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The Yilgarn Craton is a large craton which constitutes the bulk of the Western Australian land mass. A craton ( Greek kratos / κρἀτος ( neut. "strength" is an old and stable part of the Continental crust that has survived Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by a mixture of sedimentary basins and Proterozoic fold and thrust belts. Zircon grains in the Jack Hills, Narryer Gneiss Terrane have been dated at ~4. Zircon is a Mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates. Its chemical name is Zirconium silicate and its corresponding chemical formula is Gneiss (ˈnaɪs is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from preexisting formations that were originally 27 Ga, with one detrital zircon dated as old as 4. Detritus (adjective detrital) is a geological term used to describe particles of rock derived from pre-existing rock through processes of Weathering and Zircon is a Mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates. Its chemical name is Zirconium silicate and its corresponding chemical formula is 4 Ga.

Contents

Geology

The Yilgarn Craton appears to have been assembled between ~2. 94 and 2. 63 Ga by the accretion of a multitude of formerly present blocks or terranes of existing continental crust, most of which formed between 3. A terrane in Geology is a fragment of crustal material formed on or broken off from one Tectonic plate and accreted — " sutured " The continental crust is the layer of granitic, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic rocks which form the Continents and the areas of shallow seabed 2 Ga and 2. 8 Ga. This accretion event is recorded by widespread granite and granodiorite intrusions, which comprise over 70% of the Yilgarn craton; voluminous tholeiitic basalt and komatiite volcanism[1]; regional metamorphism and deformation as well as the emplacement of the vast majority of the craton's endowment in gold mineralisation. Granite (ˈɡrænɪt is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, Felsic, igneous rock. Granodiorite (ˌgrænəˈdaɪəraɪt/ /ˌgreɪn- is an intrusive Igneous rock similar to Granite, but contains more Plagioclase than Potassium feldspar Tholeiitic basalt is an Igneous rock, a type of Basalt. Like all basalt the rock type is dominated by Clinopyroxene plus Plagioclase, with minor Basalt (bəˈsɔːlt ˈbeisɔːlt ˈbæsɔːlt is a common Extrusive Volcanic rock. Komatiites are Ultramafic mantle-derived Volcanic rocks They have low SiO2 low K2O low Al2O3 and high to extremely high Plate tectonics and hotspots Divergent plate boundaries At the Metamorphism can be defined as the solid state recrystallisation of pre-existing rocks due to changes in heat and/or pressure and/or introduction of fluids i Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 The accretion events occurred in several phases, probably by accretion of continental fragments separated by pauses in subduction, with renewed activity occurring episodically. In Geology, a subduction zone is an area on Earth where two tectonic plates meet and move towards one another with one sliding underneath the other

Geomorphologically the craton is primarily composed of approximately 2. Geomorphology (from Greek: γη ge, "earth" μορφή morfé, "form" and λόγος Logos, "knowledge" 8 billion year old (~2. 8 Ga) granite-gneiss metamorphic terrain (the Southwestern Province and Western Gneiss Belt), and three granite-greenstone terrains (the North-East Goldfields, the Southern Cross and the greenschist metamorphic Murchison Provinces). Metamorphism can be defined as the solid state recrystallisation of pre-existing rocks due to changes in heat and/or pressure and/or introduction of fluids i Some greenstone belts and granites are as old as 3. 1-2. 9 Ga, and some are younger, at ~2. 75-2. 65 Ga.

The craton is one of the distinct physiographic provinces of the West Australian Shield physiographic division, comprised of the Stirling-Mt. Australian Shield, also called the Western Australian Shield or Western Plateau, occupies more than half of the continent of Australia. Barren Block, Darling Hills, and Recherche Shelf sections.

Western Gneiss Terrane

Basic geological regions of Australia, by age.
Basic geological regions of Australia, by age.

The Western Gneiss Terrane is a series of polydeformed high-grade early Archaean metamorphic belts, comprised predominantly of feldspathic leucocratic granulite gneisses, which represent some of the oldest crustal fragments on Earth[2]. Feldspar is the name of a group of rock-forming Minerals which make up as much as 60% of the Earth 's crust. Granulites are fine to medium–grained Metamorphic rocks that have experienced high Temperatures of metamorphism composed mainly of Feldspars sometimes associated The Western Gneiss Terrane is distinct from the remainder of the Yilgarn Craton in that the latter has a predominance of metavolcanic rocks, both felsic and mafic, whereas the former consists of high-grade metasediments and gneisses of unknown protolith. Felsic is a term used in Geology to refer to Silicate minerals, Magma, and rocks which are enriched in the lighter elements such as Silicon Mafic is an adjective describing a Silicate mineral or rock that is rich in magnesium and iron the term was derived by contracting "magnesium" and "ferric" Gneiss (ˈnaɪs is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from preexisting formations that were originally Protolith refers to the precursor Lithology of a Metamorphic rock

The Western Gneiss Terrane is exposed along the western half of the northern margin of the Yilgarn Craton as the Narryer Gneiss Terrane, a composite of heavily polydeformed feldspathic metagranite and metasedimentary amphibolite-grade gneisses and migmatites, dated at greater than 3. The Narryer Gneiss Terrane is a geological complex in Western Australia that is composed of a tectonically interleaved and polydeformed mixture of Granite, mafic Amphibolite (æmˈfɪbəlaɪt is the name given to a rock consisting mainly of hornblende Amphibole, the use of the term being restricted however to Metamorphic Migmatite is a rock at the frontier between igneous and Metamorphic rocks They can also be known as diatexite. 3 Ga and up to 3. 8 Ga in age, flanked by the Murgoo Gneiss Terrane (2. 95 Ga) as well as sheets of 2. 75 Ga to 2. 6 Ga granite, obducted ophiolite sheets (the Trillbar Complex) and some 2. Obduction is the overthrusting of Continental crust by Oceanic crust or mantle rocks at a Destructive plate boundary. An Ophiolite is a section of the Earth's Oceanic crust and the underlying upper mantle that has been uplifted or emplaced to be exposed within Continental 4 Ga to 2. 0 Ga Proterozoic gneiss belts. The Proterozoic (ˌproʊtərəˈzoʊɪk is a geological eon representing a period before the first abundant complex life on Earth.

On the western edge of the Yilgarn Craton, partially covered by Phanerozoic sedimentary basins and in faulted contact with the 2. 7 Ga to 2. 55 Ga Yilgarn tectonic domains, lies the Jumperding Gneiss Complex of 2. 75 to 2. 65 Ga age, comprosed primarily of micaceous quartzite, quartz-feldspar-biotite-garnet gneiss, andalusite and sillimanite schists, banded iron formation and other exoitics, intruded by minor masses of porphyritic granite. Quartzite (from German Quarzit) not to be confused with the Mineral Quartz, is a hard Metamorphic rock which was originally Andalusite is an Aluminium nesosilicate Mineral with the chemical formula Al2SiO5 Sillimanite also called Bucholzite is an alumino-silicate Mineral with the Chemical formula Al2SiO5 The schists form a group of medium-grade Metamorphic rocks chiefly notable for the preponderance of lamellar Minerals such as Micas chlorite Banded iron formations (also known as banded ironstone formations or BIF s are a distinctive type of rock often found in primordial ( Precambrian) Sedimentary Detrital zircons in the Jumperding Gneiss Complex range in age from 3267 +/- 30 Ma to 3341 +/- 100 Ma, with metamorphic overgrowth dated at 3180 +/- Ma.

On the southwest of the Yilgarn Craton the Balingup Gneiss Complex is situated inboard from the Early Proterozoic Leeuwin Complex of metamorphic rocks. The Balingup Complex consists primarily of metasedimentary paragneiss, granite orthogneiss, with minor layers of calc-silicate, ultramafic and ortho-amphibolite gneiss. The metamorphic grade is considered to be peak granulite facies, but the majority has preserved peak amphibolite facies assemblages.

In total, the Western Gneiss Terrane sub-blocks represent an earlier substrate upon which the majority of the Yilgarn Craton's c. 2. 70 to 2. 55 Ga greenstone metavolcanic belts have been deposited and into which the voluminous Archaean trondhjemite-tonalite-granodiorite (TTG) suite and trondhjemite-tonalite-diorite (TTD) suite granites were emplaced. Tonalite – Trondhjemite – Granodiorite (TTG series are an aggregation of rocks that are formed by melting of Hydrous Mafic crust at Trondhjemite is a leucocratic (light-colored Intrusive Igneous rock. Tonalite is an igneous, Plutonic ( Intrusive) rock, of Felsic composition with Phaneritic texture Diorite (ˈdaɪəraɪt is a grey to dark grey intermediate intrusive Igneous rock composed principally of Plagioclase Feldspar (typically

Murchison Province

The Murchison Province is exposed in the western and northern third of the Yilgarn Craton. The Province is bounded by major transcrustal structures which separate it from the surrounding tectonic provinces of the craton and the Western Gneiss Belt.

The Murchison Province Stratigraphy, after Watkins (1990), is divided into six basic structural-stratigraphic components - two greenstone belt metavolcanic-metasedimentary sequences and four suites of granitoids.

  1. Luke Creek Group metavolcanics
  2. Mount Farmer Group
  3. Early granodiorite-monzogranite intrusive suite (now pegmatite-banded orthogneiss)
  4. Monzogranite Suite (now folded, metagranite)
  5. Two post-tectonic differentiated suites of granitoid rocks

The structural framework in the northeastern Yilgarn craton was largely shaped by transpression that led to the development of folds, reverse faults, sinistral strike-slip movement on NNW-trending regional shear zones, followed by regional folding and shortening. The later occurred in overlapping tectonic processes. The first deformation event is poorly understood but appears to have involved N-S thrusting.

Southern Cross Province

The Southern Cross Province lies in the central area of the Yilgarn craton. The Marda–Diemals greenstone belt in the Southern Cross Terrane can be divided into three layers: the lower greenstone belt (ca. Greenstone belts are zones of variably metamorphosed Mafic to Ultramafic Volcanic sequences with associated Sedimentary rocks that 3. 0 Ga) characterized by mafic volcanic rock and banded iron formation, a felsic-intermediate volcanism layer, and an upper sedimentary layer (ca. 2. 73 Ga) of calc-alkaline volcanic (Marda Complex) and clastic sedimentary rocks (Diemals Formation)[3].

East–West orogeny (ca. Orogeny (Greek for "mountain generating" is the process of natural Mountain building and may be studied as a tectonic structural event as a geographical event and 2730–2680 Ma) occurred in two stages; an earlier folding phase and a late phase that resulted in deposition and deformation of the Diemals Formation. Subsequent orogeny (ca. 2680–2655 Ma) resulted in shear zones and arcuate structures.

The lithostratigraphy of the Marda–Diemals greenstone belt are similar to the northern Murchison Terrane, but has older greenstones and deformation events than the southern Eastern Goldfields Terrane. Greenstone belts are zones of variably metamorphosed Mafic to Ultramafic Volcanic sequences with associated Sedimentary rocks that This indicates that the Eastern Goldfields Terrane may have accreted to an older Murchison–Southern Cross granite–greenstone nucleus.

Eastern Goldfield Province

The Archaean Norseman-Wiluna Greenstone Belt[4] in the Eastern Goldfield Province contains most of Australia's lode gold deposits, including the famous Kalgoorlie Golden Mile containing the Super Pit. These gold deposits are generally of large tonnage and are confined to the volcanic-intrusive-sedimentary sequences of the greenstone belts and not the granites. There is a pattern of gold distribution along the Archean Boulder-Lefroy shear zone. Intrusive komatiites (ultramafic volcanic rocks occur along the Norseman-Wiluna Greenstone Belt. A change from volcanic-dominated to plutonic-dominated magmatism occurred in the Norseman-Wiluna Greenstone Belt approximately 2685–2675 Ma. Voluminous high-Ca granite intrusions occurred 2670–2655 Ma[5]. Much of the gold was deposited between 2650–2630 Ma, with much of this associated with strike-slip reactivation of earlier faults (normal and reverse). An earlier gold event 2660-2655 Ma was associated with major extension (normal faulting and granite doming) resulting in the formation of late basins and the intrusion of mantle-derived magmas (syenites and Mafic-type granites/porphyries) and tight anticlockwise PTt paths.

Bounding terranes

The Yilgarn Craton is bound on all sides by younger terranes of various ages, but predominantly of Proterozoic age. The Proterozoic (ˌproʊtərəˈzoʊɪk is a geological eon representing a period before the first abundant complex life on Earth. The boundaries between the various flanking terranes provide considerable evidence of the post-Archaean events which have involved the Yilgarn Craton.

Perth Basin

The Yilgarn Craton is bound on the western side by the Perth Basin, of Jurassic age, and is separated from this basin by the Darling Fault. The Perth Basin is a thick Sedimentary basin in Western Australia. The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Ma (million years ago to  Ma that is from the end of the Triassic to the beginning The Darling Fault is one of the longest and most significant faults in Australia, exposed for over 1 000 km in a north–south orientation near the west coast of southern The Perth Basin is considered to be a rift fill basin formed on a passive margin.

Gascoyne Complex

The Perth Basin is bound on the north by the Gascoyne Complex[6], Glengarry Basin and Yerrida Basin, which are all part of a middle Proterozoic mobile belt which leads east to the Musgrave Block. The Gascoyne Complex is a Terrane of Proterozoic Granite and Metamorphic rock in the central-western part of Western Australia. The Musgrave Block is an east-west trending belt of Proterozoic Granulite - Gneiss basement rocks approximately 500km long The Gascoyne complex and other metamorphic belts of this age including reactivation of the Yarlarweelor Gneiss and Narryer Gneiss Terrane, indicate prolonged multi-phased strike-slip movement (relative to the Yilgarn Craton margin) from the late Archaean through to neoproterozoic and even into the Palaeozoic[7]. The Narryer Gneiss Terrane is a geological complex in Western Australia that is composed of a tectonically interleaved and polydeformed mixture of Granite, mafic

Albany-Fraser Orogen

The Yilgarn Craton is bounded on the east-south east by the ~1,300Ma Albany-Fraser Orogen, composed primarily of amphibolite to greenschist facies sedimentary protolith gneisses, migmaites and granites. Protolith refers to the precursor Lithology of a Metamorphic rock The Albany-Fraser Orogen displays both subduction-related and prolonged strike-slip tectonic structures and is intimately interconnected with the other Proterozoic basins and mobile belts of Australia.

Sedimentary Basin Cover

The Yilgarn Craton is partially covered by onlapping sedimentary basins of Palaeozoic and Phanerozoic age in the east and north-east, including the Canning Basin. The Paleozoic or Palaeozoic Era (from the Greek palaio (παλαιο "old" and zoe (ζωη "life" meaning "ancient life" The Phanerozoic (occasionally Phanaerozoic) Eon is the current eon in the Geologic timescale, and the one during which abundant animal life has existed The Canning Basin is a geological basin located in Western Australia. It is bounded on the western edge by the Darling Scarp and Darling Fault which separate the Yilgarn Craton from the Perth Basin to the west, and is covered by several remnant sedimentary basins of Jurassic age such as the Collie Sub-Basin. The Darling Scarp (previously known as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges) is a low Escarpment running north-south to the east of the The Darling Fault is one of the longest and most significant faults in Australia, exposed for over 1 000 km in a north–south orientation near the west coast of southern

The Yilgarn Craton also has a considerable Tertiary and younger sedimentary veneer of palaeochannel deposits derived rom prolonged erosion, sedimentation and redeposition of older cover sequences and regolith as well as the Archaean basement itself. Palaeochannels are deposits of unconsolidated or semi-consolidated sedimentary rocks deposited in ancient currently inactive river and stream channel systems

Recognised Tertiary cover sequences include the Bremer Basin, Officer Basin etc. The Officer Basin is a large (ca 410000 km² intracratonic Sedimentary basin in Australia, lying across the states of South Australia and

Regolith

The Yilgarn craton is believed to have remained at or above sea level for a considerable length of time[8]. Some of the Yilgarn regolith is the oldest in the world, recording weathering events as early as the Cretaceous Period. Regolith ( Greek: "blanket rock" is a layer of loose Heterogeneous material covering solid rock. Weathering is the decomposition of earth rocks, Soils and their Minerals through direct contact with the planet's Atmosphere. The Cretaceous (kriːˈteɪʃəs, usually abbreviated 'K' for its German translation "Kreide" is a geologic period and system, reaching from the end of This has been created by the generally subtropical latitudes and conditions of the Yilgarn craton, with minimal to no glaciation and generally flat topographical relief resulting in comparatively minor erosion.

The regolith is extremely deeply weathered, in some areas completely converted to saprolite up to 100 metres below surface. Saprolite (from Greek σαπρος =putrid + lite is the name for a chemically weathered rock This is considered to have been produced during Caenozoic to Palaeocene tropical conditions, as evidenced by mottled duricrust which records fossilised tree roots, some over 60 million years old. The Cenozoic (also Caenozoic or Cainozoic) Era (ˌsiːnəˈzoʊɪk/ /ˌsɛn- (meaning "new life" ( Greek ( kainos) "new" The Paleocene or Palaeocene, "early dawn of the recent" is a geologic epoch that lasted from 65 Previous weathering events have been recorded in magnetically remnant ferruginous laterite of a Jurassic age, at about 180 Ma. Altogether there are sixteen known Iron Oxides and oxyhydroxides Laterite (from the Latin word "later" meaning brick or tile is a surface formation in hot and wet tropical areas which is enriched in Iron and Aluminium The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Ma (million years ago to  Ma that is from the end of the Triassic to the beginning

The regolith of the Yilgarn impacts directly on the flora and fauna, as some of the soil is essentially fossilised. Much of the groundwater of the Yilgarn is hypersaline, with some being supersaturated in salt. This renders swathes of land barren, with significant salt lakes, and high saline water tables. The origin of this salt is thought to be from precipitation of sea salt carried over the Australian landmass for the past several dozen million years, and the high evaporation rate leaving the salt behind.

The greenstone belts of the Yilgarn Craton include:

Economic geology

The Yilgarn Craton is Australia's premier mineral province. It attracts more than half of Australia's minerals exploration expenditure, and produces two thirds of all gold and most of the nickel mined in Australia. The craton contains some 30% of the world's known gold reserves, about 20% of the world's nickel reserves, 80% of the world's tantalum reserves, considerable iron ore, copper, zinc and minor lead reserves. Nickel (ˈnɪkəl is a metallic Chemical element with the symbol Ni and Atomic number 28 Tantalum (ˈtæntələm (formerly tantalium /tænˈtæliəm/ is a Chemical element with the symbol Ta and Atomic number 73 Iron ores are rocks and Minerals from which Metallic Iron can be economically extracted Copper (ˈkɒpɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol Cu (cuprum and Atomic number 29 Zinc (ˈzɪŋk from Zink is a Metallic Chemical element with the symbol Zn and Atomic number 30 Characteristics Lead has a dull luster and is a dense, Ductile, very soft highly The craton contains significant platinum, vanadium, hard-rock titanium and considerable iron ore resources. Platinum (ˈplætɪnəm is a Chemical element with the Atomic symbol Pt and an Atomic number of 78 Vanadium (vəˈneɪdiəm is a Chemical element that has the symbol V and Atomic number 23 Titanium (taɪˈteɪniəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Ti and Atomic number 22

Mining is conducted mostly in the greenstone belts around mining centres such as Kalgoorlie, Kambalda, Norseman, Meekatharra and Wiluna, and minor centres such as Laverton, Leinster, Leonora and Southern Cross. Mining is the extraction of valuable Minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually (but not always from an Ore body Kambalda is a small mining town about 60 kilometres from the mining city of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, within the Goldfields. Norseman is a town located in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia along the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway, east of Perth Meekatharra is a town in the Mid West region of Western Australia. Wiluna is a town in the Mid West region of Western Australia. Laverton is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, and the centre of administration for the Shire of Laverton. Leinster is a town in the northern goldfields area of Western Australia. Leonora is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, located northeast of the state capital Perth, and north of the city of Southern Cross is a town in Western Australia, 371 kilometres east of Perth on the Great Eastern Highway.

Ore concentrates or finished product are transported by rail or road to Perth, Fremantle, Esperance, Albany or Geraldton. Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. Fremantle (commonly known as Freo is a Port City in Western Australia, located southwest of Perth, the state capital at the mouth of Esperance is a town in Western Australia, located on the south coast around half-way between Albany and the South Australian border Albany ( is located in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, situated around a port on the southern coast

Iron ore

Iron ore is currently recovered from several areas in the Yilgarn Craton, although it is a much smaller set of mines than those in the Pilbara Craton. Iron ores are rocks and Minerals from which Metallic Iron can be economically extracted The Pilbara craton (the Pilbara province in northwest Western Australia) along with the Kaapvaal craton (the Kaapvaal province of South Africa Iron ore is mined at Koolyanobbing, north of Kalgoorlie from hematite weathered banded iron formation, at Mount Gibson, Weld Range and Jack Hills in the Western Gneiss Terrane from hematised BIF to produce direct-shipping ore. Banded iron formations (also known as banded ironstone formations or BIF s are a distinctive type of rock often found in primordial ( Precambrian) Sedimentary The Jack Hills are located in the Narryer Gneiss Terrane of the Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia, and comprise an 80 km long northeast-trending belt of

Large magnetite iron ore deposits are being investigated as a source of magnetite ore in the Albany-Fraser Complex, where a large deposit is being proposed at Southdown. Magnetite is not to be confused with Magnesite or Maghemite. Magnetite is a ferrimagnetic Mineral with chemical The Jack Hills, Weld Range and Mount Gibson banded iron formations as well as BIFs around Yalgoo are also considered potential sources of magnetite iron ore although no operations are as yet running on this type of ore.

Further away from the coast, BIF deposits at Wiluna and Laverton are also under investigation although infrastructure is considered too poor to render these deposits economic. Wiluna is a town in the Mid West region of Western Australia.

Gold

The Yilgarn Craton is host to around 30% of the world's economically demonstrably recoverable reserves (EDR) of gold.

Major gold deposits occur at Kalgoorlie, Kambalda, Mt Magnet, Boddington, Laverton and Wiluna, and are hosted in greenstone belts. These form linear belts of mafic, ultramafic and felsic volcanics, intercalated with sedimentary sequences, and have been multiply deformed and metamorphosed. The mode of occurrence of the gold mineralisation tends to be small to medium-sized structurally controlled lodes, shears, and quartz veins.

A key feature of beneath many of the region's gold deposits are granite-cored domes at a range of scales. These provided an architecture that focussed fluids-metals into the upper crust depositional sites. Debate continues on whether oxidised magmatic fluids mixed with a reduced (mantle-deep crustal fluid) at the depositional site.

Signatures of the mantle are found in many (large) deposits, including melts from a metasomatised mantle wedge (enriched Mafic-type granites/porphyries and syenites) as well as lamphrophyres. Debate continues whether these mantle rocks were a fluid and/or metal source, or simply reflect a favourable pathway.

Nickel-PGE Deposits

The greater Kambalda district hosts a world-class nickel sulfide mining district with a total pre-mining resource of 2 megatons (Mt) of nickel metal. Approximately 1. 1 Mt of nickel metal has been produced since 1967, at an average rate of 35,000 tons of nickel per year. The Kambalda Dome is located in the south-central part of the Archaean Norseman-Wiluna greenstone belt in the southeastern Yilgarn Craton. Kambalda type komatiitic nickel ore deposits are the primary source of nickel metal within the Yilgarn Craton. Kambalda type nickel ore deposits are a class of magmatic Nickel - Copper Ore deposit in which the physical processes of Komatiite volcanology [9]

Base Metals

Copper, lead and zinc are currently mined from Golden Grove and the newly developed Jaguar zinc mine. Minor amounts of copper have been recovered from several copper-bearing gold deposits such as those in the Gullewa Greenstone Belt, at Burtville south of Laverton, at Granny Smith and elsewhere.

The desert area encircling Kalgoorlie, with an area of 500,000 square kilometres, is theorised to host a 100 million tonne copper-zinc deposit. The geology of several volcanic belts in the Yilgarn Craton are strikingly similar to the world's great base metal mines at Kidd Creek in Northern Ontario, Canada. Kidd Mine an underground Base metal mine in the city of Timmins, Ontario. Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Exploration for copper is continuing in several areas around Ravensthorpe, Balagundi, in the Yandall Belt, and the Duketon Belt where large felsic volcanic packages are known to exist. Felsic is a term used in Geology to refer to Silicate minerals, Magma, and rocks which are enriched in the lighter elements such as Silicon

Rare Earths

The Yilgarn Craton may host up to 60% of the world's recoverable Rare Earth elements, primarily in the Mount Weld Carbonatite. Smaller carbonatite occurrences at Ponton, near Laverton, and regionally within the eastern granite-gneiss and greenstone belts, may also prove economic.

Uranium

The Yilgarn Craton and its cover sequences are host to a significant percentage of the world's endowment in Economically Demonstrable and Recoverable Reserves (EDR) of uranium. Most uranium is hosted within palaeochannels derived from granites of the Yilgarn Craton and/or its flanking Proterozoic orogens, and this metal is deposited within Tertiary or younger palaeodrainage and current drainage systems. Examples include Yeelirrie, Mulga Rock[10] and Lake Way-Centipede.

Partial list of ore deposits and mines

World-class deposits in the eastern Yilgarn Craton include: Mount Charlotte, Norseman, Sunrise Dam, Sons of Gwalia, St Ives-Kambalda, Tarmoola, Wallaby and Wiluna. World-class nickel deposits include: Mount Keith, Kambalda and

See also

References

  1. ^ Chen, She Fa, John E. The Widgiemooltha Komatiite is a formation of Komatiite in the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia. The Emily Ann and Maggie Hays nickel deposits are situated approximately 150km west of the town of Norseman, Western Australia, within the Lake Johnston The Fimiston Open Pit colloquially known as the Super Pit, ( is Australia's largest open cut gold mine. The Windimurra Intrusion is a giant ultramafic-mafic intrusion emplaced within the Yilgarn craton of Western Australia. Mount Magnet is an old Western Australian Gold rush town The name was chosen during exploration of the region due to an isolated hill 5km north west of the town Australia is a Continent situated on the Indo-Australian Plate. Australian Shield, also called the Western Australian Shield or Western Plateau, occupies more than half of the continent of Australia. The Western Plateau is Australia 's largest drainage division and is composed predominantly of the remains of the ancient rock shield of Gondwanaland. The Pilbara craton (the Pilbara province in northwest Western Australia) along with the Kaapvaal craton (the Kaapvaal province of South Africa The Gawler Craton covers approximately 440000 square kilometres of central South Australia The various theories of ore genesis explain how the various types of mineral deposits form within the Earth's crust. The Perth Basin is a thick Sedimentary basin in Western Australia. The Centralian Superbasin is a term for a large intracratonic sedimentary basin which is interpreted to have occupied a large area of central southern and western Greenfield, David R. Nelson, Angela Riganti, and Steven Wyche. (2003) "Lithostratigraphy and tectonic evolution of contrasting greenstone successions in the central Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia. " Precambrian Research, Vol. 127, Issues 1-3 , 10 November, pp. 249-266.
  2. ^ Wilde, Simon A., John W. Valley, William H. Peck & Colin M. Graham (2001) "Evidence from detrital zircons for the existence of continental crust and oceans on the Earth 4.4 Gyr ago." in Nature, v. 409, pp. 175-178.. Retrieved on 2007-08-14. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1183 - Taira no Munemori and the Taira clan take the young Emperor Antoku and the three sacred treasures
  3. ^ Swager, C. P. , Witt W. K. , Griffin A. L. , Ahmat A. L. , Hunter W. M. , McGoldrick P. J. & Wyche, S. , 1992. Late Archaean Granite-Greenstones of the Kalgoorlie Terrane, Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia. in, The Archaean: Terrains, Processes and Metallogeny, University of Western Australia, Publication 22, pp. 39-49.
  4. ^ Hammond, R. L. & Nisbett B. W. , 1992. Towards a Structural and Tectonic Framework for the central Norseman-Wiluna Greenstone Belt, Western Australia. in, The Archaean: Terrains, Processes and Metallogeny, University of Western Australia, Publication 22, pp. 39-49.
  5. ^ Moresi, Louis, Peter van der Borgh, and Roberto F. Weinberg. (2003) "Timing of deformation in the Norseman-Wiluna Belt, Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia. " Precambrian Research, Vol. 120, Issues 3-4, 10 February, pp. 219-239.
  6. ^ Cawood, P. A. and Tyler, I. M. , 2004. Assembling and reactivating the Proterozoic Capricorn Orogen: lithotectonic elements, orogenies, and significance. Precambrian Research, 128, p. 201–218.
  7. ^ Sheppard, S. , Occhipinti, S. A. and Nelson, D. R. , 2005. Intracontinental reworking in the Capricorn Orogen, Western Australia: the 1680 – 1620 Ma Mangaroon Orogeny. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 52, p. 443–460.
  8. ^ Anand, R. and Paine M. Regolith Geology of the Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia (abstract). Retrieved on 2007-08-14. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1183 - Taira no Munemori and the Taira clan take the young Emperor Antoku and the three sacred treasures
  9. ^ Hill R. E. T, Barnes S. J. , Gole M. J. , and Dowling S. E. , 1990. Physical volcanology of komatiites; A field guide to the komatiites of the Norseman-Wiluna Greenstone Belt, Eastern Goldfields Province, Yilgarn Block, Western Australia. , Geological Society of Australia. ISBN 0-909869-55-3
  10. ^ Anand, R. and Paine M. Regolith Geology of the Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia (abstract). Retrieved on 2007-08-14. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1183 - Taira no Munemori and the Taira clan take the young Emperor Antoku and the three sacred treasures
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