New Devonian plant fossil occurrences on the New South Wales South Coast: geological implications

Devonian fossil localities are summarised for coastal southeastern Australia, including both marine invertebrates representing a major late Frasnian (Late Devonian) transgression, and plant remains of Middle–Late Devonian age in associated non-marine strata. Lycopsid plant specimens (Leptophloeum) from near Majors Creek, NSW, first documented by Edgeworth David and E. F. Pittman in association with marine fossils to demonstrate a Late Devonian age, are illustrated for the first time. Lycopsid plants of presumed Middle Devonian age are illustrated from three new localities: Yowrie River inland from Cape Dromedary, Tuross River northwest of Narooma and Charlies Forest Road northeast of Braidwood. The Yowrie River occurrence (in float) indicates probable Middle Devonian strata upstream that are not shown on published maps. The Tuross River occurrence is in sheared and folded strata previously mapped as Ordovician, and the Braidwood occurrence demonstrates Devonian black shales adjacent to previously mapped Ordovician. Evidence supporting alternative thrust or simple fold interpretations for the Budawang Synclinorium is discussed, and relevant Ordovician fossil localities are listed.     

Structural control on gold mineralization at Walhalla,Victoria

Gold mineralization associated with quartz reefs is related to the structural history of the Early Devonian, Walhalla Group. These reefs are situated in the Walhalla Synclinorium, developed during the Middle to Late Devonian Tabberabberan Orogeny. A pervasive north‐south‐trending axial planar cleavage and two styles of folding were produced during regional east‐west compression. The first are upright, open to close folds with sub‐horizontal fold axes. The second are plunging inclined, close to tight folds with fold axes that plunge steeply to the north and south. An extensional event is associated with the emplacement of the Woods Point Dyke swarm and a set of normal faults that offset all earlier structures. High‐angle reverse faults, which post‐date the folding and the emplacement of the dykes, were utilized as conduits for hydrothermal fluids and preferentially localize mineralization to laminated quartz veins. En echelon vein arrays formed during initial stages of reverse faulting became deformed during prolonged shearing to produce ptygmatic veins. Laminated quartz veins within high‐angle reverse faults contain arsenopyrite and pyrite in vein margins and gold in fractures that cross‐cut continuous quartz crystals. Gold, galena, chalcopyrite and sphalerite may also be deposited adjacent to and within fractured arsenopyrite and pyrite. Late‐stage, cross faults developed in a regime of north‐south compression and post‐date the laminated quartz veins and mineralization.     

Chlorite geothermometry and the temperature conditions at the Variscan thrust front in eastern Belgium

Geologie en Mijnbouw -     

Nature of gold mineralisation in the Walhalla Goldfield,southeast Australia

The Walhalla-Woods Point Goldfield in southeast Australia is characterised by large gold deposits associated with a Late Devonian dyke swarm. The setting of this goldfield is unique because unlike the major gold deposits in Victoria, it occurs close to the eastern margin of the Western Lachlan Orogen, and highlights the disparities between the evolving phases of orogenic gold mineralisation in the Western Lachlan Orogen, and the contrasts between sediment hosted, dyke-associated and dyke-hosted gold mineralisation. This study integrates existing and new data from renewed mapping of the geology and geochemistry of three gold deposits near the township of Walhalla, in the historically important yet under-explored and under-researched Walhalla-Woods Point Goldfield. The ten highest yielding deposits within the goldfield are either hosted within, or adjacent to, intrusions of the Woods Point Dyke Swarm. This is due to the greater chemical reactivity of the calc-alkaline dykes, and the greater rheological contrast between the dykes and surrounding low-grade metasedimentary units, which allowed for the formation of dyke-hosted quartz breccia veins that are consistently favourable sites for gold mineralisation in the Walhalla Goldfield. This is in contrast to historical production, which concentrated on visible gold within the shear zone-hosted laminated quartz veins. Gold and As assay results have highlighted the increased levels of invisible gold disseminated along dyke margins in proximity to shear zones and quartz reefs. The high-yielding gold deposits hosted wholly by the dyke intrusions of the Woods Point Dyke Swarm are orogenic gold deposits, as they are not associated with elevated levels of Bi, W, As, Mb, Te and Sb, typical of intrusion-related gold deposits.     

Fault geometry as evidence for inversion of a former rift basin in the Eastern Lachlan Orogen

Three major types of economic secondary iron ores occur in Western Australia, mainly in the banded iron-formation (BIF)-rich Hamersley Province of the Pilbara:

1. the dominant BIF-hosted bedded iron deposits (BID; ～40 billion tonnes (Bt); 58–65 wt% Fe); and the detrital ores, mainly in the three province-wide Cenozoic sequences that include coeval non-ore sediments:

2. Miocene channel iron deposits (CID; ～>15 Bt; 54–58 wt% Fe) of the Cenozoic Detritals 2 (CzD2); and

3. Eocene CzD1 and Pliocene CzD3 detrital iron deposits (DID; ～3.5 Bt; 40–60 wt% Fe).

Striking differences exist between the massive CID resources and the much smaller underlying and overlying DID. CID are essentially riverine alluvial ooidal rocks with abundant small fossil wood fragments and variable peloids, but with only extremely rare, recognisable lithic remnants. The original matrix is typically ramifying layered goethite. Eocene DID are mainly alluvial with only minor pisoids, whereas Pliocene–Quaternary DID are dominantly coarse colluvial gravels, with minor pisoids, both derived from and largely retaining the original textures of BID, hardcap or variably ferruginised surface BIF. The coluvial DID matrix is typically ferroan-aluminous soil, resulting in canga where replaced by goethite, which may be dehydrated to hematite in part by exposure. The Cenozoic deposits described in detail in this paper occur in two dominant geomorphological environments: the southern Marra Mamba to Brockman Iron Formation strike valleys (MBSV), containing all three Cenozoic sequences; and the much later northern Brockman IF plateau valleys (BPV) that include only the Miocene and Pliocene sequences. Minor basinal/deltaic alluvials occur in the Proterozoic. The Cenozoic detritals formed in different climatic regimes, with an extended dry period forming a prominent province-wide dehydrated carapace on the Eocene DID. The Miocene ‘optimum’ followed with its thick scrub-covered deep regolith that produced the fossil wood-rich CID, succeeded by the arid cool period of the Oakover limestone/calcrete. A major renewal of exposure and erosion in the Pliocene resulted in the extensive iron gravels of the Pliocene–Quaternary.     

湖北当阳复向斜北部页岩气地质评价与有利区优选

以露头、钻井、地震等资料为基础,对湖北当阳复向斜北部上奥陶统五峰组—下志留统龙马溪组页岩气成藏条件和勘探潜力展开评价。研究表明,当阳复向斜五峰组—龙马溪组具备良好的页岩气成藏地质条件:五峰组—龙马溪组沉积期以深水陆棚沉积环境为主,页岩广泛发育,优质页岩层厚度约50 m;有机质类型为Ⅱ_2型,有机碳含量一般大于2%,有机质成熟度R_o在3.0%左右,已进入过成熟阶段;页岩中的矿物以石英和黏土为主,有利于后期压裂改造和吸附气的大量富集;储层具有低孔特低渗特征;当阳复向斜构造简单,区域上盖层连续分布,保存条件较好。通过地质评价和资源量计算,当阳复向斜页岩气资源量较为丰富,优选巡检—溪前向斜带和龙坪—肖堰—栗溪背斜带为页岩气勘探有利区。