U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR TO ACCOMPANY MAP CP-42 U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY EXPLANATORY NOTES FOR THE MINERAL-RESOURCES MAP OF THE CIRCUM-PACIFIC REGION SOUTHWEST QUADRANT 1:10,000,000 CIRCUM-PACIFIC ENERGY AND MINERAL ill/ I RESOURCES 1996 CIRCUM-PACIFIC COUNCIL FOR ENERGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES Michel T. Halbouty, Chair CIRCUM-PACIFIC MAP PROJECT John A. Reinemund, Director George Gryc, General Chair EXPLANATORY NOTES FOR THE MINERAL-RESOURCES MAP OF THE CIRCUM-PACIFIC REGION SOUTHWEST QUADRANT Scale: 1:10,000,000 By LAND RESOURCES W.D. Palfreyman, Australian Geological Survey Organisation, Canberra, A.C.T. 2601, Australia C.M. Mock, Australian Geological Survey Organisation, Canberra, A.C.T. 2601, Australia R.L. Brathwaite, New Zealand Geological Survey, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Lower Hutt, New Zealand R.N. Brothers, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand (deceased) George Gryc, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California 94025, U.S.A. SEAFLOOR RESOURCES David Z. Piper, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California 94025, U.S.A. Theresa R. Swint-Iki, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California 94025, U.S.A. Floyd W. McCoy, Associated Scientists at Woods Hole, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, U.S.A. Frank T. Manheim, U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, U.S.A. Candice M. Lane-Bostwick, U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, U.S.A. 1996 Explanatory Notes to Supplement the MINERAL-RESOURCES MAP OF THE CIRCUM-PACIFIC REGION SOUTHWEST QUADRANT R. W. Johnson, Chair Southwest Quadrant Panel LAND RESOURCES W. David Palfreyman, Australian Geological Survey Organisation, Canberra, A.C.T. 2601, Australia H. Frederick Doutch, Australian Geological Survey Organisation, Canberra, A.C.T. 2601, Australia Robert L. Brathwaite, New Zealand Geological Survey, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Lower Hutt, New Zealand Masaharu Kamitani, Geological Survey of Japan, Ibaraki 305, Japan SEAFLOOR RESOURCES David Z. Piper, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California 94025, U.S.A. Theresa R. Swint-Iki, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California 94025, U.S.A. Floyd W. McCoy, Associated Scientists at Woods Hole, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, U.S.A. Lawrence G. Sullivan, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964, U.S.A. Frank T. Manheim, U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, U.S.A. Candice M. Lane-Bostwick, U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, U.S.A. Map compilation coordinated by George Gryc U.S. Geological Survey Menlo Park, California 94025, U.S.A. CONTENTS Introduction 1 Circum-Pacific Map Project 1 Mineral-Resources Map Series 1 Mineral-Resources Map of the Southwest Quadrant 2 Resource symbols 2 Land resources 3 Seafloor resources 4 Land resources 4 Australia 4 Archean 4 Yilgarn and Pilbara Blocks 5 Gold province 5 Nickel sulfide province 5 Archean-Proterozoic transition 6 Early Proterozoic 6 Platform cover 6 Hamersley Basin 6 Orogenic zones 7 Pine Creek Inlier 7 Tennant Creek Mineral Field 7 Middle Proterozoic 8 Platform cover 8 Kimberley Basin 8 Victoria River and Birrindudu Basins 8 Bangemall Basin 8 McArthur Basin 8 Orogenic zones 9 Mt. Isa Inlier 9 Curnamona Province 9 Gawler Craton and Stuart Shelf 9 Georgetown-Coen Province 9 Central Australian Mobile Belts 10 Late Proterozoic 10 Platform cover 10 Adelaide Geosyncline 10 Paterson Province 10 Late Proterozoic-Phanerozoic basins 10 Lead-zinc 10 Phosphate rock 10 Uranium 11 Proterozoic-Paleozoic transition 11 Paleozoic fold belts 11 Tasman Fold Belt, South Australia 11 Lachlan Fold Belt, Tasmania 11 Lachlan Fold Belt, Victoria 11 Lachlan Fold Belt, New South Wales 12 Tasman Fold Belt, Queensland 12 New England Fold Belt, New South Wales 13 New England Fold Belt, Queensland 13 Cenozoic platform cover and regolith deposits 13 Manganese 13 Regolithic deposits 13 Mineral sands 13 Bauxite 14 Surficial uranium 14 Later itic nickel 14 in Secondary manganese 14 Alluvial diamonds 14 Opal 14 Sapphire 14 New Zealand 15 TuhuaOrogen 15 Rangitata Orogen 15 Kaikoura Orogen 16 Fiji 17 Preorogenic period 17 Orogenic period 17 Postorogenic period 17 Solomon Islands 18 Vanuatu 18 Western belt 18 Eastern belt 18 Central chain 19 New Caledonia 19 Papua New Guinea 19 Irian Jaya (Indonesia) 21 Southwest Pacific Ocean 21 Babelthuap Island, Palau Group 21 Phosphate islands 21 Antarctica 21 Seafloor resources 22 Seafloor sediment 22 Ferromanganese nodules 22 Ferromanganese crusts 25 Polymetallic sulfides 25 Phosphorites and phosphatized rocks 26 Heavy-mineral deposits 26 References cited and additional sources of data 27 FIGURES 1. Principal morphostructural features of Australia 33 2. Mineral deposits of Western Australia, Australia 34 3. Mineral deposits of Queensland, Australia 35 4. Mineral deposits of New South Wales, Australia 36 5. Mineral deposits of Northern Territory, Australia 37 6. Mineral deposits of South Australia, Australia 38 7. Mineral deposits of Tasmania and Victoria, Australia 39 8. Mineral deposits of New Zealand 40 9. Mineral deposits of Fiji 41 10. Mineral deposits of Solomon Islands and Vanuatu 42 11. Mineral deposits of New Caledonia 43 12. Mineral deposits of Papua New Guinea and Irian Jaya 44 13. Mineral deposits of Antarctica and Indian and Pacific Ocean islands 45 TABLES 1. Mineral deposits of Western Australia, Australia 46 2. Mineral deposits of Queensland, Australia 52 3. Mineral deposits of New South Wales, Australia 55 4. Mineral deposits of Northern Territory, Australia 57 5. Mineral deposits of South Australia, Australia 58 6. Mineral deposits of Tasmania, Australia 60 7. Mineral deposits of Victoria, Australia 60 IV 8. Mineral deposits of New Zealand 61 9. Mineral deposits of Fiji 63 10. Mineral deposits of Solomon Islands 63 11. Mineral deposits of Vanuatu 63 12. Mineral deposits of New Caledonia 64 13. Mineral deposits of Papua New Guinea 65 14. Mineral deposits of Irian Jaya 66 15. Mineral deposits of Antarctica and Indian and Pacific Ocean islands 66 INTRODUCTION Warren O. Addicott, consultant. Project headquarters are located at 345 Middlefield Road, MS 952, Menlo Park, CIRCUM-PACIFIC MAP PROJECT California 94025, U.S.A. The project has been overseen from its inception by John A. Reinemund, Director of the By Project since 1982. George Gryc The framework for the Circum-Pacific Map Project was developed in 1973 by a specially convened group of 12 North American geoscientists meeting in California. The Circum-Pacific Map Project is a cooperative The project was officially launched at the First Circum- international effort designed to show the relationship of Pacific Conference on Energy and Mineral Resources, known energy and mineral resources to the major held in Honolulu, Hawaii, in August 1974. Sponsors of geologic features of the Pacific Basin and surrounding the conference were the American Association of Petro­ continental areas. Available geologic, mineral-resource, leum Geologists (AAPG), Pacific Science Association and energy-resource data are being integrated with new (PSA), and the Committee for Coordination of Joint project-developed data sets such as magnetic lineations, Prospecting for Mineral Resources in Asian Offshore seafloor mineral deposits, and seafloor sediment. Earth Areas (CCOP). The Circum-Pacific Map Project scientists representing some 180 organizations from operates as an activity of the Circum-Pacific Council for more than 40 Pacific-region countries are involved in Energy and Mineral Resources, a nonprofit organization this work. that promotes cooperation among Circum-Pacific Six overlapping equal-area regional maps at a scale countries in the study of energy and mineral resources of of 1:10,000,000 form the cartographic base for the the Pacific basin. Founded by Michel T. Halbouty in project: the four Circum-Pacific quadrants (Northwest, 1972, the Council also sponsors quadrennial Southwest, Southeast, and Northeast), and the Antarctic conferences, topical symposia, scientific training and Arctic regions. There is also a Pacific Basin Sheet at seminars, and the Earth Science Series of publications. a scale of 1:17,000,000. Published map series include the Published thematic maps of the Southwest Base (published from 1977 to 1989), the Geographic Quadrant include the Plate-Tectonic Map (Doutch, (published from 1977 to 1990), the Plate-Tectonic 1986), the Geodynamic Map (Doutch, 1985), the (published from 1981 to 1992), and the Geodynamic Geologic Map (Palfreyman, 1988), and the Tectonic (published from 1984 to 1990); all of them include seven Map (Scheibner, 1991). The Energy-Resources Map is map sheets. Thematic map series in the process of now in cartographic preparation at Circum-Pacific Map completing publication include Geologic (publication Project headquarters in Menlo Park, California. initiated in 1983), Tectonic (publication initiated in 1991), Energy-Resources (publication initiated in 1986), and Mineral-Resources (publication initiated in 1984). MINERAL-RESOURCES MAP SERIES Altogether, 60 map sheets are planned. The maps are prepared cooperatively by the Circum-Pacific Council The Mineral-Resources Map series is designed to for Energy and Mineral Resources and the U.S. be as factual as possible, with a minimum of Geological Survey. Maps published prior to mid-1990 interpretation. The small scale, 100 km/cm or 10,000 are distributed by the American Association of km2/cm2 (about 160 miles per inch or 25,000 square Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Bookstore,