The Early Proterozoic Nabberu Basin and associated iron formations of Western Australia

Rocks of the Early Proterozoic Nabberu Supergroup were deposited in the Nabberu Basin along the northern margin of the Archaean Yilgarn Shield in Western Australia. The Nabberu Basin consists of three tectonic-sedimentary units known as the Earaheedy, Glengarry and Padbury Sub-basins.The Earaheedy Group within the easternmost sub-basin is divided into a lower Tooloo Sub-group and an upper Miningarra Sub-group, representing succeeding sedimentary cycles totalling some 6000 m of shallow water sediments. The Tooloo Sub-group comprises thin quartzose to arkosic clastics (Yelma Formation) which rest unconformably on Archaean rocks, and are overlain by chert, shale, iron formations and minor carbonate (Frere Formation), and thinly bedded carbonate, shale and sandstone (Windidda Formation). The overlying Miningarra Sub-group includes sandstone and shale (Wandiwarra Formation), super-mature quartz sandstone and arkosic siltstone (Princess Ranges Quartzite), fine arkosic sandstone, siltstone, shale and carbonate (Wongawol Formation), limestone, shale and sandstone (Kulele Creek Limestone) and sandstone and shale (Mulgarra Sandstone). Distinctive stromatolite assemblages occur in carbonate units throughout the sequence.Iron formations of the Frere Formation are similar to those of the Lake Superior and Labrador Provinces of North America, and commonly have a distinctive pelletal (intraclastic) texture, but are locally oolitic or laminated. Benthonic microfossils found at one locality are identical to those in the Lake Superior iron formations (Walter et al., 1976).West into the Glengarry Sub-basin and Peak Hill—Robinson Ranges area the basal clastics become considerably thicker, finer-grained and more varied, and are commonly interbedded with basaltic volcanics and greywackes. The Peak Hill Beds (MacLeod, 1970), Finlayson Sandstone and Maraloou Formation (Bunting et al., 1977) may be lateral equivalents of the Yelma Formation, while the overlying Horseshoe Range Beds, Labouchere Formation and Robinson Range Formation (Barnett, 1975) are possible equivalents of the Frere Formation. The Millidie Creek Formation may be equivalent to the Wandiwarra Formation.Deformation of the Nabberu Basin has resulted in the development of the Stanley Fold Belt in the north and the Kingston Platform in the south. On the Kingston Platform the rocks dip very gently north, but deformation increases northwards. A slaty cleavage becomes more conspicuous in this direction, while folds become tighter, overturned southwards and cut by north-dipping thrusts. The fold belt trends west-northwest across the eastern portion of the basin before swinging to the southwest. Archaean basement is increasingly involved in the deformation and becomes progressively more gneissic as the Early Proterozoic rocks become more strongly schistose. Refolding of early structures is pronounced in the west. Metamorphic grade, based on mineral assemblages in basic, pelitic and carbonate rocks and iron formations, also increases north and northwest, reaching a maximum grade of granulite facies west of the Robinson Ranges. The sediments are essentially unmetamorphosed in the southeastern part of the basin.