Adrian J Fabris

Geological Survey of South Australia | PIRSA · Department of the Premier and Cabinet

To evaluate the fertility of porphyry mineralization in the Delamerian Orogen (South Australia), zircon and apatite from four prospects, including Anabama Hill, Netley Hill, Bendigo, and Colebatch, have been analyzed by LA-ICP-MS and electron microprobe. The zircon is characterized by heavy REEs enrichment relative to light REEs, high (Ce/Nd)N (1.3...

Paleozoic porphyry-style hydrothermal alteration and mineralization has previously been recognized within the Delamerian orogen, South Australia, where porphyry prospects include Anabama Hill, Netley Hill, and Bendigo. However, limited exploration due in part to thick postmineralization cover hinders the understanding of the temporal context, metal...

Portable x-ray fluorescence (pXRF) instruments are very much essential to any drilling or rock and soil sampling campaign. The pXRF geochemical dataset alone will only provide so much information about physical properties and lithological distinctions, however, therefore it is vital to integrate this downhole data with other datasets such as magnet...

The MinEx Delamerian National Drilling Initiative (NDI) was completed in 2022, with drilling in two regions in the Murray Basin, South Australia. Drilling targeted basement geology obscured by the overlying Murray Basin. Magmatic bodies and sedimentary basins were drilled based on geophysical characteristics. Twenty-three holes were drilled using t...

A mineral systems analysis for Cu-Mo-Au in the Delamerian Orogen was conducted to assess its mineral potential. A conceptual model was delineated, and prospectivity maps were created. These maps can serve partially for drill and sampling campaign targeting. The conceptual model is implemented as a flexible workflow in ArcGIS, and it can be readily...

Geochemical data are frequently collected from mineral exploration drill-hole samples to more accurately define and characterise the geological units intersected by the drill hole. However, large multi-element data sets are slow and challenging to interpret without using some form of automated analysis, such as mathematical, statistical or machine...

Detrital zircon grains preserved within clasts and the matrix of a basal diamictite sequence directly overlying the Carrapateena IOCG deposit in the Gawler Craton, South Australia are shown here to preserve U–Pb ages and geochemical signatures that can be related to underlying mineralisation. The zircon geochemical signature is characterised by ele...

A workflow incorporating hyperspectral reflectance data, hull corrections, absorption feature extraction and clustering is presented. The workflow is applied to dense hyperspectral datasets, as collected by hyperspectral drill core logging systems. The extracted absorption features of the reflectance spectra collected from drill cores are shown to...

This geochronological study was undertaken within the scope of the Mineral Systems Drilling Program (MSDP). This program aimed at improving the understanding of the geology and prospectivity of the southern Gawler Ranges margin area on the northern Eyre Peninsula stimulating exploration in this region. Archean-Palaeoproterozoic basement rocks, expo...

Zircon from spatially and temporally distinct igneous rock units across the Gawler Craton, Australia, show subtle differences in trace and rare earth element ratios. These igneous suites range in composition from granite, rhyolite to gabbro and originate from the ca 2450 Ma Sleaford Complex, the ca 1850 Ma Donington Suite, the ca 1633–1608 Ma St Pe...

The importance of the Uno Fault for the southern Gawler Ranges: regional controls on volcanism, magmatism, fluid flow and alteration.

Zircon is a refractory mineral that is able to crystallize within hydrothermal, igneous and metamorphic environments, resulting in extreme variability in its external morphology, internal textures and chemistry. The chemistry of zircon is sensitive to its source rock type and crystallisation environment. Zircon has a tendency to incorporate a range...

The advent of field-portable XRF has enabled cost effective analysis of drill materials that would otherwise rarely be analysed. These include cover units over basement targets, where geochemical data may provide indications of underlying mineralisation, or, serendipitous discovery of mineralisation within cover units. Two recent developments in th...

Mineral Systems Drilling Program - Peltabinna - Gawler Ranges

The Peltabinna 1:75 000 Map Sheet was produced as part of a mapping program integrated into the Mineral Systems Drilling Program (MSDP) along the southern margin of the Gawler Ranges. The objective of the mapping program was to provide a regional geological context in which the stratigraphy, alteration and mineralisation of the MSDP drilling could...

The Mineral Systems Drilling Program (MSDP) was a $3.5M cash and $4.11M in-kind collaborative drill program involving government, researchers, service providers and the minerals industry. The objective of the MSDP was to further the understanding of mineral systems developed during c. 1590 Ma magmatism, with particular emphasis placed on basement g...

The Frome Embayment (Mesozoic) and Callabonna Sub-basin (Cenozoic) that overlie the Curnamona Province (Paleo-Mesoproterozoic) contain South Australia’s richest sandstone-hosted uranium deposits. Arguably, this is the most prospective region in Australia for sandstone-hosted uranium and includes the Beverley deposit (discovered in 1969) and the wor...

In this paper we provide new observations on the upper and middle crust around the Olympic Dam Cu–Au–U deposit, South Australia, from seismic data reprocessed using the partially preserved amplitude technique. This technique is interpreted to have detected features that relate to iron alteration around the Olympic Dam orebody and has revealed steep...

The organic facies preserved within the Frome Embayment and Callabonna Sub-basin have varying capacity to reduce uranium. The lack of a quality detrital reductant within most of the Namba Formation, i.e. the widespread H-poor Namba facies 2, implies that a mobile uranium reductant is required for the formation of uranium ore at Beverley. Shallow pe...

Integrated data sourced from drill core geochemistry, spectral logs, petrophysical logs from available holes and geophysical data in and around the Punt Hill Copper-Gold prospect was used to characterise and map an IOCG system and predict prospective areas using a multi-disciplinary approach. Mineral assemblages associated with copper mineralisatio...

The Geological Survey of South Australia is in the process of scanning the State drill core collection with a HyLogger™ spectral core scanner with ~210 km core from 852 drill holes scanned to date. At present HyLogger™ data requires specialist software to view, process and output results, and there are technical limitations to visualising multiple...

Two deep crustal seismic profiles, centred on the Olympic Dam Cu-Au-U deposit, were reprocessed by HiSeis Pty Ltd. using a proprietary method. This processing method aimed to enhance subtle variations in signal strength and highlight upper crustal discontinuities. The resulting images enable interpretation of steep structures and regions of enhance...

The Eastern Gawler Craton IOCG Province, South Australia, hosts a number of IOCG deposits associated with Hiltaba Suite magmatism under deep cover. Exploration methods increasingly rely upon geological models derived from potential field data to define the crystalline basement drill targets. Coincident gravity – magnetic anomalies have been success...

The Geological Survey of South Australia (GSSA) has scanned over 700 drill holes across the state including over 300 drill holes in the eastern Gawler Craton. Summary information and The Spectral Geologist (TSG) files for individual drill holes can be downloaded from SARIG (https://sarig.pir.sa.gov.au/Map). The existing HyLogger products provide an...

Describes volcaniclastic rocks and volcanogenic sedimentary rocks from the Upper Gawler Range Volcanics

An extraordinary outpouring of magmatism occurred during the early Mesoproterozoic within the Gawler Craton. This event formed a felsic large igneous province comprising the Gawler Range Volcanics (GRV) and associated Hiltaba Suite intrusions and was responsible for circulation of extensive hydrothermal fluids and the formation of iron oxide-Cu-Au...

South Australia hosts one of the world’s great iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) terranes. Termed the Olympic Cu-Au Province (Skirrow et al. 2007), this belt is renowned as the host to Olympic Dam, the type example of breccia-hosted, hematite-rich IOCG deposits (Groves et al. 2003). The same thermal event resulted in variants of this deposit class thro...

This dataset represents a preliminary basement solid geology interpretation undertaken for the purpose of updating a fundamental exploration dataset in an area that has been the target of significant data acquisition in recent years. The area covered includes the eastern Gawler Craton, a known copper-gold province, as well as a large region of the...

Manuscript accepted for publication in Economic Geology, August 2015

The Cairn Hill Fe-(Cu-Au) deposit is located within the 1.6 Ga Olympic Cu-Au province of the Gawler craton, South Australia. The deposit strikes E-W over a distance of 1.3 km and is up to 40 m wide. It is characterized by two mineralized zones: the North and South lodes, coincident with subsidiary structures within the transpressional Cairn Hill sh...

Tier 1 mineral resource discoveries are critical to maintaining Australia’s, and indeed the world’s, mineral resource inventory without continuing decline in the grade of mined resources. Such discoveries are becoming less common because, increasingly, remaining prospective, under-explored areas are obscured by deep, barren cover. We argue that imp...

Uranium exploration and mining in Australia and China are significant and increasingly important sectors of each country’s respective mineral industry. Here we focus on similarities in the geology of paleovalley-related uranium mineralising systems, which can be used to refine strategies for exploration. Paleovalley-related uranium resources are de...

The term ‘paleovalley-related’ implies more than just uranium hosted within a paleovalley. This style of uranium mineralisation can be defined as any diagenetic/epigenetic concentration of uranium minerals occurring in fluvial, alluvial, lacustrine, and estuarine sediments. Cenozoic paleovalleys of Australia, and Mesozoic paleovalleys of China host...

The eastern Gawler Craton hosts the giant Olympic Dam iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) deposit as well as other large IOCG deposits (i.e. Prominent Hill and Carrapateena). The region is covered by a thick sequence of Mesoproterozoic to Cenozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks making the region difficult to explore using conventional methods. The projec...

A second edition Paleodrainage and Cenozoic coastal barriers of South Australia 1:2 million scale state map and an associated GIS data package (ArcGIS and MapInfo formats) have been released by the Geological Survey of South Australia. This project was completed under the PACE 2020 initiative’s PACE Exploration program (Pathways to Prospectivity).

Regional airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data from the 2010 Frome AEM survey allow remapping or new interpretations of sedimentary basins associated with sandstone-hosted uranium deposits within the southern Callabonna sub-basin, northern Flinders Ranges region and Murray Basin. In the southern Callabonna sub-basin, potential new palaeovalley system...

The Frome Airborne Electromagnetic (AEM) Survey was designed to deliver reliable precompetitive AEM data and scientific analysis to aid research into the potential of energy and mineral resources in the Lake Frome region of South Australia. The Survey was the third regional AEM survey conducted within the Onshore Energy Security Program (OESP) at G...

The eastern margin of the Gawler Craton in South Australia is host to globally significant iron oxide copper-gold deposits (IOCG) that include Olympic Dam, Prominent Hill, Carrapateena and Hillside. Geochemical and mineralogical patterns of alteration in IOCG host rocks incorporate a record of fluid interaction and hydrothermal conditions developed...

Aeolian dune fields cover vast areas of the Gawler Craton and impede the use of traditional surface geochemical techniques in exploration for gold mineralisation in the bedrock. Where sand cover is thin, pedogenic calcrete has been used successfully to outline areas of bedrock with anomalous gold content. However, as sand cover thickness increases,...

Copper and gold mineralisation is commonly associated with accessory uranium and so radon generated from its decay may provide a useful tool in the exploration for this style of deposit. As part of an investigation into the use of radon in exploration, radon measurements were made using a local supplier (Radiation Detection Systems) of Track Etch-s...

Geochemical soil samples were taken on two traverses over shear-hosted Au mineralisation in Area '223' at the Tunkillia Au prospect, 550 km northwest of Adelaide. The objective was to assess the effectiveness of near-surface soil sampling in locating mineralisation in areas where bedrock is deeply weathered and covered by an aeolian dune field. One...

During the 1990s mineral explorers in the southern Curnamona Province reported some successes in locating sulfide mineralisation in basement rocks below thick sediment cover using geochemical surveys based on partial extraction techniques of samples collected from the near surface (Hedger and Dugmore 2001; unpublished company data). This approach w...

An increasing requirement for the discovery of new mineral deposits is the ability to detect mineralization through thick cover. Large areas of the southern Australian Curnamona Province are prospective for Pb–Zn and Cu–Au mineralization; however, much of the prospective basement is covered by 10–150 m of Cenozoic fluvial, alluvial and lacustrine s...

A version of the CHIM electro-geochemical prospecting technique, developed at Guilin University, China was trialled in field surveys at the Challenger Au Mine, Tunkillia Au prospect and Four Mile East U Deposit, in South Australia. These surveys were a follow-up to previous tests of the Chinese CHIM technique conducted in South Australia in 2005. T...

A version of the geoelectrochemical prospecting technique developed in China was demonstrated in China and Australia to test its suitability under both Chinese and Australian conditions. This paper briefly describes the mechanism and effectiveness of the technique applied to search of concealed mineralisation through regolith cover, based on both e...

This Guide is designed to assist mineral explorers working in regolith-dominated regions of the Curnamona Province. Although the information presented may be applied across the Curnamona region, the focus is on the southern Curnamona Province where there has been the greatest number of regolith studies. The Guide provides an introduction to the reg...

Thick sediment cover impedes exploration in some of the most prospective areas away from bedrock outcrop in the Proterozoic Curnamona Province. The objectives of the CurnaMinEx project are to test the effectiveness of surface techniques to locate buried mineral deposits. An effective technique would reduce exploration costs associated with the curr...

Thick sediment cover impedes exploration in some of the most prospective areas away from bedrock outcrop in the Proterozoic Curnamona Province. The objectives of the CurnaMinEx project are to test the effectiveness of surface techniques to locate buried mineral deposits. An effective technique would reduce exploration costs associated with the curr...

An increasing requirement for new mineral deposit discoveries is the ability to see mineralization through thick cover. Large areas of the southern Australian Curnamona Province are prospective for Pb-Zn and Cu-Au mineralization, however, much of it is under 10-150 m of Cenozoic fluvial, alluvial and lacustrine sediments. Soil surveys were conducte...

A version of the CHIM electro-geochemical prospecting technique, developed at Guilin University, China was trialled in field surveys at the Challenger Au Mine, Kalkaroo Cu-Au- Mo and Goulds Dam U prospects, in South Australia. These surveys were the first time that the Chinese CHIM technique has been tested under arid conditions in Australia. The m...

PIRSA through CRC LEME aims to develop improved methods to detect mineralisation buried by sediment cover. This requires knowledge of likely metal transfer mechanisms, and modification and optimisation of detection technologies to suit the particular environment being targeted by mineral exploration. The following is a brief summary of possible met...

Effective surface geochemical techniques to help map buried ore deposits are one means of limiting the high cost of unsuccessful holes drilled to test new targets or to define extensions to known orebodies. With this in mind, a version of the CHIM electro-geochemical prospecting technique developed at Guilin University, China was demonstrated at th...

In this paper we discuss the results of TEM surveys designed to image the shallow subsurface conductivity distribution over the Kalkaroo mineral prospect in the Curnamona Province, South Australia. The information derived from the survey is being used in the CRC LEME Curnaminex Project to assist with developing effective mineral exploration strateg...

A field mapping project was set up to investigate the age, origin and emplacement history of newly discovered volcanic rocks within the Mt Grainger Anticline, close to the town of Oodla Wirra. Outcrop of the Oodla Wirra Volcanics (OWV) was found to be more common than previously mapped. The volcanics encompassed a variety of volcanic facies includi...

Open file company exploration information, released since the previous exploration review (McCallum, 1998) on the Curnamona 1:250 000 map sheet is reviewed in this report. Base and precious metal exploration in this period has been led by Rio Tinto Exploration Pty Ltd, BHP Minerals Ltd, MIM exploration Pty Ltd and Lynch Mining Ltd. The most signifi...

Stratigraphic drilling was undertaken in the South Australian portion of the northern Murray Basin to investigate the stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Cainozoic sequences as well as heavy mineral sand potential of the area. The program was part of the Targeted Exploration Initiative of South Australia (TEISA). Drill targets were chosen to gain...

The Murray Basin is an intracratonic basin of Cainozoic fluvial to shallow marine sediments. Deposition in the Eocene and early Oligocene was characterised by floodplain and swamp deposits with occasional interbeds of shelly clays and limestone. The peak of the marine incursion in Mid-Miocene resulted in the deposition of thick packages of marine c...

In the Curnamona Province, stratiform and stratabound Pb-Zn and Cu-Au mineralisation are commonly associated with a regional redox boundary within the Willyama Supergroup stratigraphy. This boundary can be identified from aeromagnetic data, however, the rocks are mostly covered by 10-150 m of transported regolith. Discovery of new mineral deposits...

The precise geometric definition of palaeoshorelines/channels is important in the exploration for placer, uranium, and groundwater exploration in Australia. This can be achieved through the combination of several geological and geophysical methods. Major refinements in remote sensing and geophysical techniques, data processing, sedimentology and co...