Bougainville Island beach sands contain magnetite with titanium dioxide derived from recent-active andesitic volcanoes. The description suggests concentrations may be too small for iron ore deposits on the eastern coast, but economically important deposits may exist on the western coastal plains. The dataset is hosted by the Australian Ocean Data Network.
Use Cases
- Mapping magnetite sand concentrations based on geological descriptions of volcanic sources.
- Assessing economic potential of mineral deposits based on descriptions of coastal plain areas.
- Planning magnetic survey methods for delineating zones of magnetite concentration.
Strengths
- Description provides specific geological context linking magnetite to named volcanoes (Mt. Balbi, Mt. Bagana, Mt. Taroka).
- Description identifies distinct coastal regions (eastern and western) with different economic potential.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to data_gov_au.
Provenance
- Source
- Australian Ocean Data Network
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-04-16 14:44:49.802575; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Bougainville Island, Territory of Papua and New Guinea