Ore deposits and tectonic evolution of the Lachlan Orogen, SE Australia. Ore deposits and tectonic evolution of the Lachlan Orogen, SE Australia. This project aims to develop and test models to evaluate past tectonic processes and configurations in South-east Australia, using both new and existing geological, geophysical and isotopic data. Over the past 550 million years, plate tectonic processes have formed metal-rich mineral deposits in South-east Australia. The project will identify areas of ....Ore deposits and tectonic evolution of the Lachlan Orogen, SE Australia. Ore deposits and tectonic evolution of the Lachlan Orogen, SE Australia. This project aims to develop and test models to evaluate past tectonic processes and configurations in South-east Australia, using both new and existing geological, geophysical and isotopic data. Over the past 550 million years, plate tectonic processes have formed metal-rich mineral deposits in South-east Australia. The project will identify areas of high potential for economically valuable ore deposits, enabling more efficient prioritisation of mineral exploration efforts. This is expected to increase the probability of significant ore deposit discoveries leading to national economic benefit.Read moreRead less
Experimental constraints on the genesis of gold-rich ore deposits. The project will provide a new set of tools to explore for gold-rich ore deposits in Australia and globally. By integrating geochemical studies with cutting-edge experiments carried out at three Australian universities in strategic partnership with industry, the outcomes of this project will provide much needed knowledge to predict the locations of large gold-rich deposits that are concealed beneath vast expanses of the Australia ....Experimental constraints on the genesis of gold-rich ore deposits. The project will provide a new set of tools to explore for gold-rich ore deposits in Australia and globally. By integrating geochemical studies with cutting-edge experiments carried out at three Australian universities in strategic partnership with industry, the outcomes of this project will provide much needed knowledge to predict the locations of large gold-rich deposits that are concealed beneath vast expanses of the Australian continent. The new results will translate into smarter exploration practice, significantly enhancing success in targeting ore deposits that are rich in high-value metal and display the smallest have a small environmental footprint, to underpin the sustainability of our nation into the future.
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Four dimensional lithospheric evolution and controls on mineral system distribution in Neoarchean to Paleoproterozoic terranes. This project will resolve important questions about the links between the evolution and preservation of continents and important mineral deposits in Australia and West Africa between 2.7 and 1.8 billion years ago. The results will improve the understanding of a key period of Earth history and make a major contribution to mineral exploration.
Source to spectrum: Finding deposits beyond the Fe oxide-Cu-Au envelope. Source to spectrum: Finding deposits beyond the Fe oxide-Cu-Au envelope. This project aims to improve exploration models for the spectrum of deposits at Olympic Dam. The giant Olympic Dam iron–oxide–copper–gold (IOCG) deposit in the Gawler Craton, discovered 40 years ago, has contributed billions of dollars to the economy. A fluid flow event in the Olympic Dam created a vast, crustal-scale alteration system with a spectrum ....Source to spectrum: Finding deposits beyond the Fe oxide-Cu-Au envelope. Source to spectrum: Finding deposits beyond the Fe oxide-Cu-Au envelope. This project aims to improve exploration models for the spectrum of deposits at Olympic Dam. The giant Olympic Dam iron–oxide–copper–gold (IOCG) deposit in the Gawler Craton, discovered 40 years ago, has contributed billions of dollars to the economy. A fluid flow event in the Olympic Dam created a vast, crustal-scale alteration system with a spectrum of different mineral deposits, many of which are under-explored. This project aims to constrain the source of metal and fluids in the Gawler Craton deposits, determine crustal fertility for deposit formation and develop metal specific 'prospectivity maps' to improve exploration efficiency.Read moreRead less
Chronostratigraphic, molecular and isotopic approaches to age petroleum. The project aims to reduce the costs of drilling in deep-water offshore by better identifying potential drilling sites. The North-West shelf offshore Australia is the main supplier of liquefied natural gas. However, there is uncertainty about the age of petroleum (oil and gas) discovered in the region. It is not currently possible to constrain an age of fluids to a number of source rocks. The aims are to develop a high-leve ....Chronostratigraphic, molecular and isotopic approaches to age petroleum. The project aims to reduce the costs of drilling in deep-water offshore by better identifying potential drilling sites. The North-West shelf offshore Australia is the main supplier of liquefied natural gas. However, there is uncertainty about the age of petroleum (oil and gas) discovered in the region. It is not currently possible to constrain an age of fluids to a number of source rocks. The aims are to develop a high-level age discriminative tool for fluids. An interdisciplinary approach will be applied using state-of-the-art techniques including comprehensive two dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry, compound specific isotope analysis of hydrocarbons, clumped isotopes of methane and metagenomics.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE110100047
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$420,000.00
Summary
Events through time: eruptions, extinctions, impacts, ore-bodies and orogenies - upgrading the national argon geochronology network. Nine universities and the CSIRO will replace aged and obsolete equipment with new mass spectrometers which will be strategically placed at opposite ends of our continent to improve access for Australian researchers to these instruments for which there is high demand. These instruments will allow more exact dating of events such as eruptions, impacts, climate change ....Events through time: eruptions, extinctions, impacts, ore-bodies and orogenies - upgrading the national argon geochronology network. Nine universities and the CSIRO will replace aged and obsolete equipment with new mass spectrometers which will be strategically placed at opposite ends of our continent to improve access for Australian researchers to these instruments for which there is high demand. These instruments will allow more exact dating of events such as eruptions, impacts, climate change, biological extinctions, mineral deposits and mountain building.Read moreRead less
Prospectivity of late Archean basaltic and gabbroic rocks associated with major gold and base-metal deposits. This project will establish a new set of criteria for the discovery of hidden deposits of gold, lead, zinc, copper and silver in rock aged between 2.8 and 2.6 billion years old. In 2009, the mining of these deposits contributed $5.5 billion dollars to Australia’s export earnings and provided the financial backbone for many regional communities.
Advancing Mineral Exploration Models for Orogenic Gold Deposits. This interdisciplinary project links geochemistry with crustal-scale fluid migration, aiming to improve mineral exploration success for orogenic gold deposits. In doing so, it intends to provide a more holistic view of gold deposit genesis. This project plans to focus on the Victorian goldfields, which have world-class historic gold production, an existing seismic transect, and a geologic setting that will address key problems in g ....Advancing Mineral Exploration Models for Orogenic Gold Deposits. This interdisciplinary project links geochemistry with crustal-scale fluid migration, aiming to improve mineral exploration success for orogenic gold deposits. In doing so, it intends to provide a more holistic view of gold deposit genesis. This project plans to focus on the Victorian goldfields, which have world-class historic gold production, an existing seismic transect, and a geologic setting that will address key problems in gold deposit genesis. A series of modelling techniques will be used to marry structural and geochemical aspects of gold deposit formation at a scale that has not been previously attempted.Read moreRead less
Kinematica: Inference-Based Rapid Resource Exploration Scenario Testing. This project aims to build a new workflow for improving resource exploration evaluation by Australian companies and applied to three practical industry cases in frontier basins. The expected outcomes of this proposal are: detailed risk analysis of oil and gas prospectivity in frontier basins onshore and offshore Australia; a new strategic collaboration between Australian industry, government and universities; students train ....Kinematica: Inference-Based Rapid Resource Exploration Scenario Testing. This project aims to build a new workflow for improving resource exploration evaluation by Australian companies and applied to three practical industry cases in frontier basins. The expected outcomes of this proposal are: detailed risk analysis of oil and gas prospectivity in frontier basins onshore and offshore Australia; a new strategic collaboration between Australian industry, government and universities; students trained in advanced computational methods suitable for the evolving Australian oil and gas industry; and a software product that has high commericalisation potential. The project will transfer knowledge from European industry and universities to Australia and has applications for mineral prospectivity in sedimentary basins. Read moreRead less
Where to find giant porphyry and epithermal gold and copper deposits. This project will determine when and where giant gold or copper deposits should form, consolidating links with Indonesia, and using South East Asia as a vast natural laboratory in which to examine the effect of large-scale tectonic processes. The project will produce a four-dimensional virtual exploration toolkit to show how to apply the methods.