25-27 July 2023 | Fremantle, Perth, Western Australia

FT3 – Out with the old, in with the new — a traverse across the Archean-Proterozoic boundary in the Mount Bruce Supergroup (July 29-Aug 4)

(Guides: David Martin, Heather Howard) The Archean-Proterozoic boundary has always been regarded as reflecting a fundamental change in Earth surface processes and environments. However, the practicality of the currently accepted chronometric definition is increasingly being questioned. This trip will explore these processes and their products as documented in the exceptional Neoarchean to earliest Paleoproterozoic exposures of the Fortescue, Hamersley and Turee Creek Groups in Western Australia, and evaluate candidates for a chronostratigraphic GSSP related to the Great Oxidation Event.

The field trip departs Paraburdoo airport at 10 am on the 29th July and will return in time to check in for the afternoon or evening flights to Perth on the 4th August. In addition to the registration terms and conditions, participants will need to make flight arrangements to and from Paraburdoo at their own expense. The quoted field trip cost is based includes all road transport, national park entry fees, meals and tented accommodation. If there are any specific food requirements please notify us on registration.

Trip cost: AU$ 3,410.00

Please contact the field trip leaders should you have any queries:

David.MARTIN@dmirs.wa.gov.au

FT4 – A traverse across the Yilgarn Craton in Western Australia – from the Jack Hills to the Youanmi Terrane (July 29-Aug 4)

(Guides: Tony Kemp, Ivan Zibra) The one-week excursion will feature an west to east traverse across the northern Yilgarn Craton, combining geophysical, structural, geochemical, geochronological and isotopic data to outline the tectono-magmatic and metamorphic evolution of this large remnant of Eo- to Neoarchean continental crust. The excursion will start in the western corner of the craton, in the Narryer Terrane. Rocks of the Mt Narryer and Jack Hills metasedimentary belts, which both contain Hadean (> 4000 Ma) detrital zircon crystals, will be examined, along with flanking ancient quartzofeldspathic gneisses that have protolith ages from 3730 Ma to 2750 Ma. Granitic outcrops associated with cratonisation from 2680-2620 Ma will also be visited. In the western part of the Youanmi Terrane, the excursion will mainly focus on the structures developed during the c. 2730–2660 Ma Yilgarn Orogeny, with the aim of discussing the relationship between shearing, magmatism and crustal evolution from the thin-section scale up to the crustal scale. Main highlights include the Moyagee Fault near Mount Magnet, which represents the oldest-known seismogenic fault on Earth. The final part of the excursion will offer an overview on the c. 2750 Ma Yalgoo Dome, offering a glimpse of the tectonic style that prevailed during preorogenic times, which was characterized by large-scale granitic diapirism.

Trip cost: AU$ 3,190.00 (price covers the whole trip, starting and finishing in Perth)

Please contact the field trip leaders should you have any queries:

tony.kemp@uwa.edu.au

Ivan.ZIBRA@dmirs.wa.gov.au

FT5 – Mineral Deposits in the Yilgarn Craton (July 29th to August 4th or 5th)

(Guides: Nico Thébaud, Marco Fiorentini) The Yilgarn Craton has long been recognised as having world class Au endowment. Yet the endowment varies dramatically between terranes of the Yilgarn and between constituent geological domains, showing a tendency to cluster in districts or ‘camps’. The one week excursion will visit classic geological localities and gold deposits from the Yilgarn Craton showcasing the deposit style diversity and focusing on Au mineral system formation from regional down to deposit scale formation.

The field trip will start and finish in Kalgoorlie. Participants will need to make flight arrangements to and from Kalgoorlie at their own expense. There are a number of flight options to get you from Perth to Kalgoorlie on Saturday 29 July. As we will depart directly from Kalgoorlie airport it is important to use the Qantas or Virgin Australia flight options listed below:

  • Arrival on 29 July 2023: Flights from Perth to Kalgoorlie – Virgin 07:00 arriving 08:05 or Qantas 07:20 arriving 08:15
  • Departure on 4 August 2023: Flights from Kalgoorlie to Perth – Virgin 14:55 arriving at 15:05 or Qantas leaving at 17:05 arriving at 18:05

All accommodation and all meals are covered by the registration fees, with the exception of the lunch on the first and last day. For those days participants will be able to purchase lunch packs. On the evenings of the 29th and 30th of July we will be staying in Kalgoorlie (accommodation to be confirmed). On the 31st of July we will be staying at the Koolkyne Hotel. On the 1st 2nd and 3rd of August we will be staying in Leinster.

Trip cost: AU$ 2,310.00

Please contact the field trip leaders should you have any queries:

nicolas.thebaud@uwa.edu.au

Marco.fiorentini@uwa.edu.au