Government of Western AustraliaDepartment of Mines and Petroleum

Geological Survey ofWestern Australia

MINERAL SYSTEMS STUDIES IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Trevor Beardsmore

Manager, Minerals Geoscience, GSWA

3 July 2013

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum

GSWA MISSION

• Understand and promote the resource prospectivity of the State

• Open up new geographic & commodity-oriented search spaces

• Provide fundamental new geoscience data AND knowledge (of the right type)

• Historical role for GSWA, but much accelerated with $138M EIS funding for 2009-2016

• All GSWA “science” is directed towards mineral systems – understanding them and helping find them

• Not our job to actually find mineral deposits.

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum

OUTLINE

• Brief snapshot of GSWA’s contribution to understanding mineral systems

• Historical work• Current programs• Future focus

• Evolutionary, rather than revolutionary change in activities

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum

HISTORICAL WORK

Regional Geoscience• Regional geological series mapping (various scales),

regional geochemical, geophysical, geochronological data

• Understand 3D-4D terrane evolution (i.e. mineral deposit context)

• Limitations – 2.5D, patchy (by priority, resource allocation)

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum

HISTORICAL WORK

Mineral System studiesDeposit-scale focus, comprising:• Brief endowment synopses in

Explanatory Notes

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum

HISTORICAL WORK

Mineral System studiesDeposit-scale focus, comprising:• Brief endowment synopses in

Explanatory Notes• Mineral Resource Bulletins (25)

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum

HISTORICAL WORK

Mineral System studiesDeposit-scale focus, comprising:• Brief endowment synopses in

Explanatory Notes• Mineral Resource Bulletins (25)

• Regional prospectivity (endowment) analyses (>40 Reports and Records)

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum

HISTORICAL WORK

Mineral System studiesDeposit-scale focus, comprising:• Brief endowment synopses in

Explanatory Notes• Mineral Resource Bulletins (25)

• Regional prospectivity (endowment) analyses (>40 Reports and Records)

• Metallogenic studies (few)

• MINEDEX database

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum

HISTORICAL WORK

Mineral System studiesShowcase known endowment as a crude measure of prospectivity. • Advantages:

• One-stop summaries of known mineralization• Deposit type/style permissivity indicators

• Disadvantages:• Commodity reviews are selective• Limited geographical coverage• Limited geological data• Resource-hungry, episodic compilations• Information is dated (commonly before release)• Non-digital

• Little systematic work to understand mineral systems

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum

PRESENT PROGRAMS

Regional GeoscienceHuge data acquisition exercise over 8 years (EIS-assisted)• Geophysics

• Complete statewide magnetics-radiometrics• WA (National) ASTER map• Ground gravity (30% of WA at 2.5km station spacing)• Targetted seismic, MT and AEM surveys (selected crustal blocks and

terrane boundaries)• Geology

• On-going 100K mapping; some 250K recompilation• Targeted geochronology, geochemistry, regolith studies• Regional tectonostratigraphic syntheses (e.g. Yilgarn)• Co-funded drilling

Focus on poorly understood basement terranes

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum

PRESENT PROGRAMS

Mineral System studiesCreation of GSWA Mineral Systems group• “Deposit-scale” studies

• VMS, Fe, REE, Au (geographically restricted)• Deposit characteristics and metallogenesis; terrane fertility• Develop exploration criteria and/or targetting/detection tools• Mix of staff and “embedded” researchers

• Terrane-scale studies (several approaches)• Mineral Systems Analysis (CET/UWA – W Arunta, Musgrave, Gascoyne,

East Capricorn, West Kimberley) – e.g. Report 113• Weights-of-evidence analysis (Witt – Eastern Goldfields)

• Multi-scale study• “Grain-to-terrane” scale studies of hydrothermal systems (Arc Linkage)

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum

PRESENT PROGRAMS

Much work is collaborative• Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluids

UWA/Curtin/Macquarie• Deep Exploration Technologies CRC (until 2018)• ARC Linkage projects

• CET (Multiscale dynamics; Southern Cross)• Curtin (Phosphate dating Capricorn)• Adelaide (Musgrave metamorphism)• Monash (Musgrave layered intrusions)• Monash (East Yilgarn volcanics)

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum

PRESENT PROGRAMS

Much work is collaborative• CSIRO-embedded researchers

• Yilgarn VHMS fertility (GSWA)• Albany–Fraser/Eucla margin (GSWA, multi-company)• Eastern Goldfields gold deposits (GSWA, Gold Fields-St Ives+)

• CET-embedded researcher• Yilgarn and Pilbara magnetitic BIF iron ore

• Other projects• REE (GSWA, industry)

Supported by local, world-class analytical facilities

(e.g. HyLogger, John de Laeter Centre etc.)

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum

INTO THE FUTURE

Move to “Geosystems” studies• Distal Footprints of Giant Ore Systems

• Capricorn Orogen - cover map, AEM, structure, metamorphism, 4D evolution

• Collaboration with CSIRO, Curtin Uni Applied Geology, UWA-CET, Industry

• Science and Industry Endowment Fund

• Minerals Systems Atlas• Targeting criteria for different commodities

• WAIn_3D• Collaboration with UWA-CET (Prof Mark Jessell

• Whole of Yilgarn crust + lithosphere 3D model

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum

INTO THE FUTURE

• Continue collecting pre-competitive data…but the “right” kind: e.g.

Mineral System geochronologyResistate alteration mineral geochemistryPetrochemical and petrophysical data

• Emphasise less-explored and/or buried terranes(e.g. Gascoyne-East Capricorn (SEIF), sub-Eucla Basin)

Government of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and PetroleumGovernment of Western Australia Department of Mines and Petroleum

SUMMARY

• GSWA’s job is to promote WA mineral prospectivity• Reduce technical risk for explorers• Do this with:

• Business as “usual”• Value-adding with Mineral Systems knowledge• Collaborative exercise with all other geoscience sectors

(Government, Academia, Industry)