma) and remobilization or new mineralisation at 381.0 ± 2.2 Ma. The polymetallic nature of the Hera orebody is a result of multiple mineralizing events during extension and compression and involving both magmatic and likely basinal fluid/metal sources.
<b>Citation:</b>
Fitzherbert, Joel A., McKinnon, Adam R., Blevin, Phillip L., Waltenberg, Kathryn., Downes, Peter M., Wall, Corey., Matchan, Erin., Huang Huiqin., The Hera orebody: A complex distal (Au–Zn–Pb–Ag–Cu) skarn in the Cobar Basin of central New South Wales, Australia <i>Resource Geology,</i> Vol 71, Iss 4, pp296-319 <b>2021</b>.
Simple
Identification info
- Date (Creation)
- 2020-08-04
- Date (Publication)
- 2023-08-23T04:15:33
- Citation identifier
- Geoscience Australia Persistent Identifier/https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/144158
Identifier
- Codespace
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Digital Object Identifier
- Cited responsible party
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Role Organisation / Individual Name Details Author Fitzherbert, J.A.
Author McKinnon, A.R.
Author Blevin, P.L.
Author Waltenberg, K.
Author Downes, P.M.
Author Wall, C.
Author Matchan, E.
Author Huang, H.
Publisher John Wiley and Sons Australia
External Contact
- Name
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Resource Geology
- Issue identification
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Volume 71, Issue 4, October 2021
- Page
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296-319
- Purpose
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Describes new time and chemistry constraints for the Hera deposit in the Cobar Basin, New South Wales
- Status
- Completed
- Point of contact
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Role Organisation / Individual Name Details Point of contact Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)
Voice Resource provider Resources Division
Point of contact Waltenberg, K.
- Spatial representation type
- Topic category
-
- Geoscientific information
Extent
Temporal extent
- Time period
- 2016-01-01 2020-09-01
Extent
))
- Maintenance and update frequency
- Not planned
Resource format
- Title
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Product data repository: Various Formats
- Website
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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
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Mineralogy and Crystallography
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Geochronology
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Ore Deposit Petrology
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EARTH SCIENCES
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Isotope Geochemistry
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- Stratum
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Cobar Basin
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- Theme
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skarn
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- Discipline
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mineral chemistry
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- Discipline
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stable isotopes
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- Discipline
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U-Pb geochronology
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- Discipline
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Ar/Ar geochronology
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- Keywords
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Published_External
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Resource constraints
- Title
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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence
- Alternate title
-
CC-BY
- Edition
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4.0
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- License
- Use constraints
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- Other constraints
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© 2021 The Authors
Resource constraints
- Title
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Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem
- Edition date
- 2018-11-01T00:00:00
- Classification
- Unclassified
- Language
- English
- Character encoding
- UTF8
Distribution Information
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Role Organisation / Individual Name Details Distributor Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)
Voice facsimile
- OnLine resource
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Link to Journal
Link to Journal
- Distribution format
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- Statement
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Contains U-Pb SHRIMP analyses conducted at Geoscience Australia, U-Pb LA-ICPMS analyses conducted at James Cook University, U-Pb TIMS analyses conducted at Boise State University Isotope Geology Laboratory in Idaho USA, Ar/Ar analyses conducted at the University of Melbourne, stable isotopes analysed at Nevada Stable Isotope Laboratory in Reno USA. Two of the U-Pb SHRIMP results are also published in Waltenberg et al GA Record http://dx.doi.org/10.11636/Record.2019.005
Reference System Information
- Reference system identifier
- EPSG/GDA94 / Geoscience Australia Lambert (EPSG:3112)
Metadata constraints
- Title
-
Australian Government Security Classification System
- Edition date
- 2018-11-01T00:00:00
- Classification
- Unclassified
Metadata
- Metadata identifier
-
urn:uuid/8d566736-361e-4ebf-b82b-be10e3626fd7
- 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 Waltenberg, K.
Type of resource
- Resource scope
- Document
- Name
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Journal Articles and Conference Papers
Alternative metadata reference
- Title
-
Geoscience Australia - short identifier for metadata record with
uuid
- Citation identifier
- eCatId/144158
- Date info (Creation)
- 2019-04-08T01:55:29
- Date info (Revision)
- 2019-04-08T01:55:29
Metadata standard
- Title
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AU/NZS ISO 19115-1:2014
Metadata standard
- Title
-
ISO 19115-1:2014
Metadata standard
- Title
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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/122551