Authors / CoAuthors
Blewett, R.S. | Tyler, I.M. | Hill, S.M. | Kennett, B.L.N. | Fomin, T.
Abstract
The Eucla-Gawler deep seismic reflection line (13GA-EG1), which was completed in February 2014, forms the 'missing piece' in a now complete east-west transect of the continent. The new line joins the previously acquired Albany-Fraser Orogen line (12GA-AF3) at Haig (WA), extending the seismic coverage for a further 834 km eastwards to Tarcoola (SA). The data were acquired by Geoscience Australia, the Geological Survey of Western Australia, and the Geological Survey of South Australia as part these institutions' pre-competitive data acquisition programmes, with data-infrastructure investment from AuScope to complete the line. The investment provides new, fundamental data in a hitherto little-known region of Australia with the aim of encouraging exploration investment and ultimately new mineral resource discovery, as well as improving knowledge of the structure and evolution of the continent. The Eucla-Gawler region (Nullarbor Plain) is a major geological frontier, with very little information available on the subsurface geology and its context. The region lies between two of the most prospective geological regions in the world, with the Yilgarn Craton to the west and the Gawler Craton to the east, however, the extensive sedimentary cover associated with the Eucla Basin has led to the bedrock underlying this region being very poorly represented and understood. Some of the geological unknowns in this region include the: - deep crustal structure of the sub-Eucla Basin basement geology as a whole and the likely geological processes that drove Mesoproterozoic tectonic assembly between the West Australian Craton and the South Australian Craton; - deep crustal structure of the eastern margin of the Albany-Fraser Orogen and western margin of the Gawler Craton; - nature of the Mundrabilla Shear Zone as a crustal-scale fault structure; - nature and character of the Moho; - margins of the Coompana magnetic feature and associated magnetic lineaments; - structural relationships between tectonic units mapped at the surface (such as neotectonic features); and, - structural elements of the Eucla Basin and underlying basins, which may host hydrocarbons. A wide range of interpreted geological settings in this region have the potential to be highly prospective for regional, greenfields mineral exploration. This includes the: - cratonic margins, such as the western margin of the Gawler Craton, which are settings that typically host conduits for deeply sourced mineralising fluids and depositional sites; - Coompana magnetic feature and its margins in the southwest of South Australia. Previous interpretations suggest parallels with geological systems hosting Cu-Ni sulphides elsewhere, such as in Western Australia (e.g., the Nova deposit immediately to the west); - highly prospective (e.g., Ni-Cu) mafic rift sequence in the western Gawler Craton associated with the Fowler Domain; and, - provenance and transport pathways for heavy mineral sands (HMS) that have accumulated in Eucla Basin sediments and are presently mined at Jacinth-Ambrosia. The data are of excellent quality, despite limestone and karst conditions in the Eucla Basin. This talk will present the un-migrated field stacks of the full crustal sections (20 second two-way-time); answering some of the geological unknowns.
Product Type
nonGeographicDataset
eCat Id
79163
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Cnr Jerrabomberra Ave and Hindmarsh Dr GPO Box 378
Canberra
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2601
Australia
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- External Publication
- Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)
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- Earth Sciences
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- Published_Internal
Publication Date
2014-01-01T00:00:00
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geoscientificInformation
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[-33.0, -29.0, 121.0, 136.0]
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