Lewis Ponds, a hybrid carbonate and volcanic-hosted polymetallic massive sulphide deposit, New South Wales, Australia

The Lewis Ponds Zn–Pb–Cu–Ag–Au deposit, located in the eastern Lachlan Fold Belt, central western New South Wales, exhibits the characteristics of both volcanic-hosted massive sulphide and carbonate-hosted replacement deposits. Two stratabound massive to disseminated sulphide zones, Main and Toms, occur in a tightly folded Upper Silurian sequence of marine felsic volcanic and sedimentary rocks. They have a combined indicated resource of 5.7 Mt grading 3.5% Zn, 2.0% Pb, 0.19% Cu, 97 g/t Ag and 1.9 g/t Au. Main Zone is hosted by a thick unit of poorly sorted mixed provenance breccia, limestone-clast breccia and quartz crystal-rich sandstone, whereas Toms Zone occurs in the overlying siltstone. Pretectonic carbonate–chalcopyrite–pyrite and quartz–pyrite stringer veins occur in the footwall porphyritic dacite, south of Toms Zone. Strongly sheared dolomite–chalcopyrite–pyrrhotite veins directly underlie the Toms massive sulphide lens. The mineralized zones consist predominantly of pyrite, sphalerite and galena. Paragenetically early framboidal, dendritic and botryoidal pyrite aggregates and tabular pyrrhotite pseudomorphs of sulphate occur throughout the breccia and sandstone beds that host Main Zone, but are rarely preserved in the annealed massive sulphide in Toms Zone. Main and Toms zones are associated with a semi-conformable hydrothermal alteration envelope, characterized by texturally destructive chlorite-, dolomite- and quartz-rich assemblages. Dolomite, chlorite, quartz, calcite and sulphides have selectively replaced breccia and sandstone beds in the Main Zone host sequence, whereas the underlying porphyritic dacite is weakly sericite altered. Vuggy and botryoidal textures resulted from partial dissolution of the dolomite-altered sedimentary rocks and unimpeded growth of base metal sulphides, carbonate and quartz into open cavities. The intense chlorite-rich alteration assemblage, underlying Toms Zone, grades outward into a weak pervasive sericite–quartz assemblage with distance from the massive sulphide lens. Limestone clasts and hydrothermal dolomite at Lewis Ponds are enriched in light carbon and oxygen isotopes. The dolomite yielded ¹³C_VPDB values of –11 to +1 and ¹⁸O_VSMOW values of 6 to 16. Liquid–vapour fluid inclusions in the dolomite have low salinities (1.4–7.7 equiv. wt% NaCl) and homogenization temperatures (166–232°C for 1,000 m water depth). Dolomitization probably involved fluid mixing or fluid–rock interactions between evolved heated seawater and the limestone-bearing facies, prior to and during mineralization. ³⁴S_VCDT values range from 2.0 to 5.0 in the massive sulphide and 3.9 to 7.4 in the footwall carbonate–chalcopyrite–pyrite stringer veins, indicating that the hydrothermal fluid may have contained mamgatic sulphur and a component of partially reduced seawater. The sulphide mineral assemblages at Lewis Ponds are consistent with moderate to strongly reduced conditions during diagenesis and mineralization. Low temperature dolomitization of limestone-bearing facies in the Main Zone host sequence created secondary porosity and provided a reactive host for fluid-rock interactions. Main Zone formed by lateral fluid flow and sub-seafloor replacement of the poorly sorted breccia and sandstone beds. Base metal sulphide deposition probably resulted from dissolution of dolomite, fluid mixing and increased fluid pH. Pyrite, sphalerite and galena precipitated from a relatively low temperature, 150–250°C hydrothermal fluid. In contrast, Toms Zone was emplaced into fine-grained sediment at or near the seafloor, above a zone of focused up-flowing hydrothermal fluids. Copper-rich assemblages were deposited in the Toms Zone footwall and massive sulphide lenses in Main and Toms zones as the hydrothermal system intensified. During the D₁ deformation, fracture-controlled fluids within the Lewis Ponds fault zone and adjacent footwall volcanic succession remobilized sulphides into syntectonic quartz veins. Lewis Ponds is a rare example of a synvolcanic sub-seafloor hydrothermal system developed within fossiliferous limestone-bearing facies. The close spatial association between limestone, hydrothermal dolomite, massive sulphide and dacite provides a basis for new exploration targets elsewhere in New South Wales.Editorial handling: D. Lentz     

Granite-hosted gold mineralization at Timbarra, northern New South Wales, Australia

The Timbarra gold deposits, located in the southern New England Fold Belt of New South Wales, Australia, represent an economically significant and distinctive member of the intrusion-related class of gold deposits. The five known deposits possess a total identified mineral resource of 16.8 Mt at 0.73 g/t gold, for a total of 396,800 contained ounces. The granites in the Timbarra region form a texturally complex, zoned pluton. The gold deposits are found within the Stanthorpe leucomonzogranite (242 to 238 Ma), which intrudes and forms a core to the more mafic, barren, Bungulla monzogranite (248 to 243 Ma). Gold is disseminated in the roof zone (upper 240 m) of a fractionated, magnetite- and ilmenite-bearing, I-type leucomonzogranite phase of the Stanthorpe body. The entire gold resource occurs in the areally extensive main leucomonzogranite pluton and is hosted by a medium- to coarse-grained granite. Disseminated ore is present in all five deposits, comprises >95% of the overall resource at Timbarra, and occurs predominantly as gently dipping, tabular to lenticular bodies that are conformably constrained beneath a fine-grained aplite carapace and internal aplite layers. The disseminated ore consists of gold-bearing muscovite-chlorite-carbonate alteration and infill of primary miarolitic cavities within massive leucomonzogranite or microgranite, and contains no discernable vein, joint, or fracture control at the outcrop or hand specimen scale. Structurally controlled mineralization forms the remaining 5% of the Timbarra resource, and comprises minor, low-density (0.02 to 0.25 per meter), vein-dikes and quartz-molybdenite veins emplaced along steeply dipping east-southeast, east-northeast, and north-northeast striking cooling joints. Both mineralization styles and alteration share a common paragenetic sequence of mineral precipitation. Quartz, perthitic K-feldspar, minor biotite, and albite are the earliest and most abundant infill minerals and commonly line primary cavities and vein-dikes. Subsequent minerals include coeval arsenopyrite, pyrite, fluorite, and molybdenite. The latest minerals include muscovite, chlorite, gold, calcite, silver-bismuth telluride, lead-bismuth telluride, and rare galena and chalcopyrite. The gold ore has a low total sulfide mineral concentration (Б%). Ore contains elevated concentrations of Bi, Ag, Te, As, Mo, and Sb; gold is strongly correlated with Bi, Ag, and Te, but only weakly with Mo, As, and Sb. Gold grains are generally <1 to 50 µm in size, but rarer grains as large as 1 mm in diameter have been observed. Gold fineness ranges from 950 to 600, and varies both within and between individual grains for a given deposit. The moderately oxidized I-type host granite, low-sulfide (Б%) ores, Au-Bi-Ag-Te geochemical signature, muscovite-chlorite-carbonate alteration assemblage, and low-salinity aqueous and carbonic fluids suggest that Timbarra is part of the newly recognized intrusion-related gold deposit class. Timbarra is distinguished from other intrusion-related gold deposits by the disseminated mineralization style within pervasively altered granite, forming gently dipping, tabular to lenticular ore zones.     

Shoshonitic lamprophyre dykes and their relation to mesothermal Au---Sb veins at Hillgrove, New South Wales, Australia

The Hillgrove mineral field, in the southern part of the New England Orogen of northeastern New South Wales, Australia, contains numerous mesothermal Au---Sb vein systems. Calc-alkaline (shoshonitic) lamprophyre (CAL) dykes are also associated with mineralisation with dilational lode structures acting as conduits for dyke intrusion, which has occurred before and after major quartz-stibnite veining. Dykes include minette and vogesite compositions and were emplaced in the late Permian (247–255 Ma), at the same time as regionally extensive I-type magmatism in the New England Orogen. Least-altered dykes are enriched in Mg, K, Ba, Rb, Sr, Zr, Th, Cr and Ni relative to I-type intrusives although chemical affinities are evident between lamprophyres and the more mafic members of the high-K Moonbi Plutonic Suite.

Hillgrove lamprophyres are commonly enriched in Sb, As, Hg, Au, W and Bi with respect to average CAL compositions. Evidence indicates this is most likely due to contamination of magma during intrusion through mineralised structures, rather than a primary magmatic feature. Partially resorbed xenocrystic stibnite occurs in dykes which have intruded lode structures, probably facilitated by the low melting point of stibnite (550°C) and its incorporation into the magma. Carbon and oxygen isotopic data from carbonates in least-altered, post-lode lamprophyres are indistinguishable from carbonate in altered dykes and veins, implying that hydrothermal interaction continued after dyke intrusion. Although it is unlikely that lamprophyre dykes have been a direct source for mineralisation at Hillgrove, the close temporal and spatial relation of dykes, mesothermal Au---Sb veins and I-type intrusions are interpreted to be manifestations of the post-collisional setting and influx of mantle-derived heat and partial melts into the New England Orogen during the late Permian.     

Supergene alteration of sulphides,I. A chemical model based on massive nickel sulphide deposits at Kambalda,Western Australia

An electrochemical model for the weathering of massive sulphide deposits that have undergone conditions similar to those affecting the Kambalda nickel deposits is presented. Galvanic corrosion due to aeration of the top of the ore body near the water table results in a deep anodic reaction whereby primary sulphides undergo an oxidative transition to sulphur-rich violarite—pyrite ore and also a shallow oxidative anodic reaction where the violarite—pyrite ore is oxidised to sulphate and gossanous oxides. Electrons are conducted through the ore from the anodes to the cathode where dissolved oxygen radicals are reduced and the corrosion cells are completed by ionic transport through the groundwaters to the anodic regions that can be some 200 m deep in the case of deep weathering processes. The kinetics of the weathering are described in terms of resistance to the flow of corrosion currents in the electrochemical cells. The effect on the model of physical perturbations such as rising and falling water table, faulting, etc. is discussed.     

Notes on framboidal pyrite from Allandale New South Wales,Australia

Pyrite masses composed of compacted pyrite framboids in chalcedony in weathered andesites at Allandale, New South Wales, Australia, show evidence of colloidal origin and contemporaneous deposition of pyrite and silica. Free framboids and framboidal clusters in the chalcedony show indications of crystallization into pyrite polyhedra and pyrite octahedra.     

New insights into the genesis of volcanic-hosted massive sulfide deposits on the seafloor from numerical modeling studies

Numerical computer simulations have been used to gain insight into the evolution of marine hydrothermal systems and the formation conditions of massive sulfide deposits in ancient and modern submarine volcanic terrains. Simulation results have been used to gain a better understanding of the formation of massive sulfide ore deposits, their location, zonation, size, and occurrence in various geotectonic settings.Most hydrothermal fluid discharging at the seafloor exhibits temperatures ranging from 200 °C to about 410 °C and average fluid discharge velocities of 1 to 2 m/s in agreement with seafloor observations. Mass calculations imply that average massive sulfide deposits may form in ~ 5000 years while giant deposits take longer than 5000 years to accumulate; supergiant deposits either need much longer time to form (> 35,000 years) or at least 100 ppm of metal in solution. Results indicate that supergiant deposits may only form in certain geotectonic environments where longevity and preservation potential of the hydrothermal system are high. An additional process (mineral precipitate cap) is proposed here to explain the zinc content of massive sulfide deposits. This cap would prevent the widespread dissolution of anhydrite and the ‘wash-out’ of zinc by subsequent hydrothermal fluid discharge.     

The Prospect Alkaline Diabase-Picrite Intrusion New South Wales, Australia

The Prospect intrusion is a dish-shaped alkaline diabase-picritemass 315–400 ft thick intruded into shale at a depth ofabout 600 ft. Picrite, containing more than 25 per cent olivine,occupies the lower half of the intrusion. In the upper half,alkaline diabase, averaging less than 5 per cent olivine, isconcentrated under structural highs of the contact, and alkalineolivine diabase, containing 10 to 25 per cent olivine, is concentratedunder structural lows. These rocks are separated from the shaleby a fine-grained chilled margin. Vertical sections through the picrite zone show a regular antipatheticvariation of modal olivine and plagioclase with a zone of maximumolivine concentration near the bottom; bulk rock compositionsshow an antipathetic relation between MgO plus total iron andall other constituents. Modal and bulk composition variationsare more erratic in the upper half of the intrusion, but analcite,alkali feldspar, and opaque minerals reach maximum concentrationsin this part of the intrusion. The pyroxene content remainsnearly constant in the major rock types. Trends of olivine andplagioclase composition and grain size vary regularly with heightin the intrusion and cross boundaries between major rock typeswithout deflexion. Olivine becomes progressively more fayaliticfrom the base of the picrite zone to the upper chilled margin,but the plagioclase curve has a trend toward more calcic compositionsin the picrite zone. Mean sizes of plagioclase, pyroxene, andolivine increase upwards between the chilled margins. The lower chilled margin is slightly less mafic than the bulkcomposition of the intrusion and may represent a pre-emplacementdifferentiate, but the major part of the differentiation occurredduring emplacement at the present site. Grain size and otherdata indicate that crystallization took place more rapidly fromthe base than from the top of the intrusion, and a variety ofinternal structures indicate that crystallization and differentiationtook place as the magma was intruded over a considerable periodof time. As consolidation of the intrusion proceeded, the liquid becameenriched in all constituents except magnesium and ferrous ironuntil consolidation of alkaline diabase began (when about 70per cent of the whole intrusion had solidified); at that stagethe proportion of calcium, titanium, and ferric iron in theliquid was reduced and the proportion of silica, alumina, andalkalis increased. Processes of differentiation that contributed most to the originof the main rock types are: diffusion, independently of crystallization,of volatiles, alkalis, and possibly calcium into the structurallyhigh parts of the intrusion; gravity accumulation of olivinethat crystallized a short distance above the main front of consolidationas it moved upwards from the base of the intrusion; and upwarddiffusion of salic constituents and downward diffusion of maficones over concentration gradients produced by crystallization. Removal of volatiles from the lower part of the intrusion beforecrystallization reduced the oxidation ratio in the liquid andresulted in a low proportion of ferric iron minerals; crystallizationof abundant olivine (average composition about Fo₇₀), however,prevented enrichment of the liquid in iron. Addition of volatilesto the upper part of the intrusion retarded crystallizationand raised the oxidation ratio to a level at which a relativelyhigh proportion of ferric iron minerals crystallized. Subordinate processes that contributed to the formation of themain rock types as well as to less abundant ones include gravityaccumulation of heavy minerals that were dispersed in the magmaat the time of emplacement, filter pressing caused by localbuttressing around irregularities of the contact, crystal sortingby viscous flow, and gas transfer. Pegmatitic differentiates are ascribed to a complex diffusionprocess along pressure and concentration gradients caused byshear on laminar flow planes. Syenite may have originated byreplacement of pegmatite, but aplites occupy true dilationaistructures and apparently represent liquid remaining after crystallizationof the adjacent rock.     

The present-day stress field of New South Wales,Australia

The Australian continent displays the most complex pattern of present-day tectonic stress observed in any major continental area. Although plate boundary forces provide a well-established control on the large-scale (>500 km) orientation of maximum horizontal stress (S_Hmax), smaller-scale variations, caused by local forces, are poorly understood in Australia. Prior to this study, the World Stress Map database contained 101 S_Hmax orientation measurements for New South Wales (NSW), Australia, with the bulk of the data coming from shallow engineering tests in the Sydney Basin. In this study we interpret present-day stress indicators analysed from 58.6 km of borehole image logs in 135 coal-seam gas and petroleum wells in different sedimentary basins of NSW, including the Gunnedah, Clarence-Moreton, Sydney, Gloucester, Darling and Bowen–Surat basins. This study provides a refined stress map of NSW, with a total of 340 (A–E quality) S_Hmax orientations consisting of 186 stress indicators from borehole breakouts, 69 stress measurements from shallow engineering methods, 48 stress indicators from drilling-induced fractures, and 37 stress indicators from earthquake focal mechanism solutions. We define seven stress provinces throughout NSW and determine the mean orientation of the S_Hmax for each stress province. The results show that the S_Hmax is variable across the state, but broadly ranges from NE–SW to ESE–WNW. The S_Hmax is approximately E–W to ESE–WNW in the Darling Basin and Southeastern Seismogenic Zone that covers the west and south of NSW, respectively. However, the present-day S_Hmax rotates across the northeastern part of NSW, from approximately NE–SW in the South Sydney and Gloucester basins to ENE–WSW in the North Sydney, Clarence-Moreton and Gunnedah basins. Comparisons between the observed S_Hmax orientations and Australian stress models in the available literature reveal that previous numerical models were unable to satisfactorily predict the state of stress in NSW. Although clear regional present-day stress trends exist in NSW, there are also large perturbations observed locally within most stress provinces that demonstrate the significant control on local intraplate sources of stress. Local S_Hmax perturbations are interpreted to be due to basement topography, basin geometry, lithological contrasts, igneous intrusions, faults and fractures. Understanding and predicting local stress perturbations has major implications for determining the most productive fractures in petroleum systems, and for modelling the propagation direction and vertical height growth of induced hydraulic fractures in simulation of unconventional reservoirs.     

Surface lithogeochemical studies about a distal volcanogenic massive sulphide occurrence at Limerick,New South Wales

The results of a surface rock chip sampling study over a small distal volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit at Limerick, N.S.W., Australia are presented and compared with drill core and soil geochemical patterns. Major element halos are narrow in comparison to the pervasive patterns reported from major proximal deposits. Narrow zones of Mg and K enhancement are associated with sulphide mineralization. High levels of Na occur in these rocks in contrast to the regularly described pattern of Na depletion. Weathering, particularly in the presence of sulphides, has resulted in the leaching of Ca, Na and, to a lesser extent, K from surface rock chip samples, whereas Fe, Pb and Zn contents are enhanced compared to those in fresh rocks. Despite the problems of sample heterogeneity, variable weathering and the limited extent of alteration halos which exist in this environment, surface lithogeochemical methods in comparable situations may be useful in the confirmation and interpretation of soil geochemical anomalies.     

Garnet clinopyroxenite inclusions from diatremes in the Gloucester area,New South Wales,Australia

The paper discusses the petrography, mineralogy, petrochemical affinities, P/T crystallization regimes and genetic aspects of four garnet clinopyroxenite inclusions from diatremes in the Gloucester area, New South Wales. Inclusion mineral assemblages (which generally display textural evidence of annealing) include garnet-plagioclase-(sulphur-rich scapolite)-clinopyroxene, garnet-hornblende-orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene and garnet-hornblende-clinopyroxene. The garnet-plagioclase clinopyroxenite inclusion possesses an essentially alkali basaltic chemistry. It probably represents a crystallized basaltic liquid whereas the petrochemical affinities of the two garnet pyroxenites carrying amphiboles are more appropriate to subcalcie clinopyroxenites with variable Mg/Fe ratios. Experimental and other data suggest that the Gloucester garnet clinopyroxenite suite crystallized at pressures of the order of 10–14 kb and temperatures in the vicinity of 1000° C. The chemical compositions of many garnet pyroxenites, occurring either as inclusions in alkali basaltic rocks or as localized facies within some alpine-type peridotites, such as those in the western Mediterranean region, suggest that they can be interpreted as lower temperature heteromorphs of “primitive” subcalcic clinopyroxenites, variable in Al contents and hy/di ratios, but retaining consistently low Ti, Na, K and P. It is suggested that many inclusions of garnet (-spinel) pyroxenite and subcalcie Clinopyroxenite, restricted to alkali basaltic rocks and their associates, originally may have been interleaved with upper mantle aluminous peridotites and that they represent partial melt products of their aluminous peridotitic hosts.     

Ordovician Intrusive-related Gold-Copper Mineralization in West-Central New South Wales, Australia

Three major types of Ordovician intrusive-related gold-copper deposits are recognized in central-west New South Wales, Australia: porphyry, skarn and high sulphidation epithermal deposits. These deposits are mainly distributed within two Ordovician volcano-intrusive belts of the Lachlan Fold Belt: the Orange-Wellington Belt and the Parkes-Narromine Belt. Available isotopic age data suggest that mineralization of the three types of deposits is essentially coeval with the Ordovician intrusive rocks (480-430 Ma).Porphyry gold-copper deposits can be further divided into two groups. The first group is associated with monzonite showing shoshonitic features, represented by Cadia and Goonumbla. The second group is associated with diorite and dacite, including the Copper Hill and Cargo gold-copper deposits. Gold skarn is associated with Late Ordovician (430-439 Ma) monzonitic intrusive complexes in the Junction Reefs area (Sheahan-Grants, Frenchmans, and Cor-nishmens), Endeavour 6, 7 and 44, Big and Little Cadia     

Differentiation trends in the Warrumbungle Volcano,New South Wales,Australia

The volcanic rocks of the Warrumbungle Shield volcano in central western New South Wales, Australia show two distinct differentiation trends. One trend of differentiation extends from alkali basalts to phonolitic trachytes becoming increasingly undersaturated with silica and a second differentiation trend extends from trachybasalts to quartzbearing trachyte that becomes progressively more oversaturated. The differentiation trends are the product of low pressure fractional crystallisation of an alkali basalt in a high level magma chamber.Differentiated rocks of the Nandewar Volcano in New South Wales differs from that of the Warrumbungle Volcano in several significant respects. In the Nandewar Volcano, for example, the parental magma is an olivine basalt, the differentiation trend is towards silica rich trachytes and very siliceous alkali rhyolites.The differentiated alkaline rocks from the large shield volcanoes of the Pacific display many affinities to the differentiated alkaline rocks from the shield volcanoes of the Australian continent. On Tahiti a moderately undersaturated alkaline magma has produced contrasting differentiates, silica saturated trachytes; and phonolites. In Hawaii the alkaline volcanic rocks have differentiated to produce oversaturated trachytes. By contrast, in the Galápagos Islands where the parental magma is a tholeiitic basalt the differentiation trend is towards very siliceous trachytes and quartz syentites.The divergent trends of differentiation in the Warrumbungle Shield can be traced via the intermediate lineage members to compositional differences between the basic lineage members. The temperature, pressure and fugacity of oxygen and water have controlled the path and extent of differentiation in high level magma chambers at 8–9 kb or less. Differing degrees of saturation of the basic lineage members are attributed to differing degrees of pyroxene or eclogite fractionation at high pressures. Progressively more undersaturated rocks have been derived at increasing depths or origin.

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Zusammenfassung Die Vulkangesteine des Warrumbungle-Vulkans im mittelwestlichen Neusüdwales, Australien, zeigen zwei verschiedene Differentiationstendenzen. Die eine erstreckt sich von alkalischen Basalten bis zu phonolitischen Trachyten, die immer stärker kieselsäure-untersättigt werden. Die andere erstreckt sich von Trachytbasalten bis quarzhaltigem Trachyt, der immer stärker übersättigt wird. Die Differentiationstendenzen ergeben sich aus der fraktionierten Kristallisation bei niederem Druck von einem alkalischen Basalt in einer nahe der Oberfläche liegenden Magmakammer.Differenziertes Gestein des Nandewar-Vulkans in Neusüdwales unterscheidet sich in einigen wesentlichen Punkten von dem des Warrumbungle-Vulkans. In dem Nandewar-Vulkan ist z. B. das Stammagma ein olivinhaltiger Basalt. Dazu tendiert es zu siliziumhaltigen Trachyten und sehr siliziumhaltigen alkalischen Rhyoliten.Das differenzierte alkalische Gestein von den großen Vulkanen des Pazifiks zeigt viele Ähnlichkeiten mit dem differenzierten alkalischen Gestein von den Vulkanen auf dem australischen Festland. Auf Tahiti hat ein mäßig untersättigtes alkalisches Magma kontrastierende Varianten, Phonolite und siliziumgesättigte Trachyte hervorgebracht. Auf Hawaii hat sich das alkalische Vulkangestein differenziert, wobei übersättigte Trachyte entstanden sind. Dagegen tendiert es auf den Galapagos-Inseln, wo das Stammagma ein tholeiitischer Basalt ist, zu sehr siliziumhaltigen Trachyten und Quarzsyeniten.Die divergierenden Differationstendenzen in dem Warrumbungle-Vulkan lassen sich durch die intermediären Stammglieder auf Zusammensetzungsunterschiede zwischen den früheren Stammgliedern zurückführen. Die Temperatur, der Druck und die Flüchtigkeit des Sauerstoffs und des Wassers haben den Vorgang und das Maß der Differentiation in nahe der Oberfläche begrabenen Magmakammern bei 8–9 kb. oder weniger kontrolliert. Verschiedene Sättigungsgrade der früheren Stammglieder werden verschiedenen Graden von Pyroxenoder Eklogit-Fraktionierung bei hohem Druck zugeschrieben. Zunehmend stärker untersättigtes Gestein ist bei wachsender Entstehungstiefe hervorgebracht worden.

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Résumé Les roches volcaniques du Volcan Warrumbungle, dans la partie centrale de la Nouvelle-Galles du Sud (Australie), montrent deux tendances distinctes de différenciation. L'une de ces tendances s'étend des basaltes alcalins aux trachytes phonolitiques qui deviennent de plus en plus sous-saturés en silice. L'autre tendance de différenciation s'étend des trachy-basaltes aux trachytes quartzifères, qui deviencent de plus en plus sursaturés. Ces tendances de différenciation sont le résultat de la cristallisation fractionnée, sous faible pression, d'un basalte alcalin dans une chambre magmatique proche de la surface.Les roches différenciées du volcan Nandewar en Nouvelle-Galles du Sud différent sous plusieurs aspects importants de celles du volcan Warrumbungle. Dans le volcan Nandewar, par exemple, le magma originel est un basalte à olivine; la différenciation tend vers des trachytes contenant de la silice et des rhyolites alcalines très siliceuses.La roche alcaline différenciée des grands volcans du Pacifique montre beaucoup d'affinités avec celle des volcans du continent australien. A Tahiti un magma alcalin moyennement sous-saturé a produit des roches différenciées très diverses: des trachytes saturés en silice et des phonolites. A Hawaii les roches volcaniques alcalines se sont différenciées pour produire enfin des trachytes sursaturés. Par contre aux Iles Galapagos, où le magma originel est un basalte tholéiitique, la tendance de la différenciation va vers des trachytes très siliceux et des syénites quartzifères.Les tendances divergentes de la différenciation dans le Warrumbungle remontent par des termes intermédiaires à des différences de composition entre les premiers membres dérivés du magma originel.La température, la pression et la fugacité de l'oxygène et de l'eau ont réglé le processus et l'étendue de la différenciation dans les chambres magmatiques enfouies à proximité de la surface, sous une pression de 8–9 kb ou moins. C'est à différents degrés de saturation des premiers membres du magma originel que sont attribués les différents degrés de fractionnement du pyroxène ou de l'éclogite à haute pression. C'est toujours une roche de plus en plus sous-saturée qui est engendrée par augmentation de sa profondeur d'origine.

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Late Quaternary evolution of Lake Urana,New South Wales,Australia

Lake Urana is a well-preserved relict lake in the semi-arid Riverine Plain of southeastern Australia. A compound lunette at its eastern shoreline consists of a quartz-sand-dominated unit (Bimbadeen Formation), thermoluminescence (TL) dated at 30 ka to 12 ka, and a clay and sand facies unit (Coonong Formation), dated at 55 ka to 35 ka. The intervening period indicates a phase of periodically exposed lake floor and soil formation. The older wet phase conforms well with similar environments recorded from the same period at Lake Mungo. However, the return to high water levels from 30 ka to 12 ka departs sharply from the generally accepted palaeoclimatic model from Australia, which demands severe glacial maximum desiccation and widespread construction of clay lunettes. Although hydrological budgets calculated for Lake Urana and nearby Lake Cullivel require high glacial maximum water levels they do not support higher precipitation.     

Exploration rock geochemistry for gold, Parkes, New South Wales, Australia

The London-Victoria lode-type Au deposit near Parkes, New South Wales, was discovered in 1863 and became the subject of modern exploration in 1980 after about 75 years of little or no activity. The deposit lies within Palaeozoic tuffaceous, andesitic rocks. Soil geochemistry was the main technique used to define drill targets, and the deposit is now at an advanced state of assessment for probable development.Rock geochemistry is being investigated as an aid in drill-core interpretation in the search for extensions to the London-Victoria deposit and other similar deposits in the district.At an early stage of the rock-geochemical work it became clear that minor basemetal mineralization was also present in the structural hanging wall at between 30 and 70 m from the lode Au deposit. Interpretation of the geochemical signatures for major elements (Ca, Mg, Na, K, Fe) and trace elements (Cu, Pb, Zn, Mn) is confused by an overlap and merging of responses from the Au and base-metal mineralization. The measurement of bromine-soluble Sb, As, Bi, and Te, together with the more conventional major and trace elements, permits discrimination between geochemical halos related to the Au and those resulting from minor base metal mineralization.The results demonstrate the use of rock geochemistry for Au exploration, its usefulness in drawing attention to geological features, and the utility of bromine-soluble trace elements commonly associated with gold mineralization.     

Petrology and geochemistry of differentiated teschenite intrusions from the Hunter Valley,New South Wales,Australia

In the upper Hunter Valley of New South Wales a high level teschenitic sill complex emplaced into Permian coal measures derives from parent magmas which were themselves crystal fractionation products of alkali basaltic melts. The sills crystallised in situ and produced a spectrum of rock types ranging from olivine teschenite to teschenite, syenoteschenite and, ultimately, syenite. The olivine teschenites are also enriched in biotite and are crudely interlayered with teschenite and syenoteschenite. The lineage from olivine teschenite to syenoteschenite is characterised by a progressive decrease in olivine and a build-up of alkaline mesostasis which is accompanied by strong chemical zonation in abutting silicate minerals. The alkaline mesostasis and syenites are identical mineralogically. Primary crystallisation of olivine in the olivine teschenite-teschenite-syenoteschenite continuum and data from coexisting iron-titanium oxide pairs suggest that oxygen fugacity was constrained to a path parallel to the QFM buffer curve. Absence of olivine from the alkaline mesostasis and syenite veins, together with the appearance of sphene, indicates buffering of oxygen fugacity by other assemblages (probably annite-alkali feldspar-magnetite) and generally higher fO ₂ in the residual liquids. Here, a build-up of CO₂, F and Cl, in addition to H₂O, influenced the relative stabilities of the pyroxene and amphibole minerals.Major and trace element data support an in situ, progressive congelation model for crystallisation. Mass balance solutions require participation of all phases to produce acceptable residuals. Simple mixing calculations suggest that syenoteschenite consists of teschenite plus approximately 40% syenite, in close agreement with the observed modal mineralogy. Segregation of syenite from syenoteschenite probably occurred when the residual liquid, as represented by mesostasis, reached a critical volume of around 40%.     

Gisbornian (Caradoc) graptolites from New South Wales,Australia: systematics,biostratigraphy and evolution

The biodiversity record of graptolites from the Cheeseman's Creek Formation, considered herein as late Gisbornian (Caradoc) in age, has been substantially increased to fifteen taxa, including the new species Dicellograptus praemorrisi sp. nov. and Climacograptus vandenbergi sp. nov. Some of the records have global correlative significance enabling us to identify the wilsoni Biozone ( = calcaratus Biozone of eastern Australia). Several evolutionary lineages have been recognized:

• 1 Dicellograptus moffatensis (Carruthers, 1858) → D. praemorrisi sp. nov → D. morrisi Hopkinson, 1871
• 2 Glossograptus hincksi Hopkinson, 1872 → Glossograptus? sp.
• 3 Climacograptus bicornis (J. Hall, 1847) → C. vandenbergi sp. nov. → C. lanceolatus VandenBerg, 1990.

Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trace element soil contamination from smelters in the Illawarra region,New South Wales,Australia

Boundaries of densely populated areas can approach with time to old subsurface repositories of radioactive waste due to growth of settlement territories. P     

Formation of weathering-derived magnesite deposits in the New England Orogen, New South Wales, Australia: Implications from mineralogy, geochemistry and genesis of the Attunga magnesite deposit

Nodular, cryptocrystalline, weathering-derived magnesite deposits in the New England Orogen, Australia, provide a significant source of high-purity magnesite. Common textural features and related isotopic fingerprints indicate a close genetic relationship between weathering-derived magnesite deposits hosted by ultramafic rocks at Attunga and by sediments at Kunwarara while silica-carbonate rock alteration and rare hydrothermal magnesite vein deposits reflect contrasting conditions of formation. Localised weathering of carbonates in a soil environment shifts stable isotopic composition towards low δ ¹³C and high δ ¹⁸O typical for weathering-derived magnesites while intrusion-related fluids do not significantly change the isotopic composition of affected carbonates. At Attunga, magnesite consists of irregular, nodular veins and masses filling faults and cracks in the weathered serpentinite host rock as well as soft powdery magnesite in pervasive serpentinite alteration zones. The high-grade magnesite at Attunga can be contaminated by amorphous silica and serpentine relicts but does not contain dolomite or ferroan magnesite as observed for its hydrothermal equivalent, the Piedmont magnesite deposit, or other widespread deposits of silica-carbonate rock in the Great Serpentinite Belt. Heavy δ ¹⁸O values are compatible with a supergene formation from meteoric waters while low δ ¹³C suggests C3-photosynthetic plants as the predominant source of carbon for the Attunga magnesites. We infer that weathering-derived, nodular magnesite deposits hosted in ultramafic rocks like the Attunga magnesite deposit have formed in a two-step process involving the hypogene formation of a pre-cursor magnesite deposit and complete supergene overprinting by meteoric waters that acquired carbon from percolation through soil.     

High pressure basic inclusions from the Kayrunnera kimberlitic diatreme in New South Wales,Australia

Basic inclusions of two types occur in a kimberlitic diatreme at Kayrunnera in northwestern New South Wales. Type I inclusions comprise assemblages of clinopyroxene+garnet+rutile±plagioclase ±quartz±K-feldspar±scapolite±sphene±apaite. Type II inclusions have assemblages of clinopyroxene +garnet+kyanite+quartz±plagioclase and are lower in Ti, total Fe, and higher in Al and have a higher Mg/Mg+gSFe ratio than the Type I inclusions. Experimental and theoretical data indicate that both inclusion types equilibrated at between 850–900 ° C and 18–23 kb. Due to their low concentrations of incompatible elements, the Type I inclusions are considered to represent a basaltic melt derived from an Fe-rich mantle source rock, and not to be the product of fractionation. The Type II inclusions are believed to represent cumulates which formed from a basaltic magma. The presence of sulphur rich scapolite in the Type I inclusions extends the range of P-T conditions from which this mineral has been reported thus adding further credence to the hypothesis that it may act as a stable repository for S and CO₂ in the crust and upper mantle.     

Wallrock alteration at the western system of the CSA mine,cobar, New South Wales,Australia

Petrological and geochemical characteristics of the sequence from chloritic siltstone through “siliceous siltstone” to “elvan”, which occurs approaching ore on the hanging wall of the Western System in the CSA Mine, Cobar, indicate its formation by extensive dilational silicification together with minor addition of S and K very close to the ore. The manner whereby more chloritic members of this sequence developed from ‘background’ muscovite-rich siltstones remote from mineralization is less clear. “Elvan” is not an exhalative chert. The distribution of wallrock alteration products and characteristics of the ores do not support suggestions that Cobar orebodies are remobilized stratiform deposits. Alteration preceded epigenetic ore emplacement in the early stages of a regional metamorphic episode which took place soon after Early Devonian turbidite sedimentation without associated igneous activity. Mineralization is attributed to diagenetic dewatering or metamorphic dehydration of the sediment pile.