Magnetite Beach Sands of Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea

Magnetite with combined titanium dioxide is the predominant heavy mineral in the Bougainville beach sands, derived from recent andesitic volcanoes. The data, published by Geoscience Australia, describes concentrations on the island's eastern and western coasts. Spectacular high concentrations on the eastern coast are likely too small for iron ore deposits, while economically important concentrations may exist in coastal plains on the western side.

Use Cases

• Delineating zones of magnetite concentration based on magnetic survey methods mentioned in the description
• Assessing economic potential of beach sand deposits based on described mineral composition
• Studying sediment provenance based on described derivation from specific andesitic volcanoes

Strengths

• Data originates from Geoscience Australia, a national geological survey
• Description provides specific geological context, naming source volcanoes and mineral composition

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Freshness should be verified; last metadata update is 2026-03-25

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-25 19:08:14.974940

Geography

Bougainville Island, Territory of Papua and New Guinea