Integrated Petrophysics: Cloncurry Iron Oxide Cu-Au and related deposits

A major contrast between geophysics in the minerals industry vs oil and gas sectors is the lack of constraint by physical measurements (i.e., petrophysics). Even where petrophysics is undertaken, one or two techniques are typically used and complimentary datasets, which facilitate recognition of underlying processes, are rarely acquired. Our work on the Cloncurry district over the last decade has focused on the development of “Integrated Petrophysics”, a unique, world-leading approach to geoscience, which sets out to relate all geoscience parameters via a scale normalized relational database. It allows us to utilise the huge pool of geoscience knowledge, relate it to physical parameters, and then use those physical parameters to constrain geophysical targeting.

The work was primarily undertaken to explore the complex interrelationships between redox reactions, the formation of magnetic minerals and the magnetic properties and zonation within IOCG and BHT mineral deposits. The methodology has now led to the world’s first, fully integrated, petrophysical-mineralogical-geochemical-structural-metasomatic characterisation dataset, across over twenty deposits from the most geologically complex mineral systems on Earth. This is “complex” data, not “big” data, but used to its full potential it enables the translation of geochemical, structural and geological processes into the physical parameters and required to make big data tangible in the mining space. It allows us to convert geological processes into ones and zeros.

Redox gradients observed within the Starra-276 IOCG deposit control the precipitation of magnetite and Hematite within the system, and influence on the localisation of Copper, Gold, and the geophysics properties of the deposit.

By translating geochemistry to geophysics, we’re addressing major problem in mineral system science, because our largely geochemical approach to mineral exploration is not up-scalable unless converted into physical parameters, or vectors to mineralisation. The work addresses a major oversight in the current Big Data trend in geosciences because it allows us to transform qualitative knowledge into quantitative data, highlighting potential flaws in qualitative knowledge through rigorous science. This work has built up through pilot studies with Ivanhoe Mines (2011), Glencore-Xstrata (2015, and Minotaur Exploration (2014), then the GSQ funded Uncover Cloncurry (2015-2016) an expanded follow-up project Cloncurry METAL (2018-2021) and a spin off Data Analytics project (2020-2022).

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