Critical Metals – Carpentaria Zinc Belt
The Carpentaria Zinc Belt of northern Australia is the world’s largest Zn-Pb province. The Zn-Pb mineralisation is known to host several secondary and accessory metals and trace elements including Critical Metals such as germanium, gallium and indium. These Critical Metals are currently produced as a by-product of zinc smelters overseas, including from zinc ore concentrate originated from the Carpentaria Zinc Belt in Australia. Therefore, these deposits may be a valuable source of Critical Metals that could be produced from ore prior to shipment of ore overseas. However, little is known of the bulk concentration of these Critical Metals in these ore deposits as they are largely understudied. Furthermore, little is known on the mineral distribution of these Critical Metals in the ore bodies, and therefore optimal processing strategies are uninformed. Such poor understanding of the distribution of these metals in such a prospective terrane also limits their potential as potential geochemical pathfinder elements for McArthur-Isa style Zn mineralisation in frontier terranes.
We are undertaking a scoping study to collate geochemical data on the Critical Metal contents and geochemical/mineralogical associations in the sediment-hosted Zn-Pb deposits of the Carpentaria Zinc Belt in order to improve the knowledge of the range of their occurrence in the region. We will combine existing open file geochemical data, new unpublished geochemical data from recent and ongoing projects on the ore deposits in the region, and accessing company geochemical data.
Key outcomes of the study will include a spatial database and geochemical models/associations of the ranges of Critical Metal contents in ore deposits, and the unmineralised host stratigraphy. Comparison with other contemporary similar mineral systems and basins will allow us to understand the potential Critical Metal anomalism in the Carpentaria Zinc Belt in a spatial and temporal context. This will pave the way for more detailed geometallurgical studies on the host mineralogies of Critical Metals which will lead to more optimal ore processing downstream.
