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Neoproterozoic - Devonian Basins

 

Age

Neoproterozoic to Late Devonian.

 

Prospective commodities

Lead and zinc, evaporite minerals, precious opal, petroleum.

 

Officer Basin

The Officer Basin covers an area of ~430 000 km2 in Western Australia and the adjacent part of South Australia. It is bordered by the Yilgarn Craton, Musgrave Province and Gawler Craton basement provinces, and extends southwards under the Tertiary Eucla Basin.

 

The Officer Basin narrows to the northeast where the Musgrave Province and Gawler Craton reach their point of closest convergence. Thrust faulting in this area has formed a series of southwest-trending structural elements comprising basement highs (Ammaroodinna Ridge and Marla Overthrust Zone, Middle Bore Ridge) alternating with troughs (Manya and Wintinna Troughs). Younger Phanerozoic sediments to the east obscure the Officer Basin though connections with the Amadeus and Warburton Basins as well as the Adelaide Geosyncline are inferred in the subsurface.

 

The main Officer Basin elements in the South Australian part of the Basin include;

  • The Murnaroo Platform: A broad, shelf-like region with relatively thin (<1 km) and undeformed sediment cover.
  • A series of depocentres between the Murnaroo Platform and southern margin of the Musgrave including the Birksgate Sub-basin and Munyarai Trough, with interpreted sediment fills of ~5 and ~10 km, respectively.
  • The Ungoolya Hinge Zone forms a transition zone between the Murnaroo Platform and Munyarai Trough.
  • Other significant depocentres include the Tallaringa Trough, and the Nullarbor Platform which underlies the Eucla Basin.