The Heavy Mineral Map of Australia: Vision and Pilot Project
We describe a vision for a national-scale heavy mineral (HM) map generated through automated mineralogical identification and quantification of HMs contained in floodplain sediments from large catchments covering most of Australia. The composition of the sediments reflects the dominant rock types in...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI
2022
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| Online Access: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/91739 |
| _version_ | 1848765583447818240 |
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| author | Caritat, P.D. McInnes, Brent Walker, Alex Bastrakov, E. Rowins, S.M. Prent, Alexander |
| author_facet | Caritat, P.D. McInnes, Brent Walker, Alex Bastrakov, E. Rowins, S.M. Prent, Alexander |
| author_sort | Caritat, P.D. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | We describe a vision for a national-scale heavy mineral (HM) map generated through automated mineralogical identification and quantification of HMs contained in floodplain sediments from large catchments covering most of Australia. The composition of the sediments reflects the dominant rock types in each catchment, with the generally resistant HMs largely preserving the mineralogical fingerprint of their host protoliths through the weathering-transport-deposition cycle. Heavy mineral presence/absence, absolute and relative abundance, and co-occurrence are metrics useful to map, discover and interpret catchment lithotype(s), geodynamic setting, magmatism, metamorphic grade, alteration and/or mineralization. Underpinning this vision is a pilot project, focusing on a subset from the national sediment sample archive, which is used to demonstrate the feasibility of the larger, national-scale project. We preview a bespoke, cloud-based mineral network analysis (MNA) tool to visualize, explore and discover relationships between HMs as well as between them and geological settings or mineral deposits. We envisage that the Heavy Mineral Map of Australia and MNA tool will contribute significantly to mineral prospectivity analysis and modeling, particularly for technology critical elements and their host minerals, which are central to the global economy transitioning to a more sustainable, lower carbon energy model. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:37:33Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-91739 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:37:33Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publisher | MDPI |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-917392023-05-24T09:25:26Z The Heavy Mineral Map of Australia: Vision and Pilot Project Caritat, P.D. McInnes, Brent Walker, Alex Bastrakov, E. Rowins, S.M. Prent, Alexander Science & Technology Physical Sciences Geochemistry & Geophysics Mineralogy Mining & Mineral Processing heavy minerals atlas heavy mineral maps National Geochemical Survey of Australia mineral network analysis geological setting mineral system mineral prospectivity critical minerals critical elements INDICATOR MINERALS BRITISH-COLUMBIA EXPLORATION TILL DEPOSIT PROSPECTIVITY NETWORK DIAMOND AREAS TOOL We describe a vision for a national-scale heavy mineral (HM) map generated through automated mineralogical identification and quantification of HMs contained in floodplain sediments from large catchments covering most of Australia. The composition of the sediments reflects the dominant rock types in each catchment, with the generally resistant HMs largely preserving the mineralogical fingerprint of their host protoliths through the weathering-transport-deposition cycle. Heavy mineral presence/absence, absolute and relative abundance, and co-occurrence are metrics useful to map, discover and interpret catchment lithotype(s), geodynamic setting, magmatism, metamorphic grade, alteration and/or mineralization. Underpinning this vision is a pilot project, focusing on a subset from the national sediment sample archive, which is used to demonstrate the feasibility of the larger, national-scale project. We preview a bespoke, cloud-based mineral network analysis (MNA) tool to visualize, explore and discover relationships between HMs as well as between them and geological settings or mineral deposits. We envisage that the Heavy Mineral Map of Australia and MNA tool will contribute significantly to mineral prospectivity analysis and modeling, particularly for technology critical elements and their host minerals, which are central to the global economy transitioning to a more sustainable, lower carbon energy model. 2022 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/91739 10.3390/min12080961 English http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ MDPI fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Science & Technology Physical Sciences Geochemistry & Geophysics Mineralogy Mining & Mineral Processing heavy minerals atlas heavy mineral maps National Geochemical Survey of Australia mineral network analysis geological setting mineral system mineral prospectivity critical minerals critical elements INDICATOR MINERALS BRITISH-COLUMBIA EXPLORATION TILL DEPOSIT PROSPECTIVITY NETWORK DIAMOND AREAS TOOL Caritat, P.D. McInnes, Brent Walker, Alex Bastrakov, E. Rowins, S.M. Prent, Alexander The Heavy Mineral Map of Australia: Vision and Pilot Project |
| title | The Heavy Mineral Map of Australia: Vision and Pilot Project |
| title_full | The Heavy Mineral Map of Australia: Vision and Pilot Project |
| title_fullStr | The Heavy Mineral Map of Australia: Vision and Pilot Project |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Heavy Mineral Map of Australia: Vision and Pilot Project |
| title_short | The Heavy Mineral Map of Australia: Vision and Pilot Project |
| title_sort | heavy mineral map of australia: vision and pilot project |
| topic | Science & Technology Physical Sciences Geochemistry & Geophysics Mineralogy Mining & Mineral Processing heavy minerals atlas heavy mineral maps National Geochemical Survey of Australia mineral network analysis geological setting mineral system mineral prospectivity critical minerals critical elements INDICATOR MINERALS BRITISH-COLUMBIA EXPLORATION TILL DEPOSIT PROSPECTIVITY NETWORK DIAMOND AREAS TOOL |
| url | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/91739 |