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Geological Provinces

The following information summarises the setting of the State's geological provinces.

More detailed information such as ages, prospective commodities and exploration models, tectonic events and key references is available through the more information links following the summaries.

Gawler Craton

  • This is a stable crystalline basement province comprising late Archaean to Mesoproterozoic rocks mantled in part by thin platformal sediments and regoliths of Neoproterozoic to Cainozoic age.
  • Archaean basement (Sleaford and Mulgathing Complexes) comprises chemical and clastic metasediments, mafic lavas, felsic volcanics and granitic rocks.
  • Palaeoproterozoic rocks include metamorphosed marine shelf sediments of the Hutchison and Wallaroo Groups, granitoids of the Donington and Moody Suites, mafic dykes and younger metamorphosed sediments and felsic volcanics.
  • Thick sheets of Mesoproterozoic, felsic Gawler Range Volcanics (1590 Ma) occur over much of the Gawler Craton. These are associated with extensive comagmatic granite intrusions  (Hiltaba Suite), one of which hosts the Olympic Dam deposit.

More information on the Gawler Craton.

Curnamona Province

  • The Palaeo- to Mesoproterozoic Curnamona Province hosts the Broken Hill Pb-Zn-Ag orebodies.
  • The late Palaeoproterozoic Willyama Supergroup comprises medium to high-grade metasediments and minor metavolcanics.
  • Mesoproterozoic acid volcanics and quartzose sediments with associated granite intrusions (1600-1550 Ma) occur on the Benagerie Ridge and in the Mount Painter and Mount Babbage Inliers.
  • Analogies between the Curnamona Province and Mount Isa-Cloncurry region are now apparent, particularly in regional sequence, ironstone and sub-regional alteration.

More on the Curnamona Province.

Musgrave Province

  • This is a late Mesoproterozoic crystalline basement province comprising metamorphic rocks of granulite and amphibolite facies, intruded by granitic plutons and mafic and ultramafic rocks of the Giles Complex.
  • The block is dissected by a series of major fault systems, including thrusts, of Neoproterozoic to Palaeozoic age.

More information on the Musgrave Province.

Adelaide Geosyncline and Stuart Shelf

  • Initial rifting followed by widespread mafic volcanism (800 Ma) led to development of the geosyncline.
  • Extensive evaporitic, clastic, glaciomarine and carbonate sedimentation occurred during the Neoproterozoic. The oldest sediments and volcanics were disrupted and form intrusive breccia bodies (diapirs).
  • Sedimentation resumed during the Cambrian with carbonate-dominated units in shelf and slope environments in the Arrowie and Stansbury basins, and thick flysch-like marine sediments were rapidly deposited in the Kanmantoo Trough due to renewed crustal extension.
  • Initiation of this extension was associated with mafic intra-plate volcanism. The volcanics and associated metasediments now underlie the Tertiary Murray Basin.
  • On the Stuart Shelf, thin, platformal sediments equivalent to parts of the Adelaide Geosyncline succession, overlie the eastern Gawler Craton, including the Olympic Dam deposit.

More information on the Adelaide Geosyncline and Stuart Shelf.

 

Provinces Map

The map below highlights the major geological provinces within South Australia.

 

View a detailed Geological Provinces Map (PDF: 360kb).