Publication Name: Central Australian Basins Symposium IV
Authors: Amber J.M. Jarrett, Heidi J. Allen, Timothy J. Munson, Andy D. Clark, Anthony Schofield
Publication Volume: 2
Date Published: August 2024
Number of Pages: 15
https://doi.org/10.36404/ZJQV8626
Abstract:
The East Tennant region in the Northern Territory is a mineral systems exploration fairway situated between Tennant Creek in the west and the Murphy Province in the east. Intersected stratigraphy in the East Tennant drillhole CRA DD79 AL2 has been variably correlated with either > 1810 Ma metasedimentary basement based on lithostratigraphy and more recent geochronology from nearby wells, or the ca. 1600–1580 Ma Balbirini Dolostone (Nathan Group) from the greater McArthur Basin on the basis of correlation of the stromatolite Form Kussiella kussiensis. A reassessment of laminations in CRA DD79 AL2, previously identified as K. kussiensis, is inconsistent with the original identification. In addition, a review of the biostratigraphic significance of K. kussiensis demonstrates it to be a long ranging or polyphyletic stromatolite Form not suitable for correlation. The stratigraphic succession in CRA DD79 AL2 is therefore better correlated with the > 1810 Ma metasedimentary basement, and hence it is recommended that the historical stromatolite correlation with the greater McArthur Basin be abandoned. An older age for these metasediments increases the potential that they may have been exposed to multiple mineralisation events, which greatly improves the mineral prospectivity of the East Tennant region and expands the range of commodities that could potentially be targeted in exploration programs.