Geochemical characterisation of iron-rich regolith materials in the Olary Block of South Australia

The Olary Block (SA), an inlier of the Palaeoproterozoic Willyama Supergroup, is a target for base-metal and gold exploration. Overburden averaging less than 100 m thick conceals much of its northern part, where an appreciation of iron-rich regolith geochemistry is necessary for evaluating grab samples and rock chips recovered from drilling and for planning follow-up exploration. Geochemical analysis of an exploration suite, and statistical processing (optimised transformations, multivariate trimming, and simultaneous R- and Q-mode principal-components analysis) has enabled us to differentiate four types of iron-rich regolith: gossanous ironstones; banded-iron formations and replacement ironstones; pisolitic ferruginous duricrusts; and lags. The iron-rich regolith generally contains elevated As and Ba, and low Pb. Gossanous ironstones derived from the sulphide-bearing Bimba suite are consistently anomalous in Cu, Zn, As, and in places Pb, Se, U, Mo. Co. Bi , Ba, and Au. A diverse group, the gossanous ironstones show different associations (e.g., Zn-Ba- Pb- Mn , Cu- Zn-As- Mo- Ag- Co- Bi, Cu- As- Mo, and Zn- Cu- As). The iron formations and replacement ironstones are the least geochemically anomalous materials , except for one notable occurrence of anomalous Mn, P, As, and Zn. The pisolitic ferruginous duricrust contains Cu- Zn concentrations of 100-200+ ppm, and anomalous U, Ni, Se, and Ag compared with veneer lags. Detritus, or lags shed from the gossans and ironstones, have a similar chemical signature to their parent material. Veneer lags of ferruginous fragments, pisoliths, and nodules locally mantle the landscape where weathering profiles are preserved, and form a homogeneous group characterised by high Ba and As.

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1996-01-01T00:00:00
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Geoscience Australia Persistent Identifier/https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/81435

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Australian Geological Survey Organisation

 Canberra
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Lawie, D.C.

 1
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Ashley, P.M.

 2
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AGSO Journal of Australian Geology and Geophysics

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16:3:243-251

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Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)
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Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence

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2018-11-01T00:00:00
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Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem

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2018-11-01T00:00:00
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https://www.protectivesecurity.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

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Unclassified

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urn:uuid/fae9173a-7178-71e4-e044-00144fdd4fa6

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English
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UTF8
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Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

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AGSO BMR Journal

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eCatId/81435

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https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/fae9173a-7178-71e4-e044-00144fdd4fa6

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2018-04-20T06:07:25
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2014-06-03T00:00:00

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ISO 19115-1:2014

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ISO 19115-3

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Geoscience Australia Community Metadata Profile of ISO 19115-1:2014

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Version 2.0, September 2018

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https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/122551

 
 

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