A New Cu Province in Southern Australia? Geochronological Framework of Potential Iron Oxide Copper-Gold Systems in Northeastern Gawler Craton
Date
2025
Authors
Yu, J.
Hand, M.
Gully, D.
Brown, D.
Morrissey, L.J.
Hong, W.
Clark, C.
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Journal article
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Economic Geology, 2025; 120(6):1469-1486
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Jie Yu, Martin Hand, Dylan Gully, Dillon Brown, Laura J. Morrissey, Wei Hong, and Chris Clark
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Abstract
Breccia-hosted and magnetite-dominated Cu mineralization has been recently discovered in the Peake and Denison Domain, northeastern Gawler craton, Australia. The iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG)-style alteration and mineralization and proximity to the world-class Olympic and Cloncurry IOCG provinces highlight the prospectivity potential for IOCG and affiliated deposits in the Peake and Denison Domain. New zircon-titanite-apatite U-Pb and apatite Lu-Hf age data from the Wills and Mawson prospects in the Peake and Denison region are presented to construct a geochronological framework for the new Cu district in southern Australia. Zircons from the host quartzofeldspathic gneiss define a major peak at ca. 1780 Ma, two shoulder peaks at ca. 1740 and ca. 1710 Ma, and minor peaks at ca. 1850 and ca. 1900 Ma. Titanite U-Pb and apatite Lu-Hf geochronology reveals an early-stage magnetite-actinolite-titanite-apatite alteration at ca. 1530 Ma for the Wills prospect, coincident with the coeval mineralization in the Cloncurry and Mary Kathleen IOCG districts of the Mount Isa inlier. The Wills prospect subsequently underwent ca. 1500 Ma ductile deformation. Apatite Lu-Hf and U-Pb geochronology from both prospects constrain vein-type and breccia-type Cu mineralization at ca. 1465 Ma, broadly coeval with regional barren Na-Ca alteration in the Peake and Denison Domain and barren potassic alteration in the Cloncurry IOCG District. The ca. 1465 Ma Cu mineralization is equivalent to the recently discovered later-stage Cu mineralization in the northern Olympic Cu-Au Province and potentially coincided with the rifting of Proto-Australia and the supercontinent Nuna in the early Mesoproterozoic.
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©2025 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.