frome uranium province, south australia · frome uranium. province. eromanga. basin (mesozoic) lake...
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
Roger Skirrow, E. Bastrakov, A. Cross, S. Jaireth, A. Schofield, S. van der Wielen
Frome uranium province, South Australia:
Systems analysis and potential for major basin-hosted uranium deposits
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
Frome uranium province – southern Lake Eyre Basin and Eromanga Basin(?)
FROME URANIUMPROVINCE
EROMANGABASIN (MESOZOIC)
LAKE EYREBASIN (CENOZOIC)
SEDIMENT-HOSTED URANIUMDEPOSIT
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
DEPOSITIONAL GRADIENTS(Q5)
PRESERVATION
SOURCES of Metals, fluids,ligands, sulfur(Q3)
ENERGY(Q4)
MINERAL SYSTEM TIME WINDOWMINERAL SYSTEM TIME WINDOW
PERMEABILITY ARCHITECTURE (Q2, Q4)Event 2
PERMEABILITY ARCHITECTURE (Q2, Q4)
Event 1Craton Province District Deposit Micro
SCALE
TIME
(Q1)
MINERAL SYSTEM – geological components(all components are a product of geodynamic and tectonic evolution, ‘Q1’)
(From Skirrow, 2009)[Q1-Q5 are the Five Questions of the pmd*CRC]
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
Part A
Sources of energy, uranium and fluids
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
From SKM (2009, PER for Heathgate Resources)
Mt Painter Inlier
Lake Frome
SCHEMATIC SECTION: PREVIOUS MODELS
BeverleyFour Mile
AB
A B
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
GEOLOGY TOPOGRAPHY(From Surface Geology of Australia, 2009)
Mt Painter Inlier
(SRTM)
Curnamona Province
Mesozoic
Proterozoic
Paleozoic
Cenozoic
U-channel on DEM backdropU-channel on DEM backdrop
RADIOMETRICS
High-uranium potential sources High-uranium potential sources
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
Mt Painter Inlier – U source?Since ~4 MaSince ~4 Ma
(oblique view looking northwest; U-channel radiometrics over DTM)
N
Four Mile
Beverley
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
Previous models and shortcomings• Widely held views –
– Uranium source for both Beverley and Four Mile was Mt Painter Inlier
– Beverley and Four Mile formed recently within the modern fluid flow regime (i.e., from MPI towards Lake Frome)
• However, Four Mile ‘too close’ to basin margin for a ‘conventional’ sandstone-uranium model of formation (supported by numerical modelling), and deposit ages not known.
Explanation requiressystem perspective
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
Beverley Sands
Cadna-owie
Formation
Eyre Fm
Willawortina Fm
Namba FmNamba Fm
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
Ma
1.
2.
3.
Stratigraphy Descript. Tectonics Deepweathering
PotentialU system
uplift
uplift
uplift
Callabonna Sub-basinof Lake Eyre BasinCallabonna Sub-basinof Lake Eyre Basin
Eromanga BasinEromanga Basin
• 3 periods of regional uplift.• At least 2 deep weathering
events with potential to release & store uranium from Prot basement.
• Permeable seds at 4+ strat levels, ± reductants.
• Potentially 3 episodes of uranium mineralisation since late Mesozoic.
Constraints on uplift from: Foster et al. (1994), Mitchell et al. (2002), Célérier et al. (2005), Quigley et al. (2006).
Constraints on weathering from: Pillans (2006), Smith et al. (2009).
From Skirrow (2009)
Mineral system evolution and alternative model
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
Part B
Permeability architecture• Sandy units in Mesozoic (e.g., Cadna-owie
Fm) and Cenozoic formations (e.g., Eyre Fm, Beverley Sands)
• Paleovalleys and paleochannels• Fault geometry
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
EL 5 and 6
LegendSpringsDeposits (OZMIN)Uranium OccurrencesRedox Drill HolesNeogene PaleochannelsPaleogene Paleochannels
OxidisedMixed Redox StateReduced
LegendSpringsDeposits (OZMIN)Uranium OccurrencesRedox Drill HolesNeogene PaleochannelsPaleogene Paleochannels
OxidisedMixed Redox StateReduced
Top of Namba Formation
Paleovalleys/channels marked by reductants? • Drill logs searched• Reduced zones = Fe2+
minerals, reduced-C, reduced-S, “black”, etc
• Oxidised zones = Fe3+
minerals, “red”, etc• Gridded in 3D• North-south paleovalleys in
Namba Fm as well as Eyre?
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
From Teasdale et al. (2001 – Arrowie SEEBASE)
Depth to pre-Paleozoic basement Basement-involved faultsGAB mound springs (Draper & Jensen, 1976)GAB mound springs (Draper & Jensen, 1976)Four Mile UFour Mile U
Beverley UBeverley U
Honeymoon UHoneymoon U Honeymoon UHoneymoon U
FAULT ARCHITECTURE
N
0.50 lat
Eocene paleochannelsEocene paleochannels
Possiblepaleovalleydirection
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
PERMEABILITY ARCHITECTUREOF URANIUM SYSTEMS
• Paleovalleys / channels in both Eyre Fm and Namba Fm trend broadly south to north in the region, controlled by reactivated faults.
• Four Mile and Beverley paleovalleysmay have trended N or NNE, not E or SE.
From McConachy et al. (2006)
HeathgateResources (1998)
N
1 km
Beverley depositN
From Heathgate
(1998)
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
Part C
Model of 3 uranium episodes, and potential for major deposits
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
FROME URANIUM PROVINCE EVOLUTION
Paleogeographic reconstruction from Langford et al. (1995)
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
FROME URANIUM PROVINCE EVOLUTION
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
FROME URANIUM PROVINCE EVOLUTION
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
FROME URANIUM PROVINCE EVOLUTION
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
FROME URANIUM PROVINCE EVOLUTION
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
Conclusions
1) Frome uranium province: Cenozoic Lake Eyre Basin ± Mesozoic Eromanga Basin.
2) Three episodes of potential uranium mineralisation since late Mesozoic.
3) South-to-north paleovalley/channel systems, controlled by long-lived faults.
4) Potential for larger deposits in north of Frome uranium province within paleovalleys.
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
Alternative model:
• At least three periods of uplift from late Mesozoic, recorded by geological observations (Celerier et al., 2005), apatite thermo-chronology (Foster et al., 1994; Mitchell et al., 2002), 10Be studies of erosion rates (Quigley et al., 2006).
• Deep weathering in 3 episodes during/since late Mesozoic (Pillans, 2006; Smith et al., 2009).
• Potential for 3 episodes of uranium mobilisation, with groundwater flow driven by regional basement uplift.
• Uranium, sediment and water transport from south (or southwest) to north (or northeast), to satisfy mass-balance requirements of reductants.
• Or mobile reductant at Four Mile?
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
• Proterozoic Mount Painter Inlier and Curnamona Province
• Sediments derived from these sources
High-uranium potential sources
Radiometrics U-channelon DEM backdropRadiometrics U-channelon DEM backdrop
From Radiometrics Map of Australia (Geoscience Australia)over SRTM DEM data
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
GAB mound springs (Draper & Jensen, 1976)
First vertical derivative of TMI(McConachy et al., 2006)
139o 140o
30o
31o
Beverley deposit
From Teasdale et al. (2001)
Depth to pre-Paleozoic basement
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
From SKM (2009, PER for Heathgate Resources)
(Brugger et al., 2005)
Mt Painter Inlier Lake Frome
SCHEMATIC SECTIONS: PREVIOUS MODELS
Generalised model for roll-front style sandstone uranium deposits
BeverleyFour Mile
Generalised model for roll-front style sandstone uranium deposits
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IAGOD, Adelaide 2010
EromangaBasin
NorthernQueensland
Pine CreekOrogen
PatersonProvince
Gawler Craton& Curnamona
Province
Geoscience Australia uranium study areas
Uranium resources of Australia
Lake Frome study area