Petrography of the Birrindudu Basin and surrounds

Abstract

As part of the Resourcing Australia's Prosperity initiative, an expanded drill core sampling program of legacy drillholes within the broader Birrindudu Deep Dive region was carried out in 2024 in the Northern Territory Geological Survey core repository in Darwin. Over 1,000 samples from 23 drillholes were collected for analytical work to support the assessment of resources in the region. As part of this sampling program, 72 samples from 19 legacy drillholes, and two legacy field samples were selected for thin section petrography. These samples are interpreted to belong to the Daly Basin, Kalkarindji Igneous Province, Birrindudu Basin, Pine Creek Orogen and Inverway Metamorphics as well as metamorphosed basement that is currently not assigned a formal name.

This record presents the results of the petrographic and semi-quantitative X-ray Diffraction analysis undertaken by Microanalysis Australia under contract to Geoscience Australia, on rock samples from selected drillholes and field samples across the Birrindudu Deep Dive area. These samples are expected to improve the geological knowledge of the region, by shedding light on the wider stratigraphic relationships and associated energy and mineral systems of the BDD region.