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DEPARTMENT OF MINES AND ENERGY
Uncovering the greater
McArthur Basin,
Northern Territory Tania Dhu
Manager Geophysics and Remote Sensing,
Northern Territory Geological Survey
www.minerals.nt.gov.au
www.nt.gov.au DEPARTMENT OF MINES AND ENERGY
• Large, highly prospective, Palaeo-
Mesoproterozoic sedimentary basin
• Hosts the McArthur River Pb-Zn-Ag mine, within
the HYC Pyritic Shale Member of the Barney
Creek Formation in the Batten Fault Zone
• The ca 1640 Ma Barney Creek Formation is a
significant unconventional hydrocarbon prospect
• Oil and gas shows in Lamont Pass-3, Cow
Lagoon-1 and Glyde-1 ST1 (Armour Energy Ltd)
within the Batten Fault Zone
• Contains the Roper iron field within the 1500-
1400 Ma Roper Group
• Still relatively underexplored, especially away
from the exposed stratigraphy of the Batten Fault
Zone
• Extensive new work being undertaken by
industry including seismic and drilling
Why focus on the McArthur Basin?
Roper iron field McArthur
River Mine
Batten Fault Zone
Cow Lagoon 1
Lamont Pass-3
Glyde-1 ST1
www.nt.gov.au DEPARTMENT OF MINES AND ENERGY
• Stratigraphic correlations between the McArthur
Basin, Birrindudu Basin and Tomkinson
Province have been recognised – Stratigraphic correlations recognised based on
lithostratigraphy, age of tuffaceous units and similar
provenance from U-Pb dating of detritral zircons
producing maximum deposition ages
– Interpretation of newly acquired seismic data supports
undercover continuity between these basins
• The interpreted extent of these regions has
been informally referred to as the greater
McArthur Basin (black line) extends across
almost half the Northern Territory however
further work is required to: – Understand the true extent of the McArthur Basin,
Birrindudu Basin and Tomkinson Province and identify
any links between them
– Establish stratigraphic correlations
– Understand the 3D architecture and structural evolution
of the Basin
The greater McArthur Basin
www.nt.gov.au DEPARTMENT OF MINES AND ENERGY
• Southern McArthur Basin Gravity
Survey (funded through the
Creating Opportunities for
Resource Exploration – CORE
initiative) – 4,618 stations at 4 x 4 km spacing
– Falcon Oil & Gas Australia Ltd and
Santos Limited collaborated to infill
areas of interest to 2 x 2 km spacing,
1,657 stations
• Dunmarra magnetic and
radiometric survey scheduled to
commence in June
• Proposed Northern McArthur
Basin Gravity Survey dependent
on initiative funding
Current Work - Geophysics
www.nt.gov.au DEPARTMENT OF MINES AND ENERGY
• Unconventional hydrocarbon potential and
metallogenic assessment of shales – Petroleum sampling program for source rock analysis,
palynology, geochemistry and formation evaluation
– Metallogenic sampling program for precious and base
metals, including geochemical characterisation for
evidence of metal mobilisation
– Unconventional hydrocarbon assessment using the
USGS methodology
• Stratigraphic correlation within the greater
McArthur Basin – Systematic characterisation of outcropping and drillcore
stratigraphy (sedimentology, petrography,
biostratigraphy, depositional environment)
– Compilation of baseline geochemistry, stable isotope and
geochronological datasets
• Correlation of drillcore stratigraphy using the
HyLoggerTM – Applying the HyLogger to identify discrepancies between
logged stratigraphy and mineralogy
Current Work - Geology
www.nt.gov.au DEPARTMENT OF MINES AND ENERGY
• Understanding the structural evolution of the
greater McArthur Basin (PGN Geosciences) – Interpreting geophysical data to assist in understanding
basin architecture and evolution through time
– Identifying potential growth faults and depocentres
• 3D model of the McArthur Basin – View heterogeneous geophysical and geological data in
a single environment to allow a consistent interpretation
that addresses all data
– Using the model to identify discrepancies in the data and
areas where more data is required, addressing these
issues than creating new model realisations
Current Work – 3D Basin Architecture
www.nt.gov.au DEPARTMENT OF MINES AND ENERGY
• NTGS is undertaking a range of projects aimed at
improving our understanding of the extent and
prospectivity of the greater McArthur Basin
• Current efforts in the basin are producing new data that
is feeding into this work
• In many instances NTGS has been able to work closely
with industry with sharing of both closed file data and
interpretation
• The challenge remains producing products in a timely
manner that build the regional framework but respect
data confidentiality
Summary