Latest news with #GeologicalSurveyofWesternAustralia
Herald Sun
28-04-2025
- Business
- Herald Sun
Buxton Resources clears path to start Royale copper-gold exploration
Don't miss out on the headlines from Stockhead. Followed categories will be added to My News. Buxton Resources granted first of three exploration licences covering its Royale porphyry copper-gold project Project sits along the same cratonic margin that hosts several world-class mineral deposits Airborne magnetic and magnetotelluric surveys along with geochemical sampling to start soon Special Report: Buxton Resources has secured the first of three exploration licences covering its intriguing Royale copper-gold project in WA's Paterson region, paving the way for exploration to begin. Royale is a belt-scale opportunity that covers 671km2 (once all licences are awarded) in the Paterson Orogen along the West Australian Craton margin, a region with proven mineral wealth. It is close to Buxton Resources' (ASX:BUX) Shogun nickel project and is linked to key logistics hubs through existing tracks and infrastructure. The company is targeting porphyry-style copper-gold mineralisation based on multiple lines of evidence including recognition of a cluster of geochemically distinctive, felsic, Mesoproterozoic intrusives that trend under transported cover to where a large, coincident gravity low and magnetic high underlies the project tenure. This geophysical feature is interpreted to represent a preserved, fertile pluton which outlines an area of higher prospectivity for copper-gold and molybdenum deposits. Geoscience Australia and the Geological Survey of Western Australia have also recognised porphyry potential based on evidence indicating a Mesoproterozoic subduction zone extending from the Musgrave Province through to the Royale area along the northern margin of the West Australian Craton. Further evidence is found in multiple ages of felsic intrusive activity, anomalous copper and molybdenum in a 2017 Exploration Incentive Scheme co-funded drill hole RUD0003, and volcanic textures and weak deformation affecting lithology, veining and mineralisation in the same hole. Additionally, weathering to ~100m depth in RUD0003 indicates excellent potential for supergene enrichment processes to improve mining economics. 'Buxton's 100%-owned Royale Project is located along the same cratonic margin that hosts several world-class mineral deposits,' chief executive officer Marty Moloney said. 'At Royale, our target generation has leveraged extensive geological and geophysical data to identify potential for a significant discovery of large-scale copper-gold mineralisation, so it's fantastic news that exploration will soon commence.' Planned exploration BUX plans to carry out airborne magnetic and magnetotelluric surveys to map elevated conductivity related to alteration zones and target-scale structural controls. Other work includes geochemical sampling to identify metal anomalism tied with heavy-mineral concentrate and zircon analysis to identify fertile catchments. This initial exploration will focus on the newly granted E45/6231 licence, which constitutes a prospect-scale target. The company will also progress additional licences E45/6229 and E45/7017 to grant. This article was developed in collaboration with Buxton Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing. This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions. Originally published as Buxton Resources clears path to start Royale copper-gold exploration
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists discover Earth's oldest impact crater in Australia
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Geologists have discovered the world's oldest known impact crater; it sits in the heart of Western Australia's ancient Pilbara region. An analysis of rock layers in the region suggests a crater at least 62 miles (100 kilometers) wide was carved after a large space rock struck Earth roughly 3.47 billion years ago, when our planet was almost completely covered in water. The discovery pushes back the record for the oldest impact crater on Earth by more than 1 billion years — the previous record holder, the Yarrabubba impact structure, also is in Western Australia. "Given how rare such evidence is due to [Earth's] geological recycling processes, this is a major breakthrough in understanding early Earth," Chris Kirkland of Curtin University in Australia, who led the discovery, told The researchers estimate the space rock responsible for the crater was traveling at 36,000 kilometers per hour, with the collision scattering debris across the planet. Despite its global impact, however, the event was not merely a destructive force, according to Kirkland. The crater it left behind may have played a crucial role in fostering early life and therefore provide insights into how life on our planet might have originated, he said. High pressures resulting from shock waves released in the aftermath of meteorite impacts are known to alter minerals within rocks, sometimes transforming them into translucent glass. In principle, this allows for more sunlight to penetrate into the cracks fracturing the rocks, creating the physical and chemical conditions necessary for early life to thrive. As Kirkland explains, meteorite impacts also lead to the formation of hot, mineral-rich pools of water that could have served as cradles for early microbial life, fostering the conditions necessary for life as we know it to emerge. In May 2021, little more than an hour after arriving around an area in the Pilbara region called the North Pole Dome, Kirkland and his colleagues identified evidence for the crater: distinctive rocks that resembled inverted badminton shuttlecocks, with the tops knocked off, known to scientists as "shatter cones." The presence of these hut-like structures, which are exceptionally well-preserved and span several hundred meters, "is direct and frankly indisputable evidence of an ancient impact event," Kirkland said. "Identifying [these] shatter cones was a truly remarkable moment." The researchers returned to the region for more detailed fieldwork in May of last year, after which the Geological Survey of Western Australia dated the rock layers above and below the discovered shatter cones. The layers were estimated to be about 3.47 billion years old, confirming the crater as the world's oldest. If future fieldwork confirms that these cones are present throughout the 40- to 45-kilometer (25- to 28-mile) diameter of the North Pole Dome, this lines up with the 62-mile (100-km) crater size suggested by the new study. "Their discovery at the North Pole Dome confirmed what we had long suspected based on isotopic evidence," Kirkland told "Serendipity is a marvelous thing," he and his team wrote in an article on The Conversation. "As far as we knew, other than the Traditional Owners, the Nyamal people, no geologist had laid eyes on these stunning features since they formed." Not everyone is convinced, however, of the newfound ancient impact crater's estimated size and its significance in advancing our understanding of early life on Earth. Marc Norman, an Emeritus Fellow in the Research School of Earth Sciences of the Australian National University, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the study lacks solid evidence regarding the size of this particular crater and how it relates to the role of impacts on early Earth. "While the discovery of this ancient impact crater is interesting, it doesn't really advance our understanding of how impacts might have influenced how Earth formed and evolved over billions of years," he said. Beyond implications for early life on our planet, the newfound crater hints at an as-yet-undiscovered population of similarly ancient impact craters, said Kirkland. This discovery "highlights the importance of re-examining ancient geological terrains for evidence of early impact events." Related Stories: — Mars rover Perseverance sends home postcard from scenic 'Pico Turquino' (photo) — Perseverance Mars rover finds 'one-of-a-kind treasure' on Red Planet's Silver Mountain — Bullet-fast moon rocks carved 2 lunar gorges deeper than the Grand Canyon The best chance of locating more ancient craters like the newfound one would be to search for shatter cones and similar features that would have survived our planet's landscape-recycling geologic activities. "The challenge lies in finding them, as most have been destroyed or deeply buried," said Kirkland. This discovery is outlined in a paper published Thursday (March 6) in Nature Communications.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Earth's oldest meteorite crater found in Australia
It was a respectable tenure, but the world's oldest known meteorite site is no longer western Australia's 2.2 billion-year-old, 43-mile-wide Yarrabubba crater. Researchers at Curtin University and the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA) say the new recordholder is located about 660 miles north in the country's Pilbara region. And based on 'unequivocal evidence' presented in their March 6 study published in Nature Communications, the 3.5 billion-year-old crater may help revise our understanding of some of the planet's earliest eras, as well as the history of life on Earth. The Archean Eon (4–2.5 million years ago) is the second of Earth's four major geologic eons, a time when the planet was mostly covered by oceans extending far deeper than those found today. Even so, its geology records can be accessed at excavation sites on modern continents like Australia. But researchers have long remained perplexed by what they found—or, rather, what they haven't found. 'We know large impacts were common in the early solar system from looking at the moon,' Tim Johnson, study co-lead and a professor at Curtin University's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said in a statement on Thursday. It stands to reason, then, that a lack of 'truly ancient craters' documented on Earth isn't the result of sheer luck, but rather the nature of time. Early impact records are scarce thanks to billions of years of erosion, as well as the subduction of surface crust into the planet's convecting mantle. However, Archean Eon geology isn't completely erased, as evidenced by sites like the East Pilbara Terrane in northwest Australia. In 2021, Johnson and colleagues traveled to EPT to see what they could find. What they discovered appears to be the first known Archean Eon crater, and is evidenced by formations known as shatter cones. These telltale geologic areas are only generated from the intense pressure following a meteorite striking Earth—and in this case, the shatter cones suggest a massive impact event. Researchers believe the space rock struck the planet around 3.5 billion years ago while travelling over 22,000 mph. The force subsequently generated a 62-mile-wide crater that ejected debris into the atmosphere and around the world. It's not just the impact details that matter. According to study co-lead author Chris Kirkland, analyzing the nature of the first known Archean meteorite event can help researchers gain better insight into both continental evolution and the history of life's development on Earth. 'It… radically refines our understanding of crust formation,' he argued. 'The tremendous amount of energy from this impact could have played a role in shaping early Earth's crust by pushing one part of the Earth's crust under another, or by forcing magma to rise from deep within the Earth's mantle toward the surface.' There's even a chance the impact event eventually contributed to forming the giant precursors to continents known as cratons. The study's authors believe this meteorite alone may have played an important role in Earth's geologic history, but it's almost certainly not the only one. 'Uncovering this impact and finding more from the same time period could explain a lot about how life may have got started, as impact craters created environments friendly to microbial life such as hot water pools,' said Kirkland.
