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WORLD AUTHORITY PRAISES NEW GEOLOGY PUBLICATION
12 April 2007 - CSIRO
| Dr Anthony J. Naldrett, the world’s foremost authority on the geology and origin of nickel-copper-platinum group element deposits, has described a new volume edited by CSIRO’s Dr Stephen Barnes in glowing terms. |
“It will serve as the bible for those exploring in other areas for similar deposits,” Dr Naldrett said. The volume has been released as the Society of Economic Geologists Special Publication 13, Nickel Sulphide Deposits of the Yilgarn Craton: Geology, Geochemistry and Geophysics Applied to Exploration. Dr Naldrett said the volume represents “an excellent, timely summary of our understanding of these deposits and their associated rocks, along with the methods developed over the last 40 years for their exploration”. “Publication is particularly timely, 40 years after the initial discovery, since exploration and geological mapping in the area is waning,” Dr Naldrett said. “In a few years, much of the intimate understanding of this deposit style could have been lost. This publication will preserve this understanding for future generations.” The Editor, Dr Stephen Barnes, is delighted by the response to the publication, which represents years of work. Chapter 1 outlines the remarkable story of the emergence of the eastern Yilgarn Craton as a major global nickel province. It is written by Dr John Hronsky and Dr Richard Schodde, formerly of WMC Resources and now with BHP Billiton.
Chapters 2 and 3, by the Editor, provide the geological underpinning for understanding the nature and distribution of komatiite-hosted nickel sulfide deposits.
Chapter 4, by Dr Ben Grguric (formerly of WMC Resources and now with BHP Billiton) and co-workers, follows the previous chapter with accounts of the giant low-grade Mt Keith and Yakabindie deposits. “Publication is particularly timely, 40 years after the initial discovery, since exploration and geological mapping in the area is waning,”
Dr Naldrett said.Chapter 5 is an account by Dr Charles Butt and Dr Ernie Nickel of CSIRO Exploration & Mining, with Dr Nigel Brand of BioGeochemistry Inc, of the consequences on nickel sulphide deposits and their host rocks of the prolonged and complex lateritic weathering which affects the entire province.
Chapter 6 is an account by Dr Bill Peters, of Southern Geoscience Consulting, of the geophysical methodologies in common use in nickel exploration in Western Australia.
The concluding Chapter 7 is written by Dr Mick Elias, also formerly with WMC Resources, a consultant with several decades of experience in nickel laterite deposits. It covers the geology and mineralogy of the large nickel laterite deposits which have come into prominence with the advent of high pressure acid leach processing technology in the late 1990s.
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