News and Features
Geology of the Northern Territory
Birrindudu Basin
Birrindudu Basin
|
Lithology:
|
Sedimentary: sublithic arenite, quartz arenite, siltstone, shale, conglomerate, stromatolitic chert, limestone, glauconitic sandstone. Marine.
|
 |
|
Epoch Min:
|
Mesoproterozoic.
|
|
|
Epoch Max:
|
Palaeoproterozoic.
|
|
|
Age Min:
|
1550 Ma.
|
|
|
Age Max:
|
1780 Ma. | |
|
Summary:
|
Little deformed and unmetamorphosed sedimentary succession correlated with McArthur Basin.
|
|
|
Relationship:
|
Unconformably overlie Palaeoproterozoic Pine Creek Orogen to the north. Unconformably overlain by Palaeozoic Wiso and Daly basins to the east; by Ord Basin to southwest; by Neoproterozoic Wolfe Creek Basin to west and Neoproterozoic Victoria Basin to the north; and in places, by Cambrian Kalkarindji Province and patchy sedimentary rocks of basin-margin Mesozoic sandstone. Towards south, underlain by Palaeoproterozoic metasediments and granites of Tanami Region. In northwest, in faulted contact with Palaeozoic–Mesozoic Bonaparte Basin and Palaeoproterozoic rocks of Halls Creek Orogen.
|
|
|
Thickness:
|
Up to 10 km.
|
|
|
Economic:
|
Host diamond deposits at Timber Creek and minor Pb-Ag occurrences.
|
|
|
Exploration:
|
Insufficient exploration. Potential for diamonds, base metal deposits and petroleum.
|
|
|
Metamorphism:
|
Unmetamorphosed.
|
|
|
Main References:
|
Beier PR, Dunster JN, Cutovinos A and Pietsch BA, 2002a. Victoria River Downs, Northern Territory (Second Edition). 1:250 000 geological map series explanatory notes, SE 52-4. Northern Territory Geological Survey, Darwin. Beier PR, Dunster JN, Cutovinos A and Pietsch BA, 2002b. Delamere, Northern Territory (Second Edition). 1:250 000 geological map series explanatory notes, SD 52-16. Northern Territory Geological Survey, Darwin. Cutovinos A, Beier PR, Kruse PD, Abbott ST, Dunster JN and Brescianini RF, 2002. Limbunya, Northern Territory (Second Edition). 1:250 000 geological map series explanatory notes, SE 52-7. Northern Territory Geological Survey, Darwin. Dunster JN, Beier PR, Burgess JM and Cutovinos A, 2000. Auvergne, Northern Territory (Second Edition). 1:250 000 geological map series explanatory notes, SD 52-15. Northern Territory Geological Survey, Darwin. Dunster JN and Cutovinos A, 2002. Drillhole completion report 99VRNTGSDD1 and 99VRNTGSDD2. VICTORIA RIVER DOWNS 1:250 000 sheet area, Victoria Basin, Northern Territory. Northern Territory Geological Survey, Record 2002-006. Sweet IP, 1977. The Precambrian geology of the Victoria River region, Northern Territory. Bureau of Mineral Resources, Australia, Bulletin 168. |
|