Comparison of the ‘strike‐slip’ versus the ‘episodic rift‐sag’ models for the origin of the Isa Superbasin

In this paper we assess two competing tectonic models for the development of the Isa Superbasin (ca 1725–1590 Ma) in the Western Fold Belt of the Mt Isa terrane. In the ‘episodic rift‐sag’ tectonic model the basin architecture is envisaged as similar to that of a Basin and Range province characterised by widespread half‐graben development. According to this model, the Isa Superbasin evolved during three stages of the Mt Isa Rift Event. Stage I involved intracontinental extension, half‐graben development, the emergence of fault scarps and tilt‐blocks, and bimodal volcanism. Stage II involved episodic rifting and sag during intervening periods of tectonic quiescence. Stage III was dominated by thermal relaxation of the lithosphere with transient episodes of extension. Sedimentation was controlled by the development of arrays of half‐grabens bounded by intrabasinal transverse or transfer faults. The competing ‘strike‐slip’ model was developed for the Gun Supersequence stratigraphic interval of the Isa Superbasin (during stage II and the beginning of stage III). According to this model, sinistral movements along north‐northeast‐orientated strike‐slip faults took place, with oblique movements along northwest‐orientated faults. This resulted in the deposition of southeast‐thickening ramp sequences with local sub‐basin depocentres forming to the west and north of north‐northeast‐ and northwest‐trending faults, respectively. It is proposed that dilation zones focused magmatism (e.g. Sybella Granite) and transfer of strike‐slip movement resulted in transient uplift along the western margin of the Mt Gordon Arch. Our analysis supports the ‘episodic rift‐sag’ model. We find that the inferred architecture for the strike‐slip model correlates poorly with the observed structural elements. Interpretation is made difficult because there has been significant modification and reorientation of fault geometry during the Isan Orogeny and these effects need to be removed before any assertion as to the basin structure is made. Strike‐slip faulting does not explain the regional‐scale pattern of basin subsidence. The ‘episodic rift‐sag’ model explains the macroscopic geometry of the Isa Superbasin and is consistent with the detailed sedimentological analysis of basin facies architecture, and the structural history and geometry.     

Three-dimensional structure along the inverted Palaeoproterozoic Fiery Creek Fault System, Mount Isa terrane, Australia

The NW-dipping Fiery Creek Fault System, located in the northern Mount Isa terrane, comprises numerous sub-parallel faults that record multiple episodes of Palaeo- to Mesoproterozoic movement. Hanging wall wedge-shaped stratal geometries and marked stratal thickness variation across the fault system indicate that the earliest movement occurred during episodic intracontinental extension (Mount Isa Rift Event; ca. 1710–1655 Ma). Reactivation of the fault system during regional shortening and basin inversion associated with the Mesoproterozoic Isan Orogeny (ca. 1590–1500 Ma) resulted in complex three-dimensional hanging wall geometries and highly variable strain in the hanging wall strata along the fault system. This has resulted in the development of discrete hanging wall deformation compartments, that are characterised by different structural styles. High strain compartments are characterised by relatively intense folding and the development of break-back thrusts, whereas low strain compartments are only weakly folded. Variations in hanging wall strain are attributed to selective reactivation of normal fault segments, controlled by the pre-inversion fault dip and lithological contrasts across the faults. Variation of the pre-inversion fault dip is interpreted to have been caused by episodic tilt-block rotation during crustal extension. Moderately dipping faults active early in the Mount Isa Rift Event show the greatest degree of reactivation, whereas younger and steeper normal faults have behaved as buttresses during inversion with strain focussed in zones of upright folding in the hanging wall.     

Palaeoproterozoic mid‐basin inversion in the northern Mt Isa terrane,Queensland

The Mellish Park Syncline is located in the northern part of the Mt Isa terrane. It has an axial trace that transects the remnants of the unconformity‐bounded Palaeoproterozoic Leichhardt and Isa Superbasins. The syncline is separated into a lower and upper component based upon variation in fold geometry across the basin‐bounding unconformity. The lower syncline, in the Leichhardt Superbasin, is tight and has an inclined west‐dipping axial plane. The upper syncline, in the Isa Superbasin, is open and upright. The geometry of the lower syncline is a consequence of a period of shortening and basin inversion which post‐dated the Leichhardt Rift Event (ca 1780–1740 Ma) and pre‐dated the Mt Isa Rift Event (ca 1710–1655 Ma), forming an open and upright north‐oriented syncline. Subsequent southeast tilting and half‐graben development during the Mt Isa Rift Event resulted in the lower syncline being tilted into its inclined geometry. Sequences of the Isa Superbasin were then deposited onto the eroded syncline. The geometry of the upper syncline reflects regional east‐west shortening during the Isan Orogeny (ca 1590–1500 Ma). The position of the upper syncline was largely controlled by the pre‐existing lower syncline. At this time the lower syncline was reactivated and tightened by flexural slip folding.     

Geodynamically indicated targeting strategy for shale‐hosted massive sulfide Pb–Zn–Ag mineralisation in the Western Fold Belt,Mt Isa terrane

There is ongoing debate with respect to the genetic models for shale‐hosted massive sulfide Pb–Zn–Ag deposits contained in the Palaeoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic intracontinental Isa Superbasin in the Western Fold Belt, Mt Isa terrane. Favourable sites of mineralisation can be predicted based on understanding the tectonic setting of the Isa Superbasin, the structural controls of mineralisation and the chemically favourable environments for ore deposition. Shale‐hosted massive sulfide Pb–Zn–Ag deposits are hosted in successions deposited during the dominant sag‐phase of the Isa Superbasin. These deposits are localised at the intersections of major basin‐scale extensional faults and are hosted in both shallow‐marine and deeper water carbonaceous shales that are characteristically anoxic and located near or at maximum flooding surfaces. All major shale‐hosted massive sulfide Pb–Zn–Ag deposits are located to the west of the Mt Isa Rift (ca 1710–1670 Ma). This spatial association is explained by an asymmetrical lithosphere extension model for the evolution of the Isa Superbasin. Elevated geothermal gradients at the location of maximum subcrustal lithospheric thinning to the west of the Mt Isa Rift may have driven the migration of basinal brines. Increased subsidence at this location produced favourable anoxic sedimentary horizons for metal precipitation during orebody formation.     

Discussion and Reply Lithostratigraphic revision and correlation of the Oligo‐Miocene Murray Supergroup,western Murray Basin,South Australia

Sequence‐stratigraphic interpretations of the 4200 m‐thick Palaeoproterozoic (1700–1650 Ma) Mt Isa Group and underlying Surprise Creek Formation identify three unconformity‐bounded packages termed the Prize, Gun and Loretta Supersequences. Siliciclastic rocks of the Surprise Creek Formation and Warrina Park Quartzite comprise the Prize Supersequence. Rapid facies changes from proximal, conglomeratic fluvial packages to distal, fine‐grained and deep‐water, rhythmites characterise this supersequence. Conglomeratic intervals in the Mt Isa area reflect syndepositional movement along basin‐margin faults during the period of supersequence initiation. A major unconformity, which extends over a period of about 25 million years, separates the Gun and Prize Supersequences. In the Leichhardt River Fault Trough uplift and incision of Prize sedimentary rocks coincided with emplacement of the Sybella Granite (1671±8 Ma) and Carters Bore Rhyolite (1678±2 Ma) and the removal of an unknown thickness of Prize Supersequence section. Deep‐water, turbiditic rhythmites of the Mt Isa Group dominated the Gun and Loretta Supersequences. Tempestites are present over discrete intervals and represent times of relative shallowing. High accommodation and sedimentation rates at the base of the Gun Supersequence resulted in the deposition of transgressive nearshore facies (uppermost Warrina Park Quartzite) overlain by a thick interval of deep‐water, siltstone‐mudstone rhythmites of the Moondarra Siltstone and Breakaway Shale. With declining rates of siliciclastic sedimentation and shallowing of the succession, calcareous sediments of the Native Bee Siltstone prograded over the deeper water deposits. Two third‐order sequences, Gun 1 and 2, characterise these lower parts of the Gun Supersequence. An increase in accommodation rates near the top of the Native Bee Siltstone in Gun 3 time, resulted in a return to deep‐water sedimentation with deposition of dolomitic rhythmites of the Urquhart Shale and Spear Siltstone. The Pb–Zn–Ag ore‐hosting interval of the Urquhart Shale is interpreted to occur in progradational highstand deposits of the Gun 3 Sequence. In the Leichhardt River Fault Trough the Loretta Supersequence boundary forms a correlative conformity. Coarser grained and thicker bedded sediments of the Kennedy Siltstone comprise lowstand deposits at the base of this cycle. These sediments fine up into the transgressive, deep‐water, siliciclastic facies of the Magazine Shale, which in turn are truncated against the Mt Isa Fault.     

Basin shape and sediment architecture in the Gun Supersequence: A strike‐slip model for Pb–Zn–Ag ore genesis at Mt Isa

Sequence‐stratigraphic correlations provide a better understanding of sediment architecture in the Mt Isa and lower McNamara Groups of northern Australia. Sediments record deposition in a marine environment on a broad southeast‐facing ramp that extended from the Murphy Inlier in the northwest to the Gorge Creek, Saint Paul and Rufous Fault Zones in the southeast. Depositional systems prograded in a southeasterly direction. Shoreline siliciclastic facies belts initially formed on the western and northern parts of the ramp, deeper water basinal facies occurred to the east and south. The general absence of shoreline facies throughout the Mt Isa Group suggests that depositional systems originally extended further to the east and probably crossed the Kalkadoon‐Leichhardt Block. Fourteen, regionally correlatable fourth‐order sequences, each with a duration of approximately one million years, are identified in the 1670–1655 Ma Gun Supersequence. Stratal correlations of fourth‐order sequences and attendant facies belts resolve a stratigraphic architecture dominated by times of paired subsidence and uplift. This architecture is most consistent with sinistral strike‐slip tectonism along north‐northeast‐oriented structures with dilational jogs along northwest structures as the primary driver for accommodation. Although reactivated during deformation, the ancestral northwest‐trending May Downs, Twenty Nine Mile, Painted Rocks, Transmitter, Redie Creek and Termite Range Fault Zones are interpreted as the principal synsedimentary growth structures. Sinistral strike‐slip resulted in a zone of long‐lived dilation to the north of the May Downs/Twenty Nine Mile and Gorge Creek Fault Zones and a major basin depocentre in the broad southeast‐facing ramp. Subordinate depocentres also developed on the northern side of the ancestral Redie Creek and Termite Range fault zones. Transfer of strike‐slip movement to the east produced restraining or compressive regions, localising areas of uplift and the generation of local unconformities. Northwest‐ and north‐northeast‐oriented magnetic anomalies to the south and west of Mt Isa, identify basement heterogeneities. Basement to the south and west of these anomalies is interpreted to mark intrabasin siliciclastic provenance areas in the Gun depositional system. Pb–Zn–Ag deposits of the Mt Isa valley are interpreted as occurring in a major basin depocentre in response to a renewed phase of paired uplift and subsidence in late Gun time (approximately 1656 Ma). This event is interpreted to have synchronously created accommodation for sediments that host the Mt Isa deposit, while focusing topographically and thermobarically driven basinal fluids into the zone of dilation.     

Stratigraphic framework for the Leichhardt and Calvert Superbasins: Review and correlations of the pre‐ 1700 Ma successions between Mt Isa and McArthur River

New stratigraphic, geochemical and palaeomagnetic data from the Peters Creek Volcanics are used to revise the correlations of part of the Palaeoproterozoic of northern Australia. The revised geological history for these cover rocks of the Murphy Inlier is extrapolated into the 1800–1700 Ma successions of the McArthur Basin and Mt Isa regions. New stratigraphic subdivisions and relationships are contrasted with the established lithostratigraphic schemes and also with conflicting published tectono‐stratigraphic interpretations. For the first time, a plethora of stratigraphic units can be rationalised into two major superbasins, the Leichhardt and Calvert Superbasins, and into eight pseudo‐chronostratigraphic basin phases (Associations A‐H). There are few absolute age constraints, but lateral correlations of the units in these eight basin phases are proposed. Results from the overlying Isa Superbasin (<1670 Ma) suggest that these eight associations probably represent second‐order supersequences. Mixed non‐marine and marine coarse clastics, deposited between about 1790 and 1780 Ma dominate Associations A and B. In the Mt Isa region these were deposited in an initial rift then a thermal relaxation or sag phase. To the northwest, however, the succession is dominated by rift facies. Association C is a widespread flood basalt and immature clastic suite that was deposited in clearly defined, north‐trending half‐grabens in the Mt Isa region. Along the southern edge of the Murphy Inlier, however, geophysically defined half‐grabens, filled with magnetic rocks (basalt), trend orthogonal to those at Mt Isa. North of the inlier Association C is much thinner, and little can be deduced about its palaeogeography. Association D is only present in the Mt Isa region as the Myally Subgroup. Differing views on its tectonic setting and environments of deposition, as presented in recent papers, are reviewed. Association E, deposited around 1755 Ma, is a regional sag phase with mixed clastic‐carbonate, shallow‐marine lithofacies in all areas. There is a major gap in the rock record between about 1750 and 1735 Ma which is probably related to widespread basin inversion. The Mid‐Tawallah Compressional Event (McArthur River area) and the Wonga Extension Event (Eastern Succession, Mt Isa) are both about this age. The overlying Association F is a thin, laterally uniform, upward‐fining succession that commences with shallow‐marine clastics and evolves through deeper marine clastics and ends in evaporitic facies. There are broad similarities between Associations F and E so interpretation as a third regional sag is favoured. The absence of Association F at Mt Isa may indicate that basin inversion was longer lived in the southeast. The youngest associations, G and H, are complex interstratified mixtures of felsic‐mafic igneous rocks and immature clastics. U–;Pb zircon SHRIMP ages appear to cluster around 1725 Ma and 1710 Ma, but they may all be part of one thermal event. These eight associations may represent the tectono‐magmatic response of the lithosphere during and after the Strangways Orogeny (1780–1730 Ma).     

New SHRIMP geochronology for the Western Fold Belt of the Mt Isa Inlier: developing a 1800 – 1650 Ma event framework ∗

The integration of detrital and magmatic U – Pb zircon SHIRMP geochronology with facies analysis has allowed the development of a chronostratigraphic framework for the Leichhardt and Calvert Superbasins of the Western Fold Belt, Mt Isa Inlier. This new event chart recognises three supersequences in the Leichhardt Superbasin: the Guide, Myally and Quilalar Supersequences. The Guide Supersequence spans the interval ca 1800 – 1785 Ma and includes the Bottletree Formation and the Mt Guide Quartzite. Sequence relationships suggest that this sedimentary package represents an asymmetric second-order cycle, recording a thickened transgressive suite of deposits and a comparatively thin second-order highstand. The overlying Myally Supersequence spans the interval ca 1780 – 1765 Ma and includes the Eastern Creek Volcanics and syndepositional Lena Quartzite, and the Myally Subgroup. This package represents a second-order supersequence cycle in which mafic volcanism was initiated during a phase of east – west extension. Following the cessation of volcanism, transgression led to the deposition of the Alsace Quartzite and deeper water Bortala Formation. An increase in the rate of sediment supply over accommodation resulted in progradation and deposition of the Whitworth Quartzite and redbed playa facies of the Lochness Formation as accommodation closed. The Quilalar Supersequence spans the interval ca 1755 – 1740 Ma. Sequence analysis in the eastern part of the Leichhardt River Fault Trough identifies a transgressive suite of facies at the base of this supersequence. Black shales from the upper part of the transgressive deposits characterise the condensed section for this supersequence. Facies analysis indicates that deposition took place in a series of storm-, tide- and wave-dominated shelfal marine depositional systems. Although there are no new depositional age constraints for the younger Bigie Formation, field relationships suggest that it is coeval with, or immediately preceded, the ca 1710 Ma Fiery magmatic event. Therefore, a separate supersequence is defined for the Bigie Formation, the Big Supersequence, even though it may be more genetically related to the Fiery magmatic event. The Big Supersequence, together with the ca 1690 Ma Prize Supersequence, comprise the Calvert Superbasin. The evolution of the Leichhardt and Calvert Superbasins are temporally and spatially related to magmatism. In particular, the new maximum depositional ages for the Guide and Myally Supersequences refine the age of the Eastern Creek Volcanics to ca 1780 – 1775 Ma. The new age for the Weberra Granite is within error of the age for the Fiery Creek Volcanics, indicating that they are both part of the ca 1710 Ma Fiery event. New ages for the Sybella Granite confirm that magmatism associated with this magmatic event is refined to 1680 – 1670 Ma, and is followed by deposition of the Gun Supersequence. Combining the new geochronological constraints with previous work now provides a detailed stratigraphic event framework between 1800 and 1575 Ma for the Western Fold Belt of the Mt Isa Inlier, and allows detailed comparisons and correlations with the Eastern Fold Belt and other Proterozoic terranes.     

Lowstand ramps,fans and deep‐water Palaeoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic facies of the Lawn Hill Platform: The Term,Lawn, Wide and Doom Supersequences of the Isa Superbasin,northern Australia

The Term, Lawn, Wide and Doom Supersequences represent tectonically driven, second‐order sedimentary accommodation sequences in the Isa Superbasin. The four supersequences are stacked to form two major depositional wedges or packages extending south from the Murphy Inlier onto the central Lawn Hill Platform. A major intrabasin structure, the Elizabeth Creek Fault Zone separates the two depositional wedges. The Term and Lawn Supersequences each form a thick, crudely fining‐upward sedimentary succession. The basal part of each supersequence comprises sand‐dominated facies, deposited under lowstand conditions. The overlying transgressive deposits comprise thick successions of carbonaceous, shale‐prone sediment that represents times of increased accommodation. Synsedimentary fault activity along the northwest‐trending Termite Range Fault and major northeast‐trending faults including the Elizabeth Creek Fault Zone resulted in overthickened sections of parts of the Term and Lawn Supersequences in regional depocentres. A regional extensional event occurred during Wide Supersequence time, and resulted in strike‐slip deformation, uplift and tilting of fault blocks and erosion of underlying Lawn sequences. This tectonic event created small, fault‐bounded depocentres, where basal silty turbidites of the Wide Supersequence are locally thickened. Denudation of fault blocks in the hinterland provided increasing coarse clastic sediment‐supply forming thick, sand‐dominated, lowstand deposits of the upper Wide Supersequence. Overall, the Wide Supersequence exhibits a coarsening‐upwards facies trend. Tectonic quiescence resulted in the accumulation of siltstone‐dominated transgressive and highstand turbidite deposits in mid‐Wide time. The base of the Doom Supersequence comprises thick, feldspathic, debris‐flow sandstones signalling a new provenance. Decreasing accommodation is reflected by coarsening‐ and shallowing‐upwards facies trends in late Doom time. Declining accommodation and the end of sedimentation in the Isa Superbasin were most likely initiated by deformation at the start of the Isan Orogeny.     

Magmatic history of the Eastern Creek Volcanics,Mt Isa,Australia: insights from trace-element and platinum-group-element geochemistry

The Paleoproterozoic basalts of the Eastern Creek Volcanics are a series of continental flood basalts that form a significant part of the Western Fold Belt of the Mt Isa Inlier, Queensland. New trace-element geochemical data, including the platinum-group elements (PGE), have allowed the delineation of the magmatic history of these volcanic rocks. The two members of the Eastern Creek Volcanics, the Cromwell and Pickwick Metabasalt Members, are formed from the same parental magma. The initial magma was contaminated by continental crust and erupted to form the lower Cromwell Metabasalt Member. The staging chamber was continuously replenished by parental material resulting in the gradual return of the magma composition to more primitive trends in the upper Cromwell Metabasalt Member, and finally the Pickwick Metabasalt Member formed from magma dominated by the parental melt. The Pickwick Metabasalt Member of the Eastern Creek Volcanics has elevated PGE concentrations (including up to 18 ppb Pd and 12 ppb Pt) with palladium behaving incompatibly during magmatic fractionation. This trend is the result of fractionation under sulfide-undersaturated conditions. Conversely, in the basal Cromwell Metabasalt Member the PGE display compatible behaviour during magmatic fractionation, which is interpreted to be the result of fractionation of a sulfide-saturated magma. However, Cu remains incompatible during fractionation, building up to high concentrations in the magma, which is found to be the result of the very small volume of magmatic sulfide formation (0.025%). Geochemical trends in the upper Cromwell Metabasalt Member represent mixing between the contaminated Cromwell Metabasalt magmas and the PGE-undepleted parental melt. Trace-element geochemical trends in both members of the Eastern Creek Volcanics can be explained by the partial melting of a subduction-modified mantle source. The generation of PGE- and copper-rich magmas is attributed to melting of a source in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle below the Mt Isa Inlier which had undergone previous melt extraction during an older subduction event. The previous melt extraction resulted in a sulfur-poor, metal-rich metasomatised mantle source which was subsequently remelted in the Eastern Creek Volcanic continental rift event. The proposed model accounts for the extreme copper enrichment in the Eastern Creek Volcanics, from which the copper has been mobilised by hydrothermal fluids to form the Mt Isa copper deposit. There is also the potential for a small volume of PGE-enriched magmatic sulfide in the plumbing system to the volcanic sequence.     

Siliciclastic shoreline to growth‐faulted,turbiditic sub‐basins: The Proterozoic River Supersequence of the upper McNamara Group on the Lawn Hill Platform,northern Australia

The River Supersequence represents a 2nd‐order accommodation cycle of approximately 15 million years duration in the Isa Superbasin. The River Supersequence comprises eight 3rd‐order sequences that are well exposed on the central Lawn Hill Platform. They are intersected in drillholes and imaged by reflection seismic on the northern Lawn Hill Platform and crop out in the McArthur Basin of the Northern Territory. South of the Murphy Inlier the supersequence forms two south‐thickening depositional wedges on the Lawn Hill Platform. The northern wedge extends from the Murphy Inlier to the Elizabeth Creek Fault Zone and the southern wedge extends from Mt Caroline to the area south of Riversleigh Station. On the central Lawn Hill Platform the River Supersequence attains a maximum thickness of 3300 m. Facies are dominantly fine‐grained siliciclastics, but the lower part comprises a mixed carbonate‐siliciclastic succession. Interspersed within fine‐grained facies are sharp‐based sandstone and conglomeratic intervals interpreted as lowstand deposits. Such lowstand deposits represent a wide range of depositional systems and palaeoenvironments including fluvial channels, shallow‐marine shoreface settings, and deeper marine turbidites and sand‐rich submarine fans. Associated transgressive and highstand deposits comprise siltstone and shale deposited below storm wave‐base in relatively quiet, deep‐water settings similar to those found in a mid‐ to outer‐shelf setting. Seismic analysis shows significant fault offsets and thickness changes within the overall wedge geometry. Abrupt thickness changes across faults over small horizontal distances are documented at both the seismic‐ and outcrop‐scales. Synsedimentary fault movement, particularly along steeply north‐dipping, largely northeast‐trending normal faults, partitioned the depositional system into local sub‐basins. On the central Lawn Hill Platform, the nature of facies and their thickness change markedly within small fault blocks. Tilting and uplift of fault blocks affected accommodation cycles in these areas. Erosion and growth of fine‐grained parts of the section is localised within fault‐bounded depocentres. There are at least three stratigraphic levels within the River Supersequence associated with base‐metal mineralisation. Of the seven supersequences in the Isa Superbasin, the River Supersequence encompasses arguably the most dynamic period of basin partitioning, syndepositional faulting, facies change and associated Zn–Pb–Ag mineralisation.     

Constraining sequence stratigraphy in north Australian basins: SHRIMP U–Pb zircon geochronology between Mt Isa and McArthur River

Fifty‐five new SHRIMP U–Pb zircon ages from samples of northern Australian ‘basement’ and its overlying Proterozoic successions are used to refine and, in places, significantly change previous lithostratigraphic correlations. In conjunction with sequence‐stratigraphic studies, the 1800–1580 Ma rock record between Mt Isa and the Roper River is now classified into three superbasin phases—the Leichhardt, Calvert and Isa. These three major depositional episodes are separated by ～20 million years gaps. The Isa Superbasin can be further subdivided into seven supersequences each 10–15 million years in duration. Gaps in the geological record between these supersequences are variable; they approach several million years in basin‐margin positions, but are much smaller in the depocentres. Arguments based on field setting, petrography, zircon morphology, and U–Pb systematics are used to interpret these U–Pb zircon ages and in most cases to demonstrate that the ages obtained are depositional. In some instances, zircon crystals are reworked and give maximum depositional ages. These give useful provenance information as they fingerprint the source(s) of basin fill. Six new ‘Barramundi’ basement ages (around 1850 Ma) were obtained from crystalline units in the Murphy Inlier (Nicholson Granite and Cliffdale Volcanics), the Urapunga Tectonic Ridge (‘Mt Reid Volcanics’ and ‘Urapunga Granite’), and the central McArthur Basin (Scrutton Volcanics). New ages were also obtained from units assigned to the Calvert Superbasin (ca 1740–1690 Ma). SHRIMP results show that the Wollogorang Formation is not one continuous unit, but two different sequences, one deposited around 1730 Ma and a younger unit deposited around 1722 Ma. Further documentation is given of a regional 1725 Ma felsic event adjacent to the Murphy Inlier (Peters Creek Volcanics and Packsaddle Microgranite) and in the Carrara Range. A younger ca 1710 Ma felsic event is indicated in the southwestern McArthur Basin (Tanumbirini Rhyolite and overlying Nyanantu Formation). Four of the seven supersequences in the Isa Superbasin (ca 1670–1580 Ma) are reasonably well‐constrained by the new SHRIMP results: the Gun Supersequence (ca 1670–1655 Ma) by Paradise Creek Formation, Moondarra Siltstone, Breakaway Shale and Urquhart Shale ages grouped between 1668 and 1652 Ma; the Loretta Supersequence (ca 1655–1645 Ma) by results from the Lady Loretta Formation, Walford Dolomite, the upper part of the Mallapunyah Formation and the Tatoola Sandstone between ca 1653 and 1647 Ma; the River Supersequence (ca 1645–1630 Ma) by ages from the Teena Dolomite, Mt Les and Riversleigh Siltstones, and Barney Creek, Lynott, St Vidgeon and Nagi Formations clustering around 1640 Ma; and the Term Supersequence (ca 1630–1615 Ma) by ages from the Stretton Sandstone, lower Doomadgee Formation and lower part of the Lawn Hill Formation, mostly around 1630–1620 Ma. The next two younger supersequences are less well‐constrained geochronologically, but comprise the Lawn Supersequence (ca 1615–1600 Ma) with ages from the lower Balbirini Dolomite, and lower Doomadgee, Amos and middle Lawn Hill Formations, clustered around 1615–1610 Ma; and the Wide Supersequence (ca 1600–1585 Ma) with only two ages around 1590 Ma, one from the upper Balbirini Dolomite and the other from the upper Lawn Hill Formation. The Doom Supersequence (<1585 Ma) at the top of the Isa Superbasin is essentially unconstrained. The integration of high‐precision SHRIMP dating from continuously analysed stratigraphic sections, within a sequence stratigraphic context, provides an enhanced chronostratigraphic framework leading to more reliable interpretations of basin architecture and evolution.     

Structure of the Mt Isa region from seismic ambient noise tomography

We use seismic tomography, exploiting group velocities derived from ambient noise, to delineate the crustal structure beneath Mt Isa and the surrounding blocks and basins. The depth extent of the blocks can be traced into the mid-crust and the spatial extent of the associated velocity anomalies mapped over an area of approximately 500 km by 500 km. The Proterozoic Mt Isa block is imaged as a region of elevated seismic velocities comparable to the Yilgarn craton in Western Australia, while the surrounding basins have relatively low velocities. Seismic velocity anomalies display correlations with the regional Bouguer gravity data and with high crustal temperatures in the region. There are a number of isolated low-velocity anomalies under the Millungera basin that suggest either previously unknown thermal anomalies or zones with high permeability, which can also produce lowered velocities.     

Relative timing of deformational,metamorphic and mineralisation events at the Mt. Todd (Yimuyn Manjerr) Mine,Pine Creek Inlier,Northern Territory,Australia

The Mt. Todd Mine (also known as the Yimuyn Manjerr Mine), located approximately 40 km northwest of the township of Katherine, in the Northern Territory, Australia, is host to several discrete ore bodies that strike NNE within a broad NE-trending corridor of gold mineralisation. The mine lies in the southern region of the Central Domain of the Pine Creek Inlier (PCI) and is hosted by a Palaeoproterozoic sequence of rocks termed the Burrell Creek Formation, which is dominated by greywacke, siltstone, sandstone and shale that exhibit sedimentary features akin to those of a river-dominant delta front to prodelta environment. The formation is conformably overlain by volcanoclastic and volcanolithic sedimentary rocks of the Tollis Formation (∼1890 Ma).Three deformation events are recognised in the Mt. Todd region, D1, D2 and D3. The earliest deformation, D1, is characterised by close to tight, NE to N to NW-trending asymmetric folds (F1), and a continuous axial–planar cleavage (S1). The deformation is associated with the development of conjugate buck–quartz veins and was preceded by the emplacement of the Yenberrie Leucogranite, which produced contact metamorphism of the sedimentary rocks of the Burrell Creek Formation to hornblende–hornfels facies (H1), with the development of cordierite porphyroblasts (type C1). D1 was coincident with peak regional metamorphism to greenschist facies.D2 is associated with westerly trending open folds (F2), and a spaced disjunctive to fracture cleavage (S2) in transection to the folds. It was preceded by the emplacement of the Tennysons Leucogranite of the Cullen Batholith (1835–1820 Ma), which produced contact metamorphism of the Yenberrie Leucogranite and the sedimentary rocks of the Burrell Creek and Tollis formations to hornblende–hornfels facies (H2), with the development of cordierite porphyroblasts (type C2).D3 is characterised by the reactivation of strike-slip faults (mostly sinistral), a steeply dipping Type S3-C type foliation, and mesoscopic en échelon folds (F3) that trend oblique to the faults in a left stepping (sinistral) array.The age of emplacement of the Tennysons Leucogranite, and the timing of D1 and D2 are broadly constrained by the age of emplacement of the Cullen Batholith at 1835–1800 Ma. D1 and D2 are correlated with deformation during the Maud Creek Event (∼1850 Ma), while D3 is correlated with deformation during the Shoobridge Event (∼1780 Ma). The age of the Yenberrie Leucogranite is constrained to the age of emplacement of granite batholiths at 1870–1860 Ma.A temporal and broad structural relationship exists between D2 structures, the Tennysons Leucogranite, and the several gold-bearing quartz–sulphide veins and lode systems of the Mt. Todd Mine. The systems appear to have formed after peak thermal metamorphism associated with the emplacement of the pluton at about 1825 Ma, and early in D2, prior to the development of the regional S2 fabric. W–Mo–Sn–Bi–Cu greisen-type mineralisation in the carapace of the Yenberrie Leucogranite of the Yenberrie Wolfram Field constitutes a discrete mineralising event that preceded the emplacement of the Tennysons Leucogranite.     

Esk Trough—Yarraman Block contact,an unconformity: Its nature and implications for regional tectonics

Detailed field study in southeast Queensland has resulted in the interpretation of an unconformity at the base of the Esk Trough sequence at its contact with the Yarraman Block (Maronghi Creek beds and associated intrusions). Previously this contact had been considered to be faulted. The nature of the unconformity is very variable with the Esk Formation resting on freshly eroded surfaces, on mature palaeosols and on an immature palaeosol. Immediately above the unconformity, the Esk Formation variably comprises scree breccia, fluvial conglomerate and arenite, and alluvial fan conglomerate and arenite. North‐northwest‐south‐southeast‐striking faults are associated with the unconformity. Where the unconformity parallels these faults, it retains a relatively constant character, but where it is cut by these faults, it shows greater variability, a relationship interpreted to result from contemporaneous tectonism. The Glen Howden Fault extends into structurally disturbed areas previously described as ‘fractured anticlines’ and ‘complex anticlines’, which are here interpreted as flower structures and associated features. The south‐southeast extension of the Glen Howden Fault strikes obliquely across the Esk Trough to finally pass into the South Moreton Anticline previously interpreted as a positive flower structure, and resolves structural and stratigraphic observations that previously appeared anomalous. Inferred strike‐slip movement in the Esk Trough resulted from Early to Middle Triassic north‐northwest‐south‐southeast oblique transtension followed by Late Triassic transpression, and similar tectonism probably affected adjacent portions of the Yarraman Block.     

Deformation of host rocks and stratiform mineralization in the Hilton Mine area,Mt Isa

The Hilton deposit is a deformed and metamorphosed Proterozoic stratiform Pb‐Zn‐Ag‐Cu deposit hosted by dolomitic and carbonaceous sediments of the Urquhart Shale of the Mt Isa Group. Rocks in the Hilton area show a history of folding and faulting which spans the time range recognized elsewhere in the Western Succession of the Mt Isa Inlier, though the effects of relatively late and brittle deformation are more pronounced in the Hilton area. The Hilton area shows intense faulting relative to similar rocks to the south in the Mt Isa‐Hilton belt. Faulting in the Hilton area has generally resulted in east‐west shortening and extension in both north‐south and vertical directions. This relatively intense late strain is attributed to the geometry of the Paroo Fault Zone, a major north‐trending zone that bounds the Hilton area to the west, and the Sybella Batholith, which formed a relatively rigid indenter during late deformation in the Hilton area. The structural history of the Hilton area is broadly consistent with ongoing east‐west shortening during progressive uplift from mainly ductile to more brittle conditions. Based on these observations, thinning of the Mt Isa Group which was previously attributed to synsedimentary faulting, can now be shown to be related to heterogeneous strain during late faulting. Sulphide layers show a history of folding which is similar to that of the surrounding rocks. Pyrite which is paragenetically associated with mineralization is overprinted by a bedding‐parallel foliation which predates all other structures in the area. This suggests that stratiform sulphide mineralization in the Hilton area predates deformation. Deformation has affected the Hilton orebodies at all scales. Changes in thickness and ‘fault windows’ in the orebody interval occur on the scale of the entire deposit. Mesoscopic ore thickness changes are often clearly related to extensional and contractional structures within sulphide layers. These macroscopic and mesoscopic ore‐thickness variations are spatially associated with cross‐cutting brittle faults, suggesting that strain incompatibility between brittle host rocks and more ductile ore layers played a major role in the present geometry and thickness of sulphide ores at Hilton.     

Chronostratigraphic basin framework for Palaeoproterozoic rocks (1730–1575 Ma) in northern Australia and implications for base‐metal mineralisation

Sequence‐stratigraphic interpretations of outcrop, drillcore, wireline and seismic datasets are integrated with SHRIMP zircon and palaeomagnetic determinations to provide a detailed chrono‐stratigraphic basin framework for the base‐metal‐rich Palaeoproterozoic rocks of the southern McArthur, Lawn Hill and Mt Isa regions. The analysis forms a basis for future correlations across northern Australia. Nine second‐order unconformity‐bounded supersequences are identified. Supersequences have a duration of 10–20 million years; some hitherto‐unrecognised unconformity surfaces record up to 25 million years of missing rock record. The second‐order supersequences contain a series of nested third‐, fourth‐ and fifth‐order sequences many of which can be correlated across the Mt Isa, Lawn Hill and southern McArthur regions. The analysis relates accommodation history to major intraplate tectonic events evident on the apparent polar wander path for northern Australia. Major tectonic events at approximately 1735 Ma, 1700 Ma, 1670 Ma, 1650 Ma, 1640 Ma, 1615 Ma, 1600 Ma and 1575 Ma impacted on accommodation rates and basin shape in northern Australia. Sub‐basin depocentres, the hosts for major sulfide mineralisation, are attributed to reactivated faults that controlled local subsidence. Pb/Pb model ages of 1653 Ma, 1640 Ma and 1575 Ma for the Mt Isa, McArthur River and Century Pb–Zn–Ag deposits, suggest that changes to intraplate stresses at tectonic events of like age resulted in the migration of metal‐bearing fluids into the sub‐basins. A Pb/Pb model age of 1675 for the Broken Hill deposit suggests that intraplate stresses manifest in northern Australia also affected rocks of similar age further south. Magmatic events close to 1700 Ma (Weberra Granite) and 1675 Ma (Sybella Granite) coincide with times of regional incision and the formation of supersequence‐bounding unconformity surfaces.     

Stratigraphy and fluvial sedimentary facies of the Neocomian lower Strzelecki Group,Gippsland Basin,Victoria

The Strzelecki Group incorporates Berriasian to Albian, fluvial sediments deposited in the Gippsland Basin during initial rifting between Australia and Antarctica. Neocomian strata of the lowermost Strzelecki Group are assigned to the Tyers River Subgroup (exposed in the Tyers area) and the Rhyll Arkose (exposed on Phillip Island and the Mornington Peninsula). The Tyers River Subgroup incorporates two formations: Tyers Conglomerate and Rintoul Creek Formation. The latter is subdivided into the Locmany and Exalt Members. Ten fluvial sedimentary facies are identified in the lowermost Strzelecki Group: two gravelly facies; four sandy facies; and four mudrock facies. Associations of these facies indicate: (i) prevalence of gravelly braided‐river and alluvial‐fan settings during deposition of the Tyers Conglomerate; (ii) more sluggish, sandy braided to meandering fluvial systems during Locmany Member sedimentation; and (iii) a return to active, sandy, braided‐river settings for deposition of the Exalt Member. The Tyers Conglomerate and Rhyll Arkose rest on an irregular erosional surface incised into Palaeozoic rocks of the Lachlan Fold Belt. The overlying Rintoul Creek Formation incorporates more mature sediments where lithofacies associations varied according to base‐level change, variations in subsidence rates, and/or tectonic uplift of the principal sedimentsource terranes to the northwest.     

Dinantian sedimentation and the basement structure of the Derbyshire Dome

The depositional history of the Dinantian on the Derbyshire Dome can be divided into three phases: (1) pre-Holkerian: onlap of an irregular basement surface by evaporite and carbonate sediments, (2) Holkerian to Asbian: sedimentation on a carbonate shelf formed by the merging of early Dinantian depocentres following burial of the basement topography, and (3) Brigantian: formation of intrashelf basins and the development of a carbonate ramp on part of the pre-existing shelf. A model of the basement structure underlying the Derbyshire Dome is presented to explain the location of the Brigantian intrashelf basins and carbonate ramp. The basement consists of two main tilted fault blocks separated by a smaller tilt block. Movement on faults bounding the tilt blocks caused the development of intrashelf basins. The basin margins were controlled by structures which developed in the cover sediments. The carbonate ramp present during the late Brigantian developed in response to an eastward tilting of the basement.