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Measured sections and sequence stratigraphic interpretations: Surprise Creek Formation, Gunpowder Creek Formation, Torpedo Creek and Warrina Park Quartzites

Created 17/10/2025

Updated 17/10/2025

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Paleoproterozoic sedimentary rocks of northern Australia host one of the world's most important zinc repositories. Despite more than fifty years of geological investigation, including the production of 1:250,000 and 1:100,000 geological maps and the drilling of countless mineral exploration holes public domain datasets contain comparatively little measured section and basic sedimentological information. Because these datasets are essential for understanding sediment architecture and basin shape they from a necessary stepping stone to formulating models aimed at constraining the flow of mineralising fluids in these basins. This data record provides the mineral exploration industry, university and government geoscientists with 37 single sections which are subsequently combined to form twenty six composite outcrop and drill core stratigraphic sections through the Surprise Creek Formation, Warrina Park and Torpedo Creek Quartzites, lower Gunpowder Creek Formation and Moondarra Siltstone. Close to twenty three thousand meters of stratigraphic/sedimentological description and interpretation are provided. Most sections contain grain size, lithology, bed thickness, sedimentary structure and gamma ray data from which facies and sequence stratigraphic surfaces are interpreted. Gamma ray data is not available for drill holes Templeton 1 and UD784. The section at Fiery Creek is generalised from the earlier work of researchers at Monash University and does not contain the detailed sedimentological information found in the rest of the logs. Eight sections contain revised interpretations from the earlier NABRE work. Despite the absence of invertebrate fossils the sequence interpretations, in combination with SHRIMP zircon ages and Apparent Polar Wander Path data, permit the erection of a well-constrained chronostratigraphic framework for these Paleoproterozoic rocks. Previous lithostratigraphic subdivisions were diachronous and emphasised local stratigraphic successions rather than basin-wide correlations. The data contained in this Geoscience Australia record and the earlier companion data releases of AGSO Records 1999/10, 1999/15 1999/19 and 2000/03 contain chronostratigraphic sequence subdivisions from which original basin shape and sediment architecture can be derived. Lithostratigraphic miscorrelations associated with quartzite sandbodies of the Warrina Park and Torpedo Creek Quartzites, unit Prc of the Surprise Creek Formation and the lower parts of the Gunpowder Creek Formation and Moondarra Siltstone are resolved. Detailed descriptions and discussions of facies, SHRIMP Zircon ages, lithostratigraphic miscorrelations and rationale for sequence stratigraphic interpretations are provided in Jackson et al., (in prep).

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Title Measured sections and sequence stratigraphic interpretations: Surprise Creek Formation, Gunpowder Creek Formation, Torpedo Creek and Warrina Park Quartzites
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/69b8014f-6cc8-490d-a7ad-18c4e3a8f2f0
Contact Point
Geoscience Australia Data
clientservices@ga.gov.au
Reference Period 20/04/2018
Geospatial Coverage
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
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      ],
      [
        140.0,
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      ],
      [
        140.0,
        -18.5
      ],
      [
        139.0,
        -18.5
      ],
      [
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      ]
    ]
  ],
  "type": "Polygon"
}
Data Portal Geoscience Australia

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Geoscience Australia "Measured sections and sequence stratigraphic interpretations: Surprise Creek Formation, Gunpowder Creek Formation, Torpedo Creek and Warrina Park Quartzites". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/measured-sections-and-sequence-stratigraphic-interpretations-surprise-creek-formation-gunpowder