Carl Knox-Robinson

Late-kinematic timing of orogenic gold deposits and significance for computer-based exploration techniques with emphasis on the Yilgarn Block, Western Australia

Abstract Orogenic gold deposits are a widespread coherent group of epigenetic ore deposits that are sited in accretionary or collisional orogens. They formed over a large crustal-depth range from deep-seated low-salinity H2O–CO2±CH4±N2 ore fluids and with Au transported as thio-complexes. Regional structures provide the main control on deposit distribution. In many terranes, first-order faults or shear zones appear to have controlled regional fluid flow, with greatest ore-fluid fluxes in, and adjacent to, lower-order faults, shear zones and/or large folds. Highly competent and/or chemically reactive rocks are the most common hosts to the larger deposits. Focusing of supralithostatic ore fluids into dilatant zones appears to occur late during the evolutionary history of the host terranes, normally within D3 or D4 in a D1–D4 deformation sequence. Reactivation of suitably oriented pre-existing structures during a change in far-field stress orientation is a factor common to many deposits, and repeated reactivation may account for multiple mineralization episodes in some larger deposits. Absolute robust ages of mineralization support their late-kinematic timing, and, in general, suggest that deposits formed diachronously towards the end of the 100 to 200 m.y. long evolutionary history of hosting orogens. For example, in the Yilgarn Block, a region specifically emphasised in this study, orogenic gold deposits formed in the time interval between 40 and 90 m.y., with most about 60 to 70 m.y., after the youngest widespread basic-ultrabasic volcanism and towards the end of felsic magmatism. The late timing of orogenic gold deposits is pivotal to geologically-based exploration methodologies. This is because the present structural geometries of: (i) the deposits, (ii) the hosting goldfields, and (iii) the enclosing terranes are all essentially similar to those during gold mineralization, at least in their relative position to each other. Thus, interpretation of geological maps and cross-sections and three-dimensional models can be used to accurately simulate the physical conditions that existed at the time of ore deposition. It is particularly significant that the deposits are commonly related to repetitive and predictable geometries, such as structural heterogeneities within or adjacent to first-order structures, around rigid granitoid bodies, or in specific “locked-up” fold-thrust structures. Importantly, the two giant greenstone-hosted goldfields, Kalgoorlie and Timmins, show a remarkably similar geometry at the regional scale. Computer-based stress mapping and GIS-based prospectivity mapping are two computer-based quantitative methodologies that can utilize and take advantage of the late timing aspect of this deposit type to provide important geological aids in exploration, both in broad regions and more localized goldfields. Both require an accurate and consistent solid geology map, stress mapping requires knowledge of the far-field stresses during mineralization, and the empirical prospectivity mapping requires data from a significant number of known deposits in the terrane. The Kalgoorlie Terrane, in the Yilgarn Block, meets these criteria, and illustrates the potential of these methodologies in the exploration for orogenic gold deposits. Low minimum stress anomalies, interpreted to represent dilational zones during gold-related deformation, coincide well with the positions of known goldfields rather than individual gold deposits in the terrane, and there are additional as-yet unexplained anomalies. The prospectivity analysis confirms that predictable and repetitive factors controlling the siting of deposits are: (i) proximity to, and orientation and curvature of, granitoid-greenstone contacts, (ii) proximity to segments of crustal faults which strike in a preferred direction, (iii) proximity to specific lithological contacts which have similar preferred strike, (iv) proximity to anticlinal structures, and (v) the presence of preferred reactive host rocks (e.g., dolerite). The prospectivity map defines a series of anomalous areas, which broadly conform to those of the stress map (>78% correspondence). The most prospective category on this map covers less than 0.3% of the greenstone belts and yet hosts 16% of the known deposits, which have produced>80% of known gold. Thus, it discriminates in favour of the larger economically more-attractive deposits in the terrane. The successful application of stress mapping and prospectivity mapping to geology-based exploration for orogenic gold deposits indicates that more quantitative analysis of geological map data is a profitable line of research. The computer-based nature of these methodologies is ideal for the production of an ultimate, integrated, deposit target map, which can be compared to other, more conventional, targeting parameters such as geophysical and geochemical anomalies. Such an integrated strategy appears the way forward in the increasingly difficult task of cost-effective global exploration for orogenic gold deposits in poorly exposed terranes.

Using fuzzy logic in a Geographic Information System environment to enhance conceptually based prospectivity analysis of Mississippi Valley‐type mineralisation

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide an efficient vehicle for the generation of mineral prospectivity maps, which are products of the integration of large geological, geophysical and geochemical datasets that typify modern global‐scale mineral exploration. Conventionally, two contrasting approaches have been adopted, an empirical approach where there are numerous deposits of the type being sought in the analysed mature terrain, or a conceptual approach where there are insufficient known deposits for a statistically valid analysis. There are also a variety of potential methodologies for treatment of the data and their integration into a final prospectivity map. The Lennard Shelf represents the major Mississippi Valley‐type (MVT) province in Australia; however, there are only 13 deposits or major prospects known, making an empirical approach to prospectivity mapping impractical. Instead, a conceptual approach was adopted, where critical features that control the location of MVT deposits on the Lennard Shelf, as defined by widely accepted genetic models, were translated into features related to fluid pathways, depositional traps and fluid outflow zones, which can be mapped in a GIS and categorised as either regional or restricted diagnostic, or permissive criteria. All criteria were derived either directly from geological and structural data, or indirectly from geophysical and geochemical datasets. A fuzzy‐logic approach was adopted for the prospectivity analysis, where each interpreted critical feature of the conceptual model was assigned a weighting between 0 and 1 based on its inferred relative importance and reliability. The fuzzy‐logic method is able to cope with incomplete data, a common problem in regional‐scale exploration datasets. The data were best combined using the gamma operator to produce a fuzzy‐logic map for the prospectivity of MVT deposits on the southeastern Lennard Shelf. Five categories of prospectivity were defined. Importantly, from an exploration viewpoint, the two lowest prospectivity categories occupy ∼90% and the highest two categories only 1.6% of the analysed area, yet eight of the 13 known MVT deposits lie in the latter and none in the former: i.e. all lie within ∼10% of the area, despite the fact that deposit locations were not used directly in the analysis. The propectivity map also defines potentially mineralised areas in the central southeastern Lennard Shelf and the southern part of the Oscar Ranges, where there are currently no known deposits. Overall, the analysis demonstrates the power of fuzzy‐logic prospectivity mapping on a semi‐regional to regional scale, and emphasises the value of geological data, particularly accurate geological maps, in exploration for hydrothermal mineral deposits that formed late in the evolution of the terrain under exploration.

Towards a holistic exploration strategy: Using Geographic Information Systems as a tool to enhance exploration

The exploration and mining process, from grass‐roots exploration to mine‐site development is a multidisciplinary task and involves the collection, integration and analysis of datasets from many different sources. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been used to coordinate and manage the large amounts of spatial and related non‐spatial data associated with modern exploration programs. Once suitably captured in a GIS, these spatial data can be queried, analysed, and by the application of various techniques, maps that depict mineralisation potential or prospectivity, can be defined. Methodologies for the construction of prospectivity maps can be split into two complementary types: empirical and conceptual. Empirical methodologies analyse for spatial relationships between known deposits and surrounding features. Identified spatial relationships are quantified and ultimately integrated into a single map which highlights areas similar to those known to contain significant mineralisation. Conceptual method...

Developing the tools for geological shape analysis, with regional- to local-scale examples from the Kalgoorlie Terrane of Western Australia

Geological map data are often underused in mineral‐exploration programs, which rely increasingly on regolith geochemistry and geophysical and other remotely sensed data to generate exploration targets. However, solid geology maps, which are progressively being upgraded due to improved interpretations of superior, remotely sensed images and airborne geophysical data, can be useful in targeting specific types of mineral deposits, which formed late in the evolutionary history of the host terrane. In such terranes, the present map geometry is essentially the same as that at the time of deposit formation. This is the case for orogenic lode‐gold deposits, which commonly show predictable structural controls and/or structural geometry. Thus, the shape of a rock body, or combinations of structures and rock bodies, may provide an important guide to the exploration potential for orogenic lode‐gold deposits. However, until recently, there has been a dearth of techniques to quantify the various properties of shape, and hence test the potential of the two‐dimensional shape of geological bodies in map view as an exploration tool. Integrating techniques from the field of pattern recognition with a modern Geographical Information System (GIS) can provide the shape‐analysis tools required to investigate the geometries of geological shapes. Two‐dimensional shape analysis is now possible through the calculation of several shape metrics including, but not restricted to, aspect ratio, blockiness, elongation, compactness, complexity, roundness, spreadness and squareness. Methods are developed for describing the geometries of rock units about mineral deposits, or any geological features, at any scale, which for the first time makes it possible to compare shapes. These shape‐analysis techniques are tested using orogenic lode‐gold deposits, particularly those in the Kalgoorlie Terrane of the highly auriferous Late Archaean Norseman‐Wiluna Belt of Western Australia. On a global scale, shape analysis indicates that those greenstone belts whose volcanic rock sequences have high elongation and relative low roundness, complexity and aspect ratio (e.g. Kalgoorlie Terrane) are likely to be the most richly endowed in gold. On a more local scale, characteristics of the shape of geological features around the Golden Mile deposit are calculated and used to test the likelihood of occurrence of gold deposits with similar geometry elsewhere in the Kalgoorlie Terrane. The area with the most closely matching shape, on the basis of a 2 km clipping‐circle radius, chosen on the basis of available proximity‐analysis data, corresponds to the recently discovered Ghost Crab deposit, illustrating the potential of the shape analysis methodology in mineral exploration. Shape analysis is, at least in part, scale dependent, due to the inherent problem of being able to define rock boundaries more precisely in units that have strong geophysical signatures than those with weak signatures in poorly exposed terranes. Overcoming this problem is a challenge to the application of this methodology.

Gis-stereoplot: an interactive stereonet plotting module for ArcView 3.0 geographic information system

Abstract Equal-angle and equal-area stereonets provide a powerful means to display and analyze angular relationships between sets of directional data. However, they are limited in that they are unable to represent the potential spatial relationships which may exist between the sample points. Advances in affordable and user-friendly desk-top Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have allowed this deficiency of conventional stereonets to be addressed. A prototype interactive stereonet-plotting module for the desk top GIS ArcView 3.0, which allows the spatial aspects of directional data to be better appreciated, is presented. This module allows the spatial data selection tools of GIS to be used to select a subset of structural data points which can then be plotted, as points, planes, or poles to planes on either an equal-angle (Wulff) or equal-area (Schmidt) stereonet. Features selected on the stereonet can be related back to the original map data and vice versa.