Arthur Hickman

Two late Mesoarchean orogenic events completed the tectonic evolution of the Pilbara Craton: the 2955–2919 Ma North Pilbara Orogeny and the 2930–2900 Ma Mosquito Creek Orogeny. The deformation of these events compressed and closed the Mallina and Mosquito Creek Basins and effectively completed cratonization. From 2900 Ma onwards, the Pilbara Craton...

The predominantly volcanic Warrawoona and Kelly Groups are separated by a regional unconformity overlain by the Strelley Pool Formation, a 20–1000 m thick, shallow-water succession of conglomerate, sandstone, silicified sedimentary carbonate rocks, evaporites, and volcaniclastic rocks. The formation was deposited during a 75-million-year break in v...

Two episodes of Mesoarchean subduction in the Pilbara Craton are attributed to interaction of the craton with another plate along its northwest margin. Northwest–southeast compression of the craton resulting from plate convergence is interpreted to explain the tectonic and magmatic evolution of the Northwest Pilbara Craton between 3160 and 2913 Ma....

The c. 3220 Ma breakup of the Paleoarchean Pilbara Craton was followed by a 60-million-year period of northwest–southeast plate separation. Three continental microplates (East Pilbara, Karratha, and Kurrana Terranes) were separated by two expanding rift basins. Between the Karratha Terrane (KT) and the East Pilbara Terrane (EPT), the Regal Basin ev...

Tectonic, magmatic, and depositional processes from the c. 3070 Ma Prinsep Orogeny to the end of the North Pilbara Orogeny at c. 2919 Ma were directly related to ongoing northwest–southeast compression of the Pilbara Craton. This compression is interpreted to have resulted from c. 3160 Ma collision and subsequent interaction with an exotic plate no...

Unconformably overlying thick continental crust, the Kelly Group comprises three formations, in ascending stratigraphic order: the 3350–3335 Ma Euro Basalt, up to 9 km thick, and composed of komatiite, basaltic komatiite, and tholeiite; the 3325–3315 Ma Wyman Formation, up to 2 km thick, and composed of rhyolite flows and subvolcanic rhyolite intru...

The 3530–3427 Ma Warrawoona Group is the oldest of the three groups that make up the Pilbara Supergroup. This 3530–3235 Ma supergroup comprises the Paleoarchean greenstone succession of the East Pilbara Terrane and is preserved in 20 greenstone belts. The group was erupted across the entire area of the 3800–3530 Ma Pilbara crust (Chap. 2), and its...

Styles of mineralization in the Northern Pilbara Craton, and the size of deposits, reflect the change in tectonic processes from the Paleoarchean to the Mesoarchean. Paleoarchean magmas and hydrothermal fluids were generated during vertical recycling of continental crust, and consequently the ‘metal budget’ was limited. None of the Paleoarchean gol...

At 2775 Ma, the Neoarchean crust of the Pilbara Craton began to be extended and rifted resulting in the widespread eruption of basaltic lavas. Between c. 2775 and 2710 Ma, mafic–felsic volcanic and intrusive activity continued in stages that were separated by periods of uplift, folding, erosion, and sedimentation. The first basaltic formation depos...

Following deformation and magmatic activity of the 3325–3290 Ma Emu Pool Event (Chap. 5), deposition of the Sulphur Springs Group marked the beginning of crustal extension and rifting that led to the continental breakup of the Pilbara Craton. The extension and rifting are attributed to the arrival of the last major mantle plume to impact the Pilbar...

Previous investigations of the northern Pilbara Craton are briefly summarized, followed by an outline of the region’s lithostratigraphy and major tectonic units. Previous interpretations of its tectonic evolution have not taken account evidence that the presently preserved 500,000 km2 Pilbara Craton is composed of fragments of much larger Paleoarch...

U–Pb zircon geochronology and Sm–Nd and Lu–Hf isotope data indicate that the Pilbara Craton includes Eoarchean sialic crust formed up to 270 million years before deposition of the greenstone succession (3530–3235 Ma Pilbara Supergroup). Dates on pre-3530 Ma xenocrystic zircons in felsic igneous rocks and detrital zircons in Paleoarchean and Mesoarc...

When plate tectonics initiated remains uncertain, partly because many signals interpreted as diagnostic of plate tectonics can be alternatively explained via hot stagnant-lid tectonics. One such signal involves the petrogenesis of early Archean phaneritic ultramafic rocks. In the Eoarchean Isua supracrustal belt (Greenland), some phaneritic ultrama...

The east Pilbara Craton provides a complete geological record of crustal evolution through the Paleoarchean and Mesoarchean. Based on almost 50 years of research on the best exposed eastern part of the craton, this comprehensive review describes and interprets the stratigraphy, structure, geochemistry, geochronology, and mineralization of this sect...

Crustal architecture places first-order controls on the distribution of mineral and energy resources. However, despite its importance, it is poorly constrained over much of northern Australia. Here, we present a full crustal interpretation of deep seismic reflection profile 18GA-KB1 that extends over 872 km from the Eo- to Mesoarchean Pilbara Crato...

Basement geology interpretation of deep seismic reflection line 18GA-KB1 that was acquired under the Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program by Geoscience Australia and the Geological Survey of Western Australia under the Exploration Incentive Scheme. The line has a total length of 872 km, stretching from the Aileron Province in the east to its wes...

The granite greenstone terrains in the Pilbara Craton are some of the best-preserved Archean terranes on Earth making them ideal for tackling questions regarding growth of the continental crust during the early stages of Earth’s history. The Pilbara Craton has been suggested to have developed on a >3.8 Ga substrate of continental crust. Although gn...

The Pilbara Craton, Western Australia hosts one of the best-preserved Paleoarchean granite-greenstone terrains on Earth, and is inferred to have developed on an older (>3.8 Ga), possibly Hadean, continental substrate. Such ancient crust has, however, never been identified in outcrop. Here, we show that metamorphosed gabbroic, leucogabbroic and anor...

The Pilbara Craton records a magmatic history from 3530 to 2831 Ma on the basis of U–Pb zircon crystallization ages. The oldest part of the craton, the East Pilbara Terrane (EPT), evolved from 3530 to 3223 Ma. We present Hf isotope data from four main granitic supersuites of the Mount Edgar Dome, which is one of the 11 domes that make up the EPT. T...

The Pilbara Craton records a magmatic history from 3530 to 2831 Ma on the basis of U–Pb zircon crystallization ages. The oldest part of the craton, the East Pilbara Terrane (EPT), evolved from 3530 to 3223 Ma. We present Hf isotope data from four main granitic supersuites of the Mount Edgar Dome, which is one of the 11 domes that make up the EPT. T...

The significance of oxygen isotope ratios in Archean chert has long been debated. Cherts from the c. 3.4 Ga Strelley Pool Formation (SPF) (Pilbara Craton, Western Australia) host some of the oldest stromatolite and microfossil evidence for life, but the genesis and timing of silica cements has been unclear. Field relations, petrography and a combin...

The Pilbara Craton, Western Australia, is one of the best preserved Palaeo- to Mesoarchaean terrains on Earth. The East Pilbara Terrane is the archetypical granite-greenstone belt, the dome-like complexes of which were formed through three major magmatic events. These granite domes are comprised of meta- morphosed granitic igneous rocks that exhibi...

The early Archaean East Pilbara Terrane of the Pilbara Craton represents the archetypical granite dome – greenstone keel terrain and preserves much of the primary geological features of dome-and-keel formation. Here we present the first detailed lithostratigraphic and structural transect from marginal gneisses of the Muccan Granitic Complex through...

Abstract The northwest Pilbara Craton provides an exceptionally well-preserved record of Archean crustal evolution from c. 3280 to 2830 Ma. A major change in tectonic processes took place at c. 3220 Ma when mantle plume-related volcanism and vertical deformation was abruptly replaced by plate tectonic evolution. This change, commencing with deep r...

The Archean rock record contains seventeen asteroid impact ejecta units that represent the terrestrial vestiges of an extended late heavy bombardment (LHB). Correlated impact ejecta units include 3472-3470 Ma impact spherule layers in the Barberton Greenstone Belt, Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa, and the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia, and severa...

Mineral exploration drilling 60 km west of Leonora in 2008 intersected >95 m of poorly consolidated granitoid-dominated breccia at the base of a Cenozoic paleochannel beneath Lake Raeside. The breccia, initially interpreted as a kimberlite, is composed of poorly consolidated fragments of granitic gneiss, felsite and metamorphosed mafic rock within...

Predictions of large volumes of stabilized continental crust by the early Archaean stand in stark contrast to the actual amount of pre-3.5 Ga rocks presently exposed on Earth's surface. The Pilbara Craton of Western Australia, one of the best preserved Paleoarchean crustal blocks on Earth, is believed to have developed on a cryptic, possibly ≥3.8 G...

The well-preserved late Archean sedimentary rocks of the Fortescue and Hamersley Basins in Western Australia offer fascinating insights into early earth ocean chemistry prior to the Great Oxidation Event (GOE). In this study, we use a combination of whole rock geochemistry, LA-ICPMS trace element analysis of sedimentary pyrite and pyrrhotite and SH...

Asteroid impact spherule layers and tsunami deposits underlying banded iron-formations in the Fortescue and Hamersley Groups have been further investigated to test their potential stratigraphic relationships. This work has included new observations related to the ca 2.63 Ga Jeerinah Impact Layer (JIL) and impact spherules associated with the 4th Sh...

How and when continents grew and plate tectonics started on Earth remain poorly constrained. Most researchers apply the modern plate tectonic paradigm to problems of ancient crustal formation, but these are unsatisfactory because diagnostic criteria and actualistic plate configurations are lacking. Here, we show that 3.5-3.2 Ga continental nuclei i...

Time-constrained isotopic datasets permit the evaluation of tectonic processes, including continental collision, rifting, and the origins of terrane fragments. The Rudall Province, in the Paterson Orogen, is part of the West Australian Craton (WAC) and now lies to the east of the Archaean Pilbara Craton. Components within the Rudall Province have p...

The Rudall Province, in the Paterson Orogen, is part of the West Australian Craton (WAC) and now lies to the east of the Archean East Pilbara Terrane. Components within the Rudall Province have previously been linked to the Arunta Orogen of the North Australian Craton based on similarities in timing of magmatism, deformation, and metamorphism and h...

The oldest part of the Pilbara Craton is 3.80–3.55 Ga crust. Between 3.53 and 3.22 Ga, mantle plume activity resulted in eight successive volcanic cycles forming the Pilbara Supergroup. Large volumes of granitic magma were intruded during the same period. By 3.22 Ga, a thick continental crust, the East Pilbara Terrane, had been established. Between...

The Pilbara region of Western Australia is one of only two areas on Earth – the other being the Kaapvaal Craton of southern Africa – that contain well preserved, essentially continuous geological records of crustal evolution from the early Paleoarchean into the late Paleoproterozoic. The Pilbara is famous for providing much of the world’s best pres...

Geochemical evidence has long been used to argue for mass exchange between the earliest terrestrial crust and mantle, yet the apparently decoupled Nd-Hf isotope record preserved by the oldest rocks implicates differentiation processes unlike those associated with modern plate tectonics. This debate has, however, been staged in areas of great geolog...

Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) was applied to observe and characterize carbonaceous materials (CM) extracted from black cherts and argillite in drill core from the Warrawoona Group of the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia. The black chert came from a ‘white smoker type’ seafloor deposit in the ca. 3.49 Ga Dresser Formation, whereas the blac...

The dating of the dawn of life on Earth is a difficult task, requiring an accumulation of evidences from many different research fields. Here we shall summarize findings from the molecular scale (proteins) to cells and photosynthesis-related-fossils (stromatolites from the early and the late Archaean Eon), which indicate that life emerged on Earth...

Abstract Since the entire lithostratigraphy of the northern Pilbara Craton was formally revised in a Geological Survey of Western Australia Record in 2006, evidence from new mapping and geochemical data has led to various lithostratigraphic revisions; in particular for the 3.53-3.23 Ga Pilbara Supergroup. This paper provides a summary of the change...

Abstract State Geoheritage Reserve R50149, also known as the Trendall Reserve, was established by the Government of Western Australia to preserve geological features of exceptional national and international significance. This and five other reserves cover some of the world’s most important early Archean stromatolite and microfossil sites in the Pi...

A sequence of c. 3.2Ga low-grade sedimentary rocks, bimodal volcanic rocks, and subvolcanic layered mafic-ultramafic sills and dykes occur in greenstone belts that flank the margins of the 3.51–3.24Ga East Pilbara Terrane of the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia. U–Pb SHRIMP zircon data and Sm–Nd model age data suggest that these rocks represent ju...

Over the last 20 years, it has become common practice to treat SIMS measurements of 207Pb/206Pb in zircon as unfractionated. Consequently, uncertainties associated with composite 207Pb/206Pb values are often limited only by population statistics of the weighted mean, and citation of 95% confidence limits of 0.1% (or less) on Meso- to Paleoarchean m...

An igneous zircon reference material (OG1) was characterised for U-Pb isotopes by ID-TIMS, and utilised to evaluate SIMS (SHRIMP) instrumental mass fractionation (IMF) of radiogenic Pb isotopes ((207)Pb*/(206)Pb*). The TIMS (207)Pb*/(206)Pb* reference value for OG1 was 0.29907 +/- 0.00011 (95% confidence limit), 3465.4 +/- 0.6 Ma. The high (207)Pb*...

The timing of the origin of photosynthesis on the early Earth is greatly debated. It is generally agreed, on the basis of the presence of biological molecules found in shales from the Hamersley Basin, Australia, that oxygenic photosynthesis had evolved 2.7 billion years (Gyr) ago. However, whether photosynthesis occurred before this time remains co...

Geoscientific drilling in the Marble Bar area of the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia, resulted in the discovery of locally abundant hematite in Archean basalts ~ 200 m below the present land surface. The hematized basalts occurring along a bedding-parallel shear zone are cross-cut by pyrite veinlets (< 3 mm in width) and contain euhedral pyrite g...

A newly discovered, morphologically well-preserved crater with a mean diameter of 260 m is reported from the Ophthalmia Range, Western Australia. The crater is located in hilly terrain ∼36 km north of Newman, and is situated in the Paleoproterozoic Woongarra Rhyolite and the overlying Boolgeeda Iron Formation. The morphometry of the crater is consi...

The Strelley Pool Formation has been identified in eleven of the twenty greenstone belts in the East Pilbara Terrane of the Pilbara Craton, establishing that its depositional area was at least 30 000 km2. Regional geochronological data indicate that the interval of time during which the Strelley Pool Formation was deposited was from 3426 Ma to 3350...

This chapter describes the lithostratigraphy, geochemistry, and structural and metamorphic geology of the ancient, eastern nucleus of the Pilbara Craton. The 3.53–2.83 Ga Pilbara Craton of Western Australia is one of only two areas on the Earth that contain large, well-exposed areas of little deformed, low-grade Paleoarchean rocks and the other bei...

The Archean Pilbara Craton contains five geologically distinct terranes – the East Pilbara, Karratha, Sholl, Regal and Kurrana Terranes – all of which are unconformably overlain by the 3.02- to 2.93-Ga De Grey Superbasin. The 3.53–3.17 Ga East Pilbara Terrane (EP) represents the ancient nucleus of the craton that formed through three distinct mantl...

Abstract New geochemical data are presented for 438 whole-rock samples of volcanic rocks from both the East Pilbara Terrane and the West Pilbara Superterrane of the Archean Pilbara Craton. The samples include the full range of volcanic rock types observed in the craton, cover the full c. 3.52 – 2.93 Ga depositional range of the greenstone units wit...

Abstract The Whim Creek greenstone belt comprises two volcano-sedimentary basin fragments from the Archean Pilbara Craton. The older rocks of the c. 3010 Ma Whim Creek Group are basalt and dacite with lesser andesitic volcaniclastic rocks. The unconformably overlying Bookingarra Group contains a c. 2950 Ma succession of conglomerate, quartzite, sha...

The ca. 3.12 Ga Whundo Group forms an exotic terrane on the western margin of the old (>=3.4 Ga) nucleus of the Pilbara Craton in northwestern Australia. It is exceptional amongst Mesoarchaean, or older, volcanic sequences in that it preserves a range of geological and geochemical features that together provide unambiguous evidence of modern-style...

Models for the formation of the high-amplitude (minimum 15 km), long wavelength (120 km) granitoid dome-and-greenstone syncline geometry of the Archaean East Pilbara Granite–Greenstone Terrane (EP) of the Pilbara Craton are controversial. Diapiric models ascribe most structural features to vertical re-organisation of an inverted crustal density pro...

Major tectono-metamorphic differences between two pre-2900 Ma granite–greenstone terranes of the Pilbara Craton indicate evolution under fundamentally different tectonic regimes. The East Pilbara Granite–Greenstone Terrane (EP) contains a typical dome and basin regional structural pattern, lacking any preferred orientation of domical granitoid comp...

Results from a multidisciplinary geoscience program since 1994 are summarized for the North Pilbara terrain of the Pilbara Craton. Major findings include the recognition of three separate terranes with unique stratigraphy, geochronological, and structural histories; the ca. 3.72 to 2.85 Ga East Pilbara granite-greenstone terrane, the ca. 3.27 to 2....

The Archean eon is a highly mineralized eon in geological time, producing a significant proportion of the world’s Au, Cu, Zn, and Ni. However, much of this mineralization is concentrated within the period from 2740 to 2620 Ma, a time characterized by extensive crustal growth and mineralization and referred to by Barley et al. (1998) as the "Late Ar...

Mineralizing events in the North Pilbara terrain of Western Australia occurred between 3490 and 2700 Ma and include the oldest examples in the world of many ore deposit types. These events were pulsed and associated with major volcano-plutonic episodes (volcanic-hosted massive sulfide, porphyry Cu, Sn-Ta pegmatite, mafic-ultramafic-hosted Ni-Cu-PGE...

Geological map of Preston map (1:100 000 sheet 2156), located in the west Pilbara of Western Australia. Geological data for the published paper of the structural geology of the Cape Preston area by AH Hickman & CA Strong

van Haaften and White (1998) presented kine-matic data from shear zones within the TalgaTalga Anticline of the Marble Bar belt to in-voke a regional thrust-accretion tectonic originfor the East Pilbara Craton. By examination ofsmall-scale, local faults, they inferred five phasesof regional deformation, of which an early ESE-directed thrusting event...

A new occurrence of conical and branched pseudocolumnar stromatolites in Archean dolostones in the Pilbara region, Australia, contributes significant new morphologic information on such structures. These remains are interpreted as probably representing, in part, microbially mediated accretionary growth surfaces in an Archean hypersaline depositiona...

The northeast trending Mallina Basin, in the central part of the Archaean Pilbara Craton, separates western and eastern granite–greenstone terranes with significantly different structural histories and age distribution patterns. The basin, which is up to 70 km wide and has a strike length of more than 150 km, is mainly composed of metamorphosed tur...

Field mapping in the Cape Preston area, together with interpretation of aeromagnetic and radiometric images of the western side of the PRESTON and FORTESCUE 1:100 000 map sheets, has identified a series of parallel north-striking thrusts through the Mount Bruce Supergroup. Detailed stratigraphic information obtained through the field mapping reveal...

A metallogenic model is proposed in which gold and base metal mineralization in SE China is related to plate interactions along the Pacific margin with Southeast Asia. From about 900 to 70 Ma, all depositional, orogenic, and metallogenic processes can be explained by subduction events along northeast-trending zones. With progressive accretion and c...

Archaean supracrustal rocks that are well exposed in the Marble Bar region, Pilbara Craton, have been assigned to the Warrawoona Group and younger sequences. The predominantly volcanic Warrawoona Group, previously dated at 3300 to 3500 Ma, is largely basaltic with locally intercalated thick felsic volcanic units. The supracrustal rocks have been fo...

Abstract The Darling Range, southeast of Perth, is the world’s leading alumina producing region. In 1989/90 alumina refined from bauxite mined at Jarrahdale, Del Park, Huntly, Willowdale and Mount Saddleback, totalled 6.65 million tonnes valued at $2336 million, and constituted 16% of total world production. Bauxite deposits occur throughout the Da...

Gold deposits in Western Austria can be classified into five categories: epigenetic deposits in granite-greenstone terranes; epigenetic deposits in Precambrian sedimentary sequences; syngenetic deposits; Precambrian placer deposits; and Cenozoic placer and supergene deposits. In terms of past gold production and known resources [data herein are pre...

Archean komatiites, high-Mg basalts and tholeiites from the North Star Basalt and the Mount Ada Basalt formations of the Talga-Talga Subgroup, Warrawoona Group, Pilbara Block, Western Australia, define a linear correlation on the normal143Nd/144Nd vs.147Sm/144Nd isochron plot. The data give an age of 3712 ± 98 Ma and initialεNd(T) of +1.64 ± 0.40....

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SmNd geochronology has been used to date 3 widely spaced metavolcanic (greenstone) belts in the Yilgarn Block. The measured isochron ages are 2.78 ± 0.03 Ga (initial ϵNd = 2.5 ± 0.3) for greenstones at Kanowna in the Eastern Goldfields Province, 3.05 ± 0.10 Ga (initial ϵNd = 0.9 ± 0.7) for Diemals-Marda in the Southern Cross Province and 2.98 ± 0....

Structural, stratigraphic and geochronological evidence establishes that the granitic gneiss domes of the Pilbara Block were formed by solid-state diapirism, and previous interpretations invoking superimposed folding or magmatic diapirism can now be abondoned. Diapirism in the Pilbara Block is seen as a progressive and evolving process in which def...

Approximately 700 samples from five slate, three marble and five quartzite units have been analysed for 26 elements to determine the use of geochemistry in stratigraphic correlation. Statistical treatment of the data has established that for all the slates and marbles, and certain of the quartzites, geochemistry is a viable method of distinguishing...

Eighteen silicic volcanic rocks of the Warrawoona Group and ten associated plutonic rocks from the Pilbara Block, Western Australia, have been chosen for geochemical and isotopic studies. Geochemically, most of these analyzed rocks (volcanic and plutonic) are of tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) composition, a typical feature found in many o...

A Sm/Nd age of 3560 + or - 32 m.y. (initial 143Nd/144Nd = 0.508104 + or - 34) considered to be the age of volcanism was obtained for komatiite, basalt, andesite and dacite from the North Star basalt formation. -J.A.H.

Deposition of the Pilbara supergroup, which commenced 3600-3550 m.y. ago with the extrusion of tholeiitic basalt, is traced through various events to post-2950 m.y. igneous activity.J.A.H.

Major- and trace-element analyses on 442 samples from the Archaean of the east Pilbara show (from oldest to youngest) tholeiitic and high-Mg basalt, komatiite and tholeiitic basalt with dacite/rhyolite lenses, and high-K and Al, low-Ti basalt. Tholeiitic basalt shows progressive depletion in Fe, Ti, P, Zr and Y within the pile.J.A.H.