Buddycurrawa Volcanics: Late Paleoproterozoic Geology and Geochronology

The Benmara region in the Northern Territory, Australia, hosts the Buddycurrawa Volcanics, a sequence of trachyte lavas and shallow-marine siliciclastic rocks. Carson et al. (2020) provide new geochronology data establishing an extrusion age constrained between ca. 1662 Ma and 1631 Ma. The data also describe hydrothermal features like 'white smoker' pipes and pervasive potassic alteration dated to ca. 1612–1323 Ma.

Use Cases

• Correlating regional stratigraphy based on new U-Pb zircon and Rb-Sr geochronology ages.
• Assessing base metal mineral system potential based on described hydrothermal 'white smoker' pipes.
• Modeling regional fluid flow events based on timing of potassic alteration (ca. 1612–1323 Ma).
• Studying late Paleoproterozoic volcanic and shallow-marine environments in the South Nicholson region.

Strengths

• Provides precise geochronological constraints: a maximum age of ca. 1662 Ma (SHRIMP U-Pb zircon) and a minimum age of ca. 1631 Ma (laser Rb-Sr on glauconite).
• Identifies specific geological features with exploration significance, such as vertical siliceous pipes ('white smokers') and pervasive potassic alteration.
• Links the volcanics to regional late Paleoproterozoic successions and fluid flow episodes in the Mount Isa Province.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Carson, C.J., Kositcin, N., Farkas, J., Champion, D.C., Whelan, J., Redaa, A., Gilbert. S., Henson, P.A., Maas, R., Williams, B. and Doublier, M.P., 2020.

Collection Method

Geological field study and laboratory geochronology (SHRIMP U-Pb zircon, in situ laser Rb-Sr).

Time Range

Late Paleoproterozoic, specifically constrained between ca. 1662 Ma and 1631 Ma.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-04 08:10:46.109572; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Benmara region, northwestern Mount Drummond 1:250 000 map sheet, Northern Territory, Australia.