Student: Carissa Isaac

Thesis: 4D architecture of the 2.7Ga nickel deposits in the Eastern Goldfields Superterrane, Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia

This PhD study, which commenced on 1^st of September 2009, will investigate the 4D architecture of the Eastern Goldfields Superterrane in the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia, in order to constrain the role of the lithospheric structure at 2.7 Ga in the localization of nickel mineral systems. The study will build on the outcomes of the stratigraphic and structural models available from the AMIRA projects P710 P437, 437A, 624 and 763. Key outcomes of this research project will include:

·        A better understanding of the ultramafic stratigraphy, possible correlations of ultramafic sequences within and between adjacent belts, development of criteria to determine where ultramafic rocks were emplaced as intrusive versus extrusive rocks, and where there are multiple extrusion/intrusion events versus post-depositional structural repetition of sequences.

·         Determination of the basin architecture at the time of mineralization through tectonostratigraphic reconstruction, including determining the number and position of eruptive centers and the geometries of the fault system that allowed emplacement of  magmas onto the surface and within the upper crust.