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.
Geochemistry of ore metals at very high temperatures. The world’s largest copper and gold mines occur in extinct volcanoes around the Pacific Rim. Understanding how these essential metals are mobilised from magmas in the roots of volcanoes to become ore deposits and how to recognize where this has occurred is crucial in exploration for new deposits.
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
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
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL160100168
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,851,557.00
Summary
The pulse of the earth. The pulse of the earth. This project aims to establish the origin and evolution of the continental crust and its role in the long term development of the Earth system. The continental crust hosts the resources on which we depend and its evolution controls the environment in which we live. The crust’s record (including resources) is episodic in space and time, but the origin of this periodicity is unresolved. Building on recent advances on crustal development, the fellowsh ....The pulse of the earth. The pulse of the earth. This project aims to establish the origin and evolution of the continental crust and its role in the long term development of the Earth system. The continental crust hosts the resources on which we depend and its evolution controls the environment in which we live. The crust’s record (including resources) is episodic in space and time, but the origin of this periodicity is unresolved. Building on recent advances on crustal development, the fellowship would work to resolve the origin of the episodic age pattern, which affects the distribution of mineral systems and their prospectivity.Read moreRead less
The Missing link in the Tasmanides: evaluating tectonic evolution and resource exploration potential of the southern Thomson Fold belt. Understanding the Thomson Orogen, a geological region which straddles the New South Wales and Queensland border, is critical for developing geodynamic models for the evolution of eastern Australia, and assessing resource potential. However, it lies under the Great Artesian Basin. This project focusses on ground truthing geophysical acquisition studies using dril ....The Missing link in the Tasmanides: evaluating tectonic evolution and resource exploration potential of the southern Thomson Fold belt. Understanding the Thomson Orogen, a geological region which straddles the New South Wales and Queensland border, is critical for developing geodynamic models for the evolution of eastern Australia, and assessing resource potential. However, it lies under the Great Artesian Basin. This project focusses on ground truthing geophysical acquisition studies using drill core from a targeted drilling program, designed to maximise the available tectono-stratigraphic information. The outcome intends to be a 3D geological map of the region, which can be interrogated for mineral exploration targeting, and from which 4D evolutionary geodynamic models of eastern Australian can be integrated.Read moreRead less
Novel isotope techniques to explore the Centralian Superbasin, Australia. This project will leverage new advances in analytical instrumentation and isotope techniques to generate improved geochronological and stratigraphic framework for the Centralian Superbasin, a vast ancient depositional system covering much of central Australia. The project aims to apply novel laser-based dating of sedimentary rocks, coupled with metal isotope proxy reconstructions of the basin’s palaeogeography, hydrologica ....Novel isotope techniques to explore the Centralian Superbasin, Australia. This project will leverage new advances in analytical instrumentation and isotope techniques to generate improved geochronological and stratigraphic framework for the Centralian Superbasin, a vast ancient depositional system covering much of central Australia. The project aims to apply novel laser-based dating of sedimentary rocks, coupled with metal isotope proxy reconstructions of the basin’s palaeogeography, hydrological connectivity and past redox conditions, which are all critical parameters to guide and de-risk future exploration of sediment-hosted resources in this frontier basin. Anticipated outcomes will benefit Australia's resources economy, while providing insights into the evolution of Earth’s surface environment in deep time.Read moreRead less
From core to ore: emplacement dynamics of deep-seated nickel sulphide systems. This project will investigate the genesis of ore deposits containing nickel, copper and the immensely valuable platinum group elements. These systems provide insights into fundamental questions regarding the evolution and dynamics of the Earth system, because these ore deposits are windows into the deep mantle of our planet.
Global Scale Cycling of Noble Gases and Halogens. A novel approach for combined measurement of halogens and noble gases will be used to provide the first constraints on the concentrations of these elements in key reservoirs within subduction zones. The data will revolutionise our understanding of how noble gases and halogens transfer between the Earth's atmosphere and mantle, which has profound implications for our planet's origin and evolution. In addition, the study will provide practical info ....Global Scale Cycling of Noble Gases and Halogens. A novel approach for combined measurement of halogens and noble gases will be used to provide the first constraints on the concentrations of these elements in key reservoirs within subduction zones. The data will revolutionise our understanding of how noble gases and halogens transfer between the Earth's atmosphere and mantle, which has profound implications for our planet's origin and evolution. In addition, the study will provide practical information about how economically important hydrothermal ore deposits form on the seafloor and it will test models for orogenic gold mineralisation. Read moreRead less