<div>This record presents nine new zircon and titanite U–Pb geochronological data, obtained via Sensitive High Resolution Ion Microprobe (SHRIMP) for seven samples of plutonic rocks from the Lachlan Orogen and the Cobar Basin, plus one garnet-bearing skarn vein from the Cobar region. Many of these new ages improve existing constraints on the timing of mineralisation in the Cobar Basin, as part of an ongoing Geochronology Project (Metals in Time), conducted by the Geological Survey of New South Wales (GSNSW) and Geoscience Australia (GA) under a National Collaboration Framework (NCF) agreement. The results herein (summarised in Table 1.1) correspond to zircon and titanite U–Pb SHRIMP analysis undertaken on GSNSW Mineral Systems projects over July 2017–June 2019.</div><div><br></div><div>Our new data establish an episode of c. 427–425 Ma I-type plutonism, coeval with regional S-type granites, which marginally predated opening of the Cobar Basin. Widespread S-type and high-level I-type magmatism accompanied 423–417 Ma basin development. At least two episodes of skarn-related mineralisation are recognised in the southern Cobar Basin: c. 387 Ma (from pre-mineralisation skarn veins) at Kershaws prospect, and c. 403 Ma at the adjacent Hera mine (Fitzherbert et al., 2021).</div><div><br></div><div>Three intrusive rocks were dated at the Norma Vale prospect in the southwestern Cobar Basin, where calcic iron-copper skarn mineralisation is thought to have been caused by I-type but compositionally complex high-level intrusive rocks emplaced along a northeast-oriented fault related to the nearby Rookery Fault (Fitzherbert et al., 2017). A 423 ± 8 Ma I-type quartz diorite potentially constrains the timing of skarn mineralisation, but is indistinguishable in age from a 421.3 ± 3.0 Ma S-type cordierite-biotite granite and a 417.5 ± 3.3 Ma coarse-grained S-type granite, both from deeper in the same drillhole. These results suggest that at least some of the coeval S-type and high-level I-type magmatic activity accompanying opening of the Cobar Basin was associated with early mineralisation, although skarn-forming processes regionally are complex and episodic (Fitzherbert et al., 2021).</div><div><br></div><div>In the Cobar mining belt, our new date of 422.8 ± 2.8 Ma for I-type rhyolitic porphyry at Carissa Shaft (which is one of the southernmost high-level intrusions associated with the Perseverance and Queen Bee orebodies) is coeval with the 423.2 ± 3.5 Ma ‘Peak rhyolite’ (Black, 2007), but marginally older than the 417.6 ± 3.0 Ma Queen Bee Porphyry (Black, 2005). At Gindoono, a 423.0&nbsp;±&nbsp;2.6&nbsp;Ma unnamed dacitic porphyry intruded and hornfelsed the undated I-type Majuba Volcanics, thereby establishing a minimum age for that unit.</div><div><br></div><div>East of Cobar, the I-type Wild Wave Granodiorite intruded the Ordovician Girilambone Group, but was exhumed and eroded to form clasts within pebble conglomerates of the lowermost Cobar Basin. Its new U–Pb SHRIMP zircon age of 424.1 ± 2.8 Ma constrains the timing of I-type plutonism which marginally predated formation of the Cobar Basin. A similar zircon age of 426.7 ± 2.3 Ma was obtained from the concealed Fountaindale Granodiorite north of Condoblin, indicating that this I-type pluton is coeval with the nearby and much larger c. 427 Ma S-type Erimeran Granite. Titanite from the same sample of Fountaindale Granodiorite yielded an age of 421.6 ± 2.7 Ma, which is significantly younger than the zircon age, and is interpreted to constrain the timing of ‘deuteric’ (chlorite-albite-epidote-titanite-sericite-carbonate) alteration during post-magmatic hydrothermal activity (e.g. Blevin, 2003b).</div><div><br></div><div>A garnet-bearing skarn vein at Kershaws prospect, adjacent to the Hera orebody (Fitzherbert et al., 2021), predates the main phase of mineralisation, and yielded a titanite age of 387.2 ±&nbsp;6.2&nbsp;Ma. This indicates that the skarn-forming hydrothermal event at Kershaws prospect is significantly younger than the c. 403 Ma age for the main mineralising event at Hera mine (Fitzherbert et al., 2021).</div>

<p>This record presents new zircon and titanite U–Pb geochronological data, obtained via Sensitive High Resolution Ion Microprobe (SHRIMP) for twelve samples of plutonic and volcanic rocks from the Lachlan Orogen and the New England Orogen, and two samples of hydrothermal quartz veins from the Cobar region. Many of these new ages improve existing constraints on the timing of mineralisation in New South Wales, as part of an ongoing Geochronology Project (Metals in Time), conducted by the Geological Survey of New South Wales (GSNSW) and Geoscience Australia (GA) under a National Collaborative Framework (NCF) agreement. The results herein (summarised in Table 1.1 and Table 1.2) correspond to zircon and titanite U–Pb SHRIMP analysis undertaken on GSNSW mineral systems projects for the reporting period July 2016–June 2017. Lachlan Orogen <p>The Lachlan Orogen samples reported herein are sourced from operating mines, active prospects, or regions with historical workings. The new dates constrain timing of mineralisation by dating the units which host or crosscut mineralisation, thereby improving understanding of the mineralising systems, and provide stronger constraints for mineralisation models. <p>In the eastern Lachlan Orogen, the new dates of 403.9 ± 2.6 Ma for the Whipstick Monzogranite south of Bega, and 413.3 ± 1.8 Ma for the Banshea Granite north of Goulburn both provide maximum age constraints for the mineralisation they host (Whipstick gold prospect and Ruby Creek silver prospect, respectively). At the Paupong prospect south of Jindabyne, gold mineralisation is cut by a dyke with a magmatic crystallisation age of 430.9 ± 2.1 Ma, establishing a minimum age for the system. <p>The 431.1 ± 1.8 Ma unnamed andesite and the 428.4 ± 1.9 Ma unnamed felsic dyke at the Dobroyde prospect 10 km north of Junee are just barely distinguishable in age, in the order that is supported by field relationships. The andesite is the same age as the c. 432 Ma Junawarra Volcanics but has different geochemical composition, and is younger than the c. 437 Ma Gidginbung Volcanics. The two unnamed units pre-date mineralisation, and are consistent with Pb-dating indicating a Tabberaberran age for mineralisation at the Dobroyde gold deposit. <p>Similarly, the 430.5 ± 3.4 Ma leucogranite from Hickory Hill prospect (north of Albury) clarifies that this unit originally logged as Jindera Granite (since dated at 403.4 ± 2.6 Ma) is instead affiliated with the nearby Mount Royal Granite, which has implications for the extent of mineralisation hosted within this unit. <p>Cobar Basin <p>Titanite ages of 382.5 ± 2.6 Ma and 383.4 ± 2.9 Ma from hydrothermal quartz veins that crosscut and postdate the main phase of mineralisation at the Hera mine in the Cobar region constrain the minimum age for mineralisation. These ages are indistinguishable from a muscovite age of 381.9 ± 2.2 Ma interpreted to be related to late- or post-Tabberaberan deformation event, and these results indicate that mineralisation occurred at or prior to this deformation event. <p>New England Orogen <p>The new ages from granites of the New England Orogen presented in this record aid in classification of these plutons into various Suites and Supersuites, and these new or confirmed relationships are described in detail in Bryant (2017). Many of these plutons host mineralisation, so the new ages also provide maximum age constraints in the timing of that mineralisation. <p>The 256.1 ± 1.3 Ma age of the Deepwater Syenogranite 40 km north of Glen Innes indicates that it is coeval with the 256.4 ± 1.6 Ma (Black, 2006) Arranmor Ignimbrite Member (Emmaville Volcanics) that it intrudes, demonstrating that both intrusive and extrusive magmatism was occurring in the Deepwater region at the same time. The 252.0 ± 1.2 Ma age for the Black Snake Creek Granite northeast of Tenterfield is consistent with its intrusive relationship with the Dundee Rhyodacite (254.34 ± 0.34 Ma; Brownlow et al., 2010). Similarly, the 251.2 ± 1.3 Ma age for the Malara Quartz Monzodiorite southeast of Tenterfield is consistent with field relationships that demonstrate that it intrudes the Drake Volcanics (265.3 ± 1.4 Ma–264.4 ± 2.5 Ma, Cross and Blevin, 2010; Waltenberg et al., 2016). <p>The 246.7 ± 1.5 Ma Cullens Creek Granite north of Drake was dated in an attempt to provide a stronger age constraint on mineral deposits that also cut the Rivertree and Koreelan Creek plutons (249.1 ± 1.3 Ma and 246.3 ± 1.4 Ma respectively, Chisholm et al., 2014a). However, the new age is indistinguishable from the Koreelan Creek Granodiorite, and timing of mineralisation is not further constrained, but the new age demonstrates a temporal association between the Cullens Creek and Koreelan Creek plutons. <p>The 239.1 ± 1.2 Ma age for the Mann River Leucogranite west of Grafton is indistinguishable in age from plutons in the Dandahra Suite and supports its inclusion in this grouping. The new age also constrains the timing of the distal part of the Dalmorton Gold Field, and implies that the gold vein system postdates the Hunter-Bowen orogeny. <p>The 232.7 ± 1.0 Ma Botumburra Range Monzogranite east of Armidale is younger than most southern New England granites, but this age is very consistent with the Coastal Granite Association (CGA), and the new age, along with the previously noted petrographic similarities (Leitch and McDougall, 1979) supports incorporation of the Botumburra Range Monzogranite into the Carrai Supersuite of the CGA (Bryant, 2017).

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>.

The Kalkadoon-Leichhardt Domain of the Mount Isa Inlier has been interpreted to represent the ‘basement’ of the larger inlier, onto which many of the younger, economically prospective sedimentary and volcanic units were deposited. The domain itself is dominated by 1860–1850 Ma granitic to volcanic Kalkadoon Supersuite rocks, but these units are interpreted to have been emplaced/erupted onto older units of the Kurbayia Metamorphic Complex. This study aims to provide insights into a number of geological questions: 1. What is the isotopic character of the pre-1860–1850 Ma rocks? 2. How do these vary laterally within the Kalkadoon-Leichhardt Domain? 3. What is the tectonic/stratigraphic relationship between the 1860–1850 Ma rocks of the Mount Isa Inlier and c. 1850 Ma rocks of the Tennant Creek region and Greater McArthur Basin basement? Detrital zircon U–Pb results indicate the presence of 2500 Ma detritus within the Kurbayia Metamorphic Complex, suggesting that the Kalkadoon-Leichhardt Domain was a sedimentary depocentre in the Paleoproterozoic and potentially had sources such as the Pine Creek Orogen, or, as some authors suggest, potential sources from cratons in northern North America. Existing Hf and Nd-isotopic data suggest that the ‘basement’ units of the Mount Isa Inlier have early Proterozoic model ages (TDM) of 2500–2000 Ma. Oxygen and Hf-isotopic studies on samples from this study will allow us to test these models, and provide further insights into the character and history of these ‘basement’ rocks within the Mount Isa Inlier, and northern Australia more broadly.