f Geophysical Signatures Of Mineral Deposits In South And Western Australia: Their Compilation And Exploration Significance

It is comparatively common for Australian mining companies to allow publication of case history papers describing the geophysical signatures of mineral deposits. Most of these the case histories have been in publications associated with the Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists, notably the society's journal, Exploration Geophysics. The society has actively encouraged such publications, for example by organising relevant symposia at its national conference. More recently the ASEG has collaborated with the Centre for Strategic Mineral Deposits at The University of Western Australia and Mines and Energy South Australia to produce special publications on the geophysical signatures of mineral deposits in Western and South Australia. Deposits described in various publications include virtually all the main styles and types in Australia. For example, the base metal mineralisation in the Mount Isa region Queensland, the giant copper-uranium-gold deposit at Olympic Dam, South Australia, the Argyle diamond deposit in Western Australia, numerous gold deposits in the Archaean greenstone belts of Western Australia and supergene iron-ore deposits in the Hamersley Province, Western Australia. The compilation of geophysical signatures has been further assisted by "exploration initiatives" funded by the State and Federal governments. These have made available large quantities of cheap, easily accessible, aeromagnetic data. Geological structure is a major control on most of the mineral deposits in Australia and these data can be interpreted to identify the structural setting of known deposits. Equivalent structural scenarios can then be sort elsewhere. The extensive database of geophysical signatures of Australian mineral deposits that has thus been created is a useful resource for companies exploring both in Australia and also the rest of the world.