zircon
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This Record contains new zircon U-Pb geochronological data, obtained via Sensitive High-Resolution Ion Micro Probe (SHRIMP), from two samples of metamorphosed felsic igneous rocks of the Proterozoic Pinjarra Orogen (Western Australia), intersected in diamond drillcore at the base of deep petroleum exploration wells penetrating the Paleozoic sedimentary successions of the Perth Basin. In the southern Perth Basin, petroleum exploration well Sue 1 was terminated at depth 3074.2 m, in crystalline basement rocks of the southern Pinjarra Orogen. Abundant zircon from a biotite-bearing felsic orthogneiss at depth 3073.2-3073.7 m yielded a complex array of U-Pb isotopic data, indicative of significant post-crystallisation disturbance of the isotopic system. A Discordia regression fitted to the array yielded an upper intercept date of 1076 ± 35 Ma (all quoted uncertainties are 95% confidence intervals unless specified otherwise) interpreted to represent magmatic crystallisation of the igneous precursor to the orthogneiss, and a lower intercept date of 680 ± 110 Ma which is our best estimate of the age of the tectonothermal event responsible for post-crystallisation disturbance of the U-Pb system. Crust of known Mesoproterozoic age is rare in the southern Pinjarra Orogen: pre-1000 Ma igneous crystallisation ages in the Leeuwin Complex were previously known only from two c. 1090 Ma garnet-bearing orthogneisses at Redgate Beach (Nelson, 1999), 30 km west of Sue 1. All other dated outcrops have revealed Neoproterozoic (780-680 Ma) granitic protoliths reworked by Early Cambrian (540-520 Ma) magmatism, deformation and metamorphism (Nelson, 1996, 2002; Collins, 2003). In the northern Perth Basin, petroleum exploration well Beagle Ridge 10A was terminated at depth 1482 m, in crystalline basement rocks of the northern Pinjarra Orogen. A leucocratic orthogneiss sampled within the interval 1464.0-1467.0 m yielded only sparse zircon, but four of the seven grains analysed yielded a weighted mean 207Pb/206Pb date of 1092 ± 27 Ma, interpreted to represent magmatic crystallisation of the igneous precursor to the orthogneiss. Our data show no evidence for Neoproterozoic U-Pb resetting of the c. 1090 Ma zircons: where present, post-crystallisation isotopic disturbance is predominantly geologically recent. The two newly dated samples are located at opposite ends of the Perth Basin (about 470 km apart), and although the two magmatic crystallisation ages are imprecise, the date of 1092 ± 27 Ma from the Beagle Ridge 10A leucocratic orthogneiss is indistinguishable from the date of 1076 ± 35 Ma from the Sue 1 felsic orthogneiss. Furthermore, both rocks contain inherited zircon of Mesoproterozoic age (1620-1180 Ma in Sue 1; 1290-1210 Ma in Beagle Ridge 10A), indicating the presence of pre-1100 Ma crustal components in their parent magmas. This is consistent with a suite of Paleoproterozoic Sm-Nd model ages determined by Fletcher et al. (1985) on buried Pinjarra Orogen orthogneisses, which span 2.01 ± 0.06 Ga to 1.78 ± 0.04 Ga in the north (near BMR Beagle Ridge 10A), and including a model age of 1.80 ± 0.04 Ga from a sample of granitic gneiss obtained from Sue 1. Fletcher et al. (1985) argued that the consistency of 2.1-1.8 Ga Nd model ages obtained from crystalline basement in drillcore beneath the southern and northern Perth Basin, and from outcrop in the Northampton Complex and Mullingarra Complex of the northern Pinjarra Orogen, indicated a similar or shared crustal evolution. Our new U-Pb zircon data support this model, expanding the known extent of 1100-1050 Ma felsic magmatism in both the southern and northern Pinjarra Orogen, and indicating that Neoproterozoic tectonothermal overprinting appears to be restricted to the Leeuwin Complex, with no corresponding event discernible in the northern Pinjarra Orogen.
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This Record presents new Sensitive High Resolution Ion Microprobe (SHRIMP) U–Pb geochronological results for samples collected from the Mary Kathleen Domain, which forms the western part of the Eastern Fold Belt in the Mount Isa Inlier. Eight samples, comprising three granites, one quartz diorite, two metarhyolites, one feldspathic quartzite, and one of matrix material from a breccia, have been analysed as part of ongoing investigations by GSQ in collaboration with researchers from James Cook University. The results enable a better understanding of the evolution of the domain, the associated magmatism, and any related mineralisation. <b>Bibliographic Reference:</b> Kositcin, N., Bultitude, R.J., and Purdy, D.J. Summary of Results. Joint GSQ–GA Geochronology Project: Mary Kathleen Domain, Mount Isa Inlier, 2018–2019. <i>Queensland Geological Record</i><b> 2019/02</b>.
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This Record presents data collected between March and September 2018 as part of the ongoing Northern Territory Geological Survey–Geoscience Australia (NTGS–GA) SHRIMP geochronology project under the National Collaborative Framework (NCF) agreement and Geoscience Australia's Exploring for the Future Programme. Five new U–Pb SHRIMP zircon geochronological results derived from five samples of meta-igneous and metasedimentary rocks from MOUNT RENNIE (southwestern Aileron Province and northwestern Warumpi Province) in the Northern Territory are presented herein. All five samples are located at or close to the recently discovered greenfield Grapple and Bumblebee prospects that contain precious and base metal sulfide mineralisation. This Record represents the first attempt to provide temporal constraints on the country rocks that host or occur close to this mineralisation. <b>Bibliographic Reference:</b> Kositcin N, McGloin MV, Reno BL and Beyer EE, 2019. Summary of results. Joint NTGS–GA geochronology project: Cu-Au-Ag-Zn mineralisation in MOUNT RENNIE, Aileron and Warumpi provinces, March – September 2018. <i>Northern Territory Geological Survey</i>, <b>Record 2019-011</b>.
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<div>The first ca. 2.2 billion years of Earth history saw significant change; from a water-world dominated by an anoxic atmosphere and tonalitic continents, to the exposed landmasses, oxygenated atmosphere, and granitic crust of the Paleoproterozoic. Precisely when, and how, these major changes occurred, remain some of the most important and controversial questions in modern geoscience. Here, we present an extensive new zircon U-Pb-Hf-O isotopic and trace element dataset from Earth’s largest preserved Archean continent, the Superior Craton, Canada. These data record a number of fundamental geochemical changes through time and indicate a major geological and geodynamic transition occurred toward the end of Archean, at ca. 2.7 Ga. Our data show that, at >2704–2695 Ma, the southern Superior Craton had juvenile εHf, light to mantle-like δ18O, low (Eu/Eu*)/Y (drier/shallower crust), reduced ΔFMQ, less continental initial-U (Ui)/Yb, and more mantle-like Ui/Nb. At ca. 2704–2695 Ma, there is a marked transition in multiple datasets, including increases in δ18O, (Eu/Eu*)/Y, ΔFMQ, Ui/Yb and Ui/Nb data, together with more distinct arc-like trace element trends. These data reveal that at 2.7 Ga there was an increase in: (1) continental surface weathering, supported by increased sedimentation at <2.68 Ga, (2) oxidized and hydrous magmatism, and (3) surface material in magma sources. Together, these observations suggest a major geodynamic transition from ‘vertical’ tectonics (sagduction, drips) to north-dipping subduction at 2.7 Ga. The increase in δ18O suggests that proximal continental crust, probably in the northern Superior Craton, became emergent at this time, an inference supported by detrital zircon geochronology. Hence, this dataset links major geodynamic change to the emergence of continental crust and the rise of more oxidized magmatism. These fundamental changes to the Earth’s surface environment, tectonics, and atmosphere at 2.7 Ga, provide evidence for an Earth systems turning-point at the end of the Neoarchean.</div> This Abstract was submitted/presented to the 2022 Specialist Group in Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Petrology (SGGMP) Conference 7-11 November (https://gsasggmp.wixsite.com/home/biennial-conference-2021)
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<div>This Record presents new zircon U-Pb geochronological data, obtained via Sensitive High Resolution Ion Microprobe (SHRIMP), for 12 samples of igneous rocks from central and southern New South Wales, as part of an ongoing Geochronology Project conducted by the Geological Survey of New South Wales (GSNSW) and Geoscience Australia (GA) under a National Collaborative Framework agreement. Eight samples were selected to better understand the geological evolution and mineralisation history of areas prioritised for investigation by the MinEx Co-operative Research Centre (MinEx CRC) under its National Drilling Initiative (NDI) program. Three samples are from the northern Molong Volcanic Belt east of Dubbo (‘MXDU’), and five are from the eastern Lachlan Orogen near Forbes (‘MXFO’). The remaining four samples are from the central Lachlan Orogen in southern NSW, in support of GSNSW’s East Riverina mapping program (‘ERIV’). The results herein correspond to U-Pb SHRIMP zircon analyses undertaken by the GSNSW-GA Geochronology Project during the July 2020–June 2021 reporting period. All quoted uncertainties are 95% confidence intervals.</div> <b>Bibliographic reference: </b> Jones, S.L., Bodorkos, S., Eastlake, M.A.S., Campbell, L.M., Hughes, K.S., Blevin, P.L. and Fitzherbert, J.A., 2023. <i>New SHRIMP U-Pb zircon ages from the Lachlan Orogen, NSW: Dubbo, Forbes and East Riverina areas, July 2020–June 2021. </i>Record 2023/36, Geoscience Australia, Canberra. Report GS2023/0017, Geological Survey of New South Wales, Maitland. https://doi.org/10.26186/147971
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<div>This Record presents data collected in March 2022–February 2023 as part of the ongoing Northern Territory Geological Survey–Geoscience Australia SHRIMP geochronology project under the National Collaborative Framework agreement and Geoscience Australia’s <em>Exploring for the Future Program</em>. New U–Pb SHRIMP zircon geochronological results were derived from sedimentary rock chip samples of the Warburton Basin collected from four petroleum exploration wells (Beachcomber 1, Thomas 1, Simpson 1, Colson 1) in the southeastern corner of the Northern Territory. Geologically, this is a region in the Simpson Desert that encompasses several superimposed intracratonic sedimentary basins that are separated by regional unconformities that extend over areas of adjoining Queensland, South Australia and New South Wales. The exposed Mesozoic Eromanga Basin overlies the late Palaeozoic Pedirka Basin, which is largely restricted to the subsurface. The Warburton Basin is an early Palaeozoic pericratonic basin containing an early Cambrian and Ordovician succession (Edgoose and Munson, 2013), with possible Devonian rocks observed in some areas (Radke, 2009). As the Warburton Basin is entirely concealed beneath the Pedirka and Eromanga basins, our current understanding of the geology of the western Warburton Basin is constrained by the lack of surface exposures, the small number of well penetrations, limited biostratigraphic age control, and relatively sparse seismic data coverage. </div><div> The samples analysed herein were collected to aid in understanding the chronostratigraphy and provenance characteristics of the concealed Warburton Basin. All four sedimentary samples are dominated by Mesoproterozoic detritus (ca 1000–1300 Ma), have fewer zircons of Paleozoic age, and generally have sparse older Palaeoproterozoic–Archaean aged zircons. Samples from the two westernmost wells yielded 238U/206Pb maximum depositional ages of 469 ± 9 Ma (Colson 1) and 394 ± 6 Ma (Simpson 1). Samples from the two easternmost wells yielded older 238U/206Pb maximum depositional ages of 569 ± 10 Ma (Thomas 1) and 506 ± 5 Ma (Beachcomber 1). These data imply that known Devonian stratigraphy extends at least as far as the Simpson 1 well, but may not extend further east.</div><div><br></div><div>BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCE: Kositcin N, Verdel C and Edgoose C, 2023. Summary of results. Joint NTGS–GA geochronology project: western Warburton Basin, March 2022–February 2023. <em>Northern Territory Geological Survey, Record </em>2023-006.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>
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<div>This Queensland Geological Record presents ten new Sensitive High Resolution Ion MicroProbe (SHRIMP) U–Pb zircon and monazite results obtained under the auspices of the Geological Survey of Queensland–Geoscience Australia (GSQ–GA) National Collaborative Framework (NCF) geochronology project between July 2017 and June 2018. These data were collected in support of ongoing regional mapping and geoscientific programs led by the GSQ in the Mount Isa region. </div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><strong>Bibliographic reference:</strong></div><div>Kositcin, N., Lewis, C. J. Withnall, I. W., Slade, A. P., Sargent, S. and Hutton, L. J. 2023. Summary of results. Joint GSQ–GA Geochronology Project: Mount Isa region, 2017–2018. GSQ Record 2023/03. Geoscience Australia, Canberra. Record 2023/32, Geological Survey of Queensland. http://dx.doi.org/10.26186/147793</div>
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An important finding of this study is the presence of Williams-Naraku Batholith ages (i.e. ca 1500 Ma) east and (well) north of the currently known extent. Sample 2804770/DPMI013 is a leucocratic biotite granite collected from unnamed unit PLg/k ca 30 km southwest of Burke and Wills Roadhouse at the far northern outcropping extent of the Mary Kathleen Domain. This unit intrudes the Corella Formation and Boomarra Metamorphics as small pods and dykes that likely represent the upper portions of a larger pluton. The results from this sample are complex but indicate a minimum crystallisation age of 1500 ± 6 Ma. This is within error of units assigned to the Williams and Naraku Batholiths (e.g. Mavis Granodiorite, Malakoff Granite, Wimberu Granite – see geochronology compilation of Jones et al., 2018). A similar but more certain age of 1511 ± 4 Ma was determined for an unnamed amphibole granite farther south near Kajabbi (2804772/DPMI049b). It is likely that this intrusion also represents the upper parts of a pluton that is more extensive at depth. Together, these two new ages greatly expand the known extent of magmatism at ca 1500 Ma. The Mount Godkin Granite forms a prominent, topographically high range ca 45km northwest of Cloncurry. It intrudes the Corella Formation and has a distinct ellipsoid mapped extent. On the basis of geochemistry, Budd et al. (2001) included the Mount Godkin Granite in the Burstall Suite. The crystallisation age reported here (1739 ± 3 Ma) for sample 2804771/DPMI041 is within error of the most recent published ages from the Burstall Granite and Lunch Creek Gabbro (i.e. 1740 ± 3 Ma, 1737 ± 3 Ma, 1739 ± 3 Ma; Neumann et al., 2009) confirming broadly synchronous emplacement. We also sampled a fine-grained, leucocratic and miarolitic biotite granite from the far northern tip of the Burstall Granite (mapped as subunit l). Despite being lithologically and texturally distinct from the main body of Burstall Granite, this sample (2804773/DPMI054) yielded a similar crystallisation age (1736 ± 4 Ma) to the main Burstall Granite and Lunch Creek Gabbro bodies (Neumann et al., 2009). A lithologically similar, unfoliated, miarolitic leucogranite was sampled from Exco Resources drill core EMCDD094 (534.85–536.07 m) at Mount Colin mine near the contact between the Burstall Granite and Corella Formation. In drill core, this granite contains large xenoliths of Corella Formation and locally transitions to a crystallised hydrothermal phase. It appears intimately associated with copper mineralisation and the crystallisation age of 1737 ± 3 Ma determined here (2804792/DPMI080) may be similar to the mineralisation age. The Myubee Igneous Complex and Overlander Granite intrude the Corella Formation in the southern part of the Mary Kathleen Domain. They were thought to have been emplaced at about the same time as the nearby Revenue Granite, the Mount Erle Igneous Complex farther south, and the Burstall Granite to the north, based on lithological and chemical similarities (e.g., Bultitude et al., 1978, 1982; Blake et al., 1984). These last three units have yielded U–Pb zircon (SHRIMP) ages in the 1735–1740 Ma range (Neumann et al., 2009; Geoscience Australia, 2011; Kositcin et al., 2019). However, Bierlein et al. (2011) reported slightly younger SHRIMP zircon emplacement ages in the 1718–1722 Ma range for parts of the Revenue Granite and Mount Erle Igneous Complex, suggesting the units are composite. The 1740 ± 5 Ma age yielded by the Overlander Granite as part of the current study is similar to ages recorded for the units listed above and, therefore, supports the interpretations of earlier workers. The granite is associated spatially with several small Cu–Au deposits in nearby country rocks (Corella Formation) including the Overlander group of mines (abandoned) and prospects, and the Andy’s Hill (Cu–Au–Co–La) and Scalper (Cu–Au) prospects (Denaro et al., 2003), but a genetic relationship between the granite and mineralisation has yet to be unequivocally demonstrated. Granite of the Myubee Igneous Complex yielded a slightly younger age of 1727 ± 5 Ma. We interpret this as a minimum age for igneous crystallisation of the granite, because most of the SHRIMP zircon analyses preserve evidence of post-crystallisation isotopic disturbance. However, it does support the conclusion of Passchier (1992) who deduced that the Myubee Igneous Complex is slightly younger than the nearby Revenue Granite, based on structural criteria. According to Passchier D1 (local) structures in the Revenue Granite are not present in the Myubee Igneous Complex. The significance of the anomalously young SHRIMP, zircon age of 1722 ± 5 Ma subsequently reported by Bierlein et al. (2011) for the Revenue Granite has yet to be resolved. The dated sample of Wimberu Granite is from a relatively small lobe, separated from the main outcrop area to the east by an extensive cover of younger Georgina Basin rocks. The lobe is located ~11 km east of the Pilgrim Fault Zone, which marks the eastern boundary of the Mary Kathleen Domain. The analysed sample yielded a U–Pb zircon age of 1518 ± 5 Ma, which is similar to the U–Pb (SHRIMP) zircon ages reported previously for different parts of the main body of Wimberu Granite east of Devoncourt homestead—namely 1508 ± 4 Ma (Page & Sun, 1998) and 1512 ± 4 (Pollard & McNaughton, 1997). <b>Bibliographic Reference: </b>Bodorkos, S., Purdy, D.J., Bultitude, R.J., Lewis, C.J., Jones, S.L., Brown, D.D. and Hoy, D., 2020. Summary of Results. Joint GSQ–GA Geochronology Project: Mary Kathleen Domain and Environs, Mount Isa Inlier, 2018–2020. <i>Queensland Geological Record</i><b> 2020/04</b>.
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This Record presents new Sensitive High Resolution Ion Micro Probe (SHRIMP) U–Pb geochronological results for five 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 develop better understanding of the geological evolution and mineral potential of this region. It is being undertaken as part of the Northern Territory Government’s Resourcing the Territory (RTT) initiative and the Federal Government’s Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program and was carried out under the auspices of the National Collaborative Framework (NCF) between GA and NTGS. The rocks studied were sampled from drill cores acquired under the Northern Territory Government’s Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations program; the drillholes sampled comprise RVDD0002 (Wetherley and Elliston 2019), MXCURD002 (Burke 2015) and R27ARD18 (Anderson 2010). <b>Bibliographic Reference:</b> Cross A, Huston D and Farias P, 2021. Summary of results. Joint NTGS–GA geochronology project: Rover mineral field, Warramunga Province, January–June 2020. <i>Northern Territory Geological Survey</i>, <b>Record 2021-003</b>.
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This Record presents new U-Pb geochronological data, obtained via Sensitive High Resolution Ion Micro Probe (SHRIMP), from six samples of igneous rocks and four samples of sedimentary rocks, collected from south-central New South Wales. The work is part of an ongoing Geochronology Project, conducted by the Geological Survey of New South Wales (GSNSW) and Geoscience Australia (GA) under a National Collaborative Framework (NCF) agreement, to better understand the geological evolution of the central Lachlan Orogen in the East Riverina region. The results presented herein correspond to the reporting period July 2015-June 2016.