Geodynamic evolution of the Banda Arc. The project will contribute to a better understanding of plate tectonic processes and will provide insights into the dynamics of the Indo-Australian plate. This information is fundamentally important for estimating seismic hazards and the potential for generating large magnitude earthquakes in Australia. Outcomes of this project will facilitate to unravel analogue tectonic systems that were active during the geological evolution of Australia (e.g. the Lachl ....Geodynamic evolution of the Banda Arc. The project will contribute to a better understanding of plate tectonic processes and will provide insights into the dynamics of the Indo-Australian plate. This information is fundamentally important for estimating seismic hazards and the potential for generating large magnitude earthquakes in Australia. Outcomes of this project will facilitate to unravel analogue tectonic systems that were active during the geological evolution of Australia (e.g. the Lachlan fold belt in eastern Australia), thus providing a new insight into the Australian environment. The project will also elucidate the nature of tectonic processes that are known to generate major ore deposits and is therefore likely to have important economic implications.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0346515
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$507,000.00
Summary
Fluorescence Detector for the Australian National Beamline Facility. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is an extremely important synchrotron radiation tool for determining the local structure around an X-ray absorbing atom. This has many applications in the study of materials, minerals, metal complexes, and metalloproteins and can often be used to obtain information that is not available by other techniques, because structural information can be obtained in the solid or solution state and in ....Fluorescence Detector for the Australian National Beamline Facility. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is an extremely important synchrotron radiation tool for determining the local structure around an X-ray absorbing atom. This has many applications in the study of materials, minerals, metal complexes, and metalloproteins and can often be used to obtain information that is not available by other techniques, because structural information can be obtained in the solid or solution state and in mixtures. The current proposal is aimed at introducing new technology into the Australian National Beamline Facility that will greatly improve the quality and quantity of experiments that can be performed and extend studies into dilute solutions and protein samples.Read moreRead less
Driving Mechanisms of Mountain Building in Accretionary Orogens. Accretionary mountain belts constitute major portions of the Earth's continental crust including the Yilgarn in Western Australia and the area east of Broken Hill constituting a third of the Australian land mass. Understanding the origin of the Permo-Triassic (300-230 Ma) mountain range that lay along the margin of Gondwana from Eastern Australia to South America will provide a new insight into our environment and stimulate interna ....Driving Mechanisms of Mountain Building in Accretionary Orogens. Accretionary mountain belts constitute major portions of the Earth's continental crust including the Yilgarn in Western Australia and the area east of Broken Hill constituting a third of the Australian land mass. Understanding the origin of the Permo-Triassic (300-230 Ma) mountain range that lay along the margin of Gondwana from Eastern Australia to South America will provide a new insight into our environment and stimulate international interest through collaboration amongst researchers around the world. Accretionary orogens are of economic importance as they host the Earth's major orogenic gold deposits and our work has potential to provide a new framework for linking mineralization and deformation events within these important settings.Read moreRead less
Tectonic evolution and lode gold mineralisation in the Southern Cross district, Yilgarn Craton (Western Australia): a study of the meso- to Neoarchaean missing link. In the December quarter 2008, Gold export earnings increased by 2 per cent to $3.9 billion. Over the past 20 years and despite an increase in exploration expenditure to around $50 million per year, the discovery rates have been declining. Although the easy targets have been found, there remains considerable potential for future ma ....Tectonic evolution and lode gold mineralisation in the Southern Cross district, Yilgarn Craton (Western Australia): a study of the meso- to Neoarchaean missing link. In the December quarter 2008, Gold export earnings increased by 2 per cent to $3.9 billion. Over the past 20 years and despite an increase in exploration expenditure to around $50 million per year, the discovery rates have been declining. Although the easy targets have been found, there remains considerable potential for future major discoveries. This project addresses the pressing need for new data and improved exploration techniques to enable industry to target new discoveries. As the Southern Cross district is located in remote communities such discoveries also have major benefits for regional Australia.Read moreRead less
Controls on Gold Mineralisation in Central Victoria: Towards New Exploration Models. The proposed project will develop and evaluate new exploration models with implications for gold exploration and mining/investment in Victoria. The frontier research techniques to be employed will ensure that Australian geoscience remains at the forefront of international research. This project will also provide unprecedented research training opportunities for the next generation of Australian Earth Scientists. ....Controls on Gold Mineralisation in Central Victoria: Towards New Exploration Models. The proposed project will develop and evaluate new exploration models with implications for gold exploration and mining/investment in Victoria. The frontier research techniques to be employed will ensure that Australian geoscience remains at the forefront of international research. This project will also provide unprecedented research training opportunities for the next generation of Australian Earth Scientists. As prospective gold terranes are located in regional Australia, enhanced exploration and mining activity in future years may have significant economic and infrastructure benefits for rural and regional communities.Read moreRead less
The Role of Hydrous Fluids in Fault Processes: An Experimental Study. The proposed project seeks to understand how hydrothermal reactions in fault zones affect various physical properties such as fault strength and permeability. The project will be conducted by performing high pressure experiments which simulate natural conditions. I will also develop new analytical techniques to characterize the microstructural evolution of faults, with a focus on understanding how any changes alter the hydrolo ....The Role of Hydrous Fluids in Fault Processes: An Experimental Study. The proposed project seeks to understand how hydrothermal reactions in fault zones affect various physical properties such as fault strength and permeability. The project will be conducted by performing high pressure experiments which simulate natural conditions. I will also develop new analytical techniques to characterize the microstructural evolution of faults, with a focus on understanding how any changes alter the hydrologic behaviour of the fault. This study will shed much needed information related to the mechanisms of earthquake nucleation, and to the formation mechanism of fault-hosted gold deposits.Read moreRead less
Thick-skin continental deformation and the rheology of faulted continental lithosphere. We plan to study the way in which major, long-lived faults influence the large-scale deformation of continental lithosphere in response to plate and mantle derived stresses. We will develop realistic computer models of networks of faults embedded in the crust to examine the way large faults (e.g. the San Andreas fault in California) interact with the deep crust and shallow mantle and the way they interact w ....Thick-skin continental deformation and the rheology of faulted continental lithosphere. We plan to study the way in which major, long-lived faults influence the large-scale deformation of continental lithosphere in response to plate and mantle derived stresses. We will develop realistic computer models of networks of faults embedded in the crust to examine the way large faults (e.g. the San Andreas fault in California) interact with the deep crust and shallow mantle and the way they interact with each other. No one previous model has been able to incorporate all the important dynamics. The work will be used by structural geologists, planetary scientists and be a valuable tool in mineral exploration.Read moreRead less
Nickel iron sulphide mineralogy: the link between mineral transformations and microstructure and magnetic properties. This project is about measuring the rate at which minerals transform or react and how metal diffusion controls these reactions. Metal diffusion in sulphides is much more rapid that in silicates and is still very significant at low temperatures (< 300 C). In this project, we are trying to measure the rate at which the principal ore of nickel, pentlandite, transforms to violarite ....Nickel iron sulphide mineralogy: the link between mineral transformations and microstructure and magnetic properties. This project is about measuring the rate at which minerals transform or react and how metal diffusion controls these reactions. Metal diffusion in sulphides is much more rapid that in silicates and is still very significant at low temperatures (< 300 C). In this project, we are trying to measure the rate at which the principal ore of nickel, pentlandite, transforms to violarite, another important nickel rich sulphide that forms from it in the upper parts of ore bodies. The arrangement of the metal atoms in these minerals is sensitive to temperature, so it may be used as a geothermometer.Read moreRead less
Understanding the stratigraphic and structural architecture of late Archean basins and the context of their gold deposits. Gold mined from Archean rocks contributed $4.0 billion to Australia's export income in 2006 and provided the backbone of support for many remote communities. However, production has fallen 40% since 1997 and will be exhausted within 15 years unless major new discoveries are made. The potential to find additional gold deposits remains high, but urgently requires new data and ....Understanding the stratigraphic and structural architecture of late Archean basins and the context of their gold deposits. Gold mined from Archean rocks contributed $4.0 billion to Australia's export income in 2006 and provided the backbone of support for many remote communities. However, production has fallen 40% since 1997 and will be exhausted within 15 years unless major new discoveries are made. The potential to find additional gold deposits remains high, but urgently requires new data and improved exploration techniques to assist in their discovery. The results of this integrated multidisciplinary project will help to arrest the declining discovery rate and thereby sustain this important Australian industry.Read moreRead less
From Synchrotron Characterisation of Single Fluid Inclusions to Archaean Geodynamics: An Integrated Study of Fluid-Rock Interaction in the Primitive Crust. In the primitive Earth, a wide range of phenomena including the initiation of biological activity and the formation of ore deposits were related to the mobilisation of mineralised fluids through the crust. In the Archaean craton of the Pilbara (WA), we have identified, within its tectonic framework, a crustal-scale plumbing system that channe ....From Synchrotron Characterisation of Single Fluid Inclusions to Archaean Geodynamics: An Integrated Study of Fluid-Rock Interaction in the Primitive Crust. In the primitive Earth, a wide range of phenomena including the initiation of biological activity and the formation of ore deposits were related to the mobilisation of mineralised fluids through the crust. In the Archaean craton of the Pilbara (WA), we have identified, within its tectonic framework, a crustal-scale plumbing system that channelled large volumes of mineralised hydrothermal solutions. Our objective is to understand the development of this plumbing system in relation to Archaean crustal geodynamics using a combination of structural geology, metamorphic petrology, geochronology, geochemistry, and the analysis of single-fluid inclusion using synchrotron and other X-ray sources.Read moreRead less