Poster 1. Earth Evolution stages 1 – 3 (Theia impact to commencement of global tectonics).
These are notes on the contents of my two poster sessions at the 6ias https://6ias.org/.
There are 7 posters 4 for Earth Evolution and 3 for Global systems of Mineralisation and Exploration Targeting. If you’re at the Symposium then when you go to my poster display then go to this post on my website (https://www.geotreks.com.au/work/giant-ring-structures/earth-studies/6th-international-archaean-symposium-bob-watchorn-earth-geological-and-mineralisation-evolution-poster-presentation-notes/) and use the descriptions below to help you navigate in a whole new world!
Webinars on Earth Evolution is on this link;
and Global Mineralisation systems and Exploration Targeting at this link;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFurQYhWjyk
1. Current theory of Plate Tectonics with a Mobile Mantle recycling the crust.
Figure 1. The current Plate Tectonics Mobile Mantle hypothesis parameters.
The current theory of Plate Tectonics and Mobile Mantle suggests an original very hot plastic Earth with thin crust and no original solid lithosphere.
Continents accrete starting about 4 Ga. Nothing is left of any crust before 4 Ga as it is constantly recycled.
Flow within the Mobile mantle is the means of transferring subducted material back to the surface.
The seismic tomography showing flowing colours in the lower-right image has been interpreted this way.
There is no structural geology below the crust recognised by the current theorists.
Read the comments on the image for more details.
2. Evidence of the Theia impact.
Figure 2. Earth Evolution first stage. Theia Impact entrance and exit scars from 4.57 Ga.
Watchorn Earth Evolution Hypothesis is based on research of seismic tomographic structural geology from the surface to the core which suggests a cooler brittle original Earth that Theia impacted.
There are no comparable studies using structural geology of this seismic tomographic data!
The above image upon which the seismic tomographic plans are overlain is of earthquake epicentres over a year duration in 2017. Many epicentres occur right down to the Outer Core and follow plate margins suggesting a brittle Earth to the Outer Core. This correlates with the evidence from structural geology.
Is there geophysical evidence that the Theia impact penetrated right to the core in the Pacific Ocean?
Yes. Seismic tomography plans, right from the surface to the outer core, show huge ring structures which encompass the whole Pacific Ocean, following the ring of fire, with smaller ones in the centre of the Pacific Ocean (yellow rings right-side of Figure 2). Link https://www.geotreks.com.au/work/projects-studies/earth-evolution-the-earliest-massive-bombardment-forms-huge-ring-structures/
There is a complimentary set of similar dimensions (which are diametrically opposite the rings under the Pacific Ocean) that occur under Central and Southern Africa (blue rings left-side of Figure 2).
These huge ring structures under the Pacific Ocean and under Africa correlate with the current major heat sources from the core to the surface.
Thus, I believe these two complimentary sets of structures which are repeated in every seismic tomography plan (about 20 of them) are Theia’s Pacific ‘entrance wound’ and the African rings the ‘farfield’ or exit wound.
As a side note, if the Earth is constantly getting recycled by the mobile mantle why is it that these structures can be seen right from the core to the surface?
Why was the early Earth solid down to the outer Core? The collapsing impact detritus would re-aggregate at the prevailing space temperature of minus 80°C and thus would form a SOLID EARTH at first before heating up from gravity and radioactivity before cooling again.
Read the comments on the image for more details.
3. Earth Evolution second stage. Extended Heavy bombardment from 4.47 to 3.6 Ga forms upper 600 km depth of brittle crust and lithosphere.
Figure 3. Earth Evolution second stage, Extended Late Heavy Bombardment ELHB.
My contention is that the Late Heavy Bombardment should be called the Extended Late Heavy Bombardment. Based on the brittle structural geology there is no reason to think that the Heavy Bombardment only started at 4.2 Ga and not back at 4.47 Ga.
The AusIMM webinar I did on this new research can be seen on the AusIMM website or on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snu8En442Js
All the Rocky Inner planets have suffered the same gigantic bombardment very early on (figure 19 in paper). This early bombardment is not easily seen unless you can get geological structure out of geophysical data as exhibited in the previous section 7.
The evidence that I have seen through all my plan and section research is that the top 600 km contains most of the huge ring structures. This may appear deep but when you think that the Extended Late Heavy Bombardment occurred over 600 million years it only equates to 1 mm per year raising of the Earth’s surface. How do you raise the Earth’s surface? We will come to that later in the webinar.
Do we see evidence of impact activity on Earth??
At the surface there is no evidence of the ELHB impacts because they are buried. However, we do see sparse comparable impacts that have occurred in the last 600 MY.
The top-right inset in figure 3 is the North American Continent gravity (potato earth) image enhanced by EagleEye. Gravity structures are near surface so these are not the ELHB impacts. However, even these impacts are sizeable. The aspect to note is the order of magnitude size difference of the outer ring structure compared to the recognised central impact size.
The two eastern ring structures observed are well known smaller impact structures on the surface. C is Chesapeake Impact (80 km diameter and 30 My old) and S is Slate Island Impact in Lake Superior (30 km diameter and 450 My old). The western ring structure M is located near the Beaverhead impact structure (60km diameter and 600 My old).
They are smaller than the deeper ring structures suggesting that the projectile size has been decreasing through time. It is interesting that the C and S impact outer ring dimensions are 500-1000 km in diameter that the centres are only 30 – 80km diameter. However, M has a 60 km diameter but the surrounding rings are up to 3000 km diameter. The surface expression of Beaverhead impact is not at the original impact site which is subsurface and located 100 km away due to a thrust. So, it is easy to see how one could miss these big impact structures on the surface. The North America webinar explains this concept in detail https://www.ausimm.com/videos/community-event/south-west-wageoscience-society—digital-tech-talk-new-discoveries-in-the-structural-geology-mineralization–exploration-targeting-of-north-america/
Comparison of these later impacts with the Lunar impacts of the LHB.
The lower left inset shows lunar impacts compared to the size of Australia. These are roughly the same size as the top right-hand inset impacts in North America. This is evidence that only the later impacts are seen at the surface and all the early larger ones are buried.
A paradigm change is the recognition of huge buried rings and linear structures on Rocky planets and moons (section 7 figure 19 in the webinar).
However, there does not appear to be any published record of impacts of greater than 300 km diameter on earth. Why? My premise for the inability of the geophysicists and earth scientists to be able to recognise the structures is their current inadequate software. I do not believe that they use pattern recognition software as do the medical and archaeological professions, and myself? Why? Then they are seen!
4. 3rd Stage Tectonics. WATCHORN EARTH EVOLUTION – COOLER BLOCK TECTONICS MODEL.
Figure 4. Northern Hemisphere EagleEye enhanced seismic tomography structural geology sections showing the subduction zones and extensional rifts and ridges.
Global structural geology knowledge is a precursor to understanding Global Tectonics and mineralising and exploration targeting systems.
The difference between the current Mobile Mantle Plate Tectonics theory and my Cooler Earth Theory is that there are brittle structures to the Outer Core showing that there is not a mobile mantle or Lava Lamp plumes.
The above figure is one that I have never seen in any textbook or paper. Have you? Why not?
It shows seismic tomography cross-sections around the Northern Hemisphere. It shows brittle structures down to the Outer Core right around the Earth. The main features are the North American Pacific (upper-left) and the Eastern Asia and Japan (lower-right) subduction zones (blue arrows) getting pushed down into the liquid Outer Core.
The image shows the mid-Atlantic Ridge (top-right) as a shuffled, but brittle structural system that goes subvertically to the Outer Core and an incipient, internal plate boundary in the centre of Asia (mid -right) that extends from the surface to the Outer Core. It also shows that the Europe/Africa collision (mid-top-right) extends to the Outer Core.
The result of this subduction tectonic activity is the cutting off and digestion of this blue, cooler, subducted descending material (~2,500 °C) by the Outer Core (~ 4,500°C) which has differential movement to the mantle.
Calculation of the volume of this Pacific Ring of Fire material added to the core suggests that the continents should rise orders of magnitude greater than is observed. Why does this not happen and what happens to the excess material?
This newly melted material adds to the volume of the liquid Outer Core which becomes pressurised and exerts an immense upward force on the overlying mantle, lithosphere and crust. This causes the Earth to fractionally expand creating an Earthwide extensional regime which creates, and opens the subvertical structures like Mid Atlantic Ridge, Plate Margins’ and cracks the subduction zones themselves. The pressure can be relieved up these available weak zones and superheated fluids and magma (red arrows), containing heavy minerals from the core, now have a path to the Earth’s surface.
It is also clear from the tomographic (colour) and the structural evidence that there is no global conveyor-belt Mobile Mantle operating as the intra-mantle material transport system from the subduction zones to the centre of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans as is drawn on the current Plate Tectonics diagrams.
Poster 2. Earth Evolution – brittle structures and the start of tectonism.
5. Evidence around the Earth of brittle structures to the Outer Core.
Figure 5. African ultra-detailed Seismic Tomography section D and detailed tomography from 60 – 2,900 km depth.
This figure when I first produced it was a great geological surprise. It shows the brittle structures seen in the first 800 km extending right down to the Core Mantle Boundary (CMB). Link https://www.ausimm.com/videos/community-event/south-west-wa-branchgeosoc—seismic-tomography-journey-to-the-centre-of-the-earth/
The Seismic Tomographic section under Central Africa suggests brittle structures extend to the Outer Core.
Where the structures can be verified all along the African Rift (4 shallower sections) the rift is shown as a vertical structure in the right location but extending to 800 km depth.
The section to the core shows the same structural geology extending to the core. The structures appear to be cleanly cut off by the Liquid Outer core.
This is a structural geology impossibility under the current model of Plate Tectonics. The dark red material under Africa has been called a viscous plume. Plumes are supposed to rise through a viscous mantle up to the base of the lithosphere at 200 to 300 km depth.
However, this figure shows that what we call plumes are not plumes as in a lava lamp or a volcano but gradual infusion of hot material upwards. There are both subvertical and flatter structures cutting it to the core so there cannot be long-term viscous flow there.
It is be noted that the East African Rift and Damaran Orogen structures continue right down to the Core Mantle Boundary! How is this possible? It puts severe constraints on plate movement!
The pressure – temperature diagram on the right-hand side inset gives an indication that the temperature in the mantle of the earth does not go up as fast as one would imagine. There is a large temperature increase down to 100 km depth (25 – 1600°C) and again in the core but a much more gradual increase in between. The temperature only rises about 600°C over the remaining 2700 depth to the CMB. This is obviously not enough to melt the mantle – at least under Africa??
It is suggested that the Pressure/Temperature ratio right down to the core favours rigid lithosphere not viscous mantle. This should be relatively easy to calculate – has this been done?
6. Seismic Tomographic section Pacific Ocean to Africa.
Figure 6. Seismic tomography section through North America, Greenland, Europe to Arabian Peninsula From the crust to the Outer Core.
View the AusIMM webinar on North America at https://www.ausimm.com/videos/community-event/south-west-wageoscience-society—digital-tech-talk-new-discoveries-in-the-structural-geology-mineralization–exploration-targeting-of-north-america/
This figure shows the seismic tomography section from the west coast of North America to Saudi Arabia and eastern Africa and which extends from the outer core to the surface.
It shows that the lithosphere has structures right to the Outer Core over this whole section of Earth with no real break for the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The section shows a change at about 500 km depth from finely laminated Upper Lithosphere to Lower Lithosphere of brittle nature with much coarser structure.
From west to East (left to right).
Pacific Plate subduction. The original, solid looking, Lower Lithosphere under continental North America (9.30 to 10 o’clock) has been almost completely replaced by the jumbled Pacific Plate subduction material (west of white arc). It is very shallow under North America which suggests a huge time period for its eroding off the underside of North America and its accumulation.
It is very similar in shape but more elongated than the South American subduction zone (part 8) but in both cases the blue, cooler subducted material (2,400°C) is pushed right into the 4,500°C – 5,500°C Outer Core where it is cleanly cut off and incorporated into the liquid Outer Core, pressurising it and forcing superheated material back up any weakness to the surface. In this case the closest weakness is the Mid Atlantic Ridge.
Glenville Line pushing structure (11 o’clock yellow arrow) off the east coast of North America is seen. This is further east than its surface expression in eastern North America and this may be the reason that its exact location or even its existence is a hot topic of discussion. However, it can be quite clearly seen as a pushing structure in this cross section. The Lower Lithosphere west of the Glenville Line is more solid, like that under Africa.
From Greenland right through to the west coast of North America there is a 200 – 400 kilometre thick, finely laminated Upper Lithosphere.
Mid Atlantic Ridge. The mid-Atlantic Ridge can be seen as orange coloured hotter (or wetter) rock. There are radiating subvertical structures either side of Iceland and extending to the Outer Core. This suggests that the Earth has had only limited outer core-surface translational movement in this area.
Africa/Europe collision zone. The surface expression of this collision zone is a nappe structure in the Alps. This is confirmation that the structural geology shown is real as this is the structure mapped all along the Alps. The African/Europe collision boundary extends to the Outer Core in a wavey front. The Lithosphere under Africa is brittle and shows the fine detail of the subvertical structures of the thrusting collision.
7. Tectonism forming EarthCycles of subduction, block margin spreading and shuffling of continental blocks.
Figure 7. Earth seismic tomography at 200 km depth showing relative block movements, the mid-Atlantic ridge and global subduction and uplift areas.
The AusIMM webinar I did on this new research can be seen on the AusIMM website or on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snu8En442Js
Earth-scale tectonic structures are initiated by out of balance gravitational forces generated by the Earth axis tilt and the moon and sun gravitational tides.
It is suggested the initiating mechanism for this global block movement is upwelling from the Pacific Theia impact site (left side) forming the extension in the central Pacific and the subduction zones around the edge of the Pacific. The mid Atlantic Ridge (centre) is a large extension zone, extending from the Arctic to the Antarctic, and shows the global nature of this system.
If the earth had no moon and the axis was perpendicular to the orbit plane around the sun then there would be very little tectonism. Earth’s axis is tilted at 23° and it is interesting to note that this is roughly the angle of the major tectonic zones from the Pacific through to Europe (blue line at about 110°).
The orthogonal directions to this tectonic zone are shown by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and major linear structures right across the earth at about 070°. This is about the angle of the tilted axis!
I suggest that a huge volume of material from the subduction zones descends around the outside edge of the Pacific Ocean and is melted off by the much hotter liquid Outer Core. This extra material in the Outer Core pressurises the Outer Core and puts pressure under the continents and up the ridges such as the mid-Atlantic Ridge.
The continents are thus under upward pop-up movement. This aids mineralisation pathways from the core to the surface – see next webinar.
8. Tectonics of the South American subduction zone
Figure 8. Tectonics of the subduction zone under South America at 5° South.
The current mobile mantle hypothesis suggests that this should be the most mobile and fluid area of the mobile mantle. However, there are brittle structures right from the surface to the Outer Core.
It is seen from the large solid blocks on the section that the movement is not the expected viscous fluid flow but has the appearance of an ice-fall at the end of a glacier with large blocks tumbling (getting pushed) from the surface into the Outer Core.
There is no sign of a viscous fluid motion in a circular pattern within the Mobile Mantle heading back towards the central Pacific Ocean as the Mobile Mantle/Plate Tectonics hypothesis demands. The large surface oceanic blocks remain cool as they plunge straight into the Outer Core.
There is a set of very strong brittle structures (where the yellow arrows point) from the Outer Core through to the surface. The strongest structures are under the mineralised South American fields (mining field centres are the coloured circles).
What mechanism enables these gigantic structures to propagate from the Outer Core straight through to the surface through the eastward moving subduction zone?
The huge pressure from the Outer Core means there is an extensional tectonics regime throughout the subduction zone, and crust, that is more powerful than the eastward push of the Pacific and Nazca Plates. There are many smaller fractures seen extending from the Core to the Surface and these are probably reactivation faults, as each fault makes a new path through to the surface.
One problem with the current mathematical modelling, and the common representation of variations in seismic wave velocity as 3-D structures, is that the large reddish hot area in the centre of the Figure 13 would be represented as an upwelling 3-D plume-like structure.
However, this cannot be an upwelling 3-D structure that has any fluid like motion as it is transected in all directions by brittle structures.
The defining brittle structure is the large, flat west dipping structure that extends from near surface under the Atlantic Ocean to 2,000 km depth under the Pacific Ocean. It cuts off the heat from below as the Pacific plate is pushed out eastward, along this structure, over this area.
This suggests that this whole area is a brittle, pop up deformation zone and that the descending oceanic crust has been insitu replaced with hot material from the core rather than by liquid flow.
Extra posters on Earth Evolution.
Poster 3. Summary comparison of the Current model of ‘Plate’ Tectonics with the Watchorn ‘Block’ Tectonics model.
6ias Poster 3 Earth evolution stages 1-3 summary.
Global structural geology knowledge is a precursor to understanding Global Tectonics and mineralising and exploration targeting systems.
There is no detailed (real) structural geology below the crust recognised by the current theorists. This is because there has not been a system to outline these structures until the EagleEye system modeled them in 2016.
The difference between the current Mobile Mantle Plate Tectonics theory and my Block Tectonics Earth Theory is that there are brittle structures to the Outer Core showing that there is not a mobile mantle or Lava Lamp plumes.
Read the above figure for a summary of the differences in the two Earth Tectonics systems.
Poster 4. EagleEye structural geology validation examples.
6ias Poster 4. Examples of detailed structural geology from Chixculub (1), African rift (2), Mid Atlantic Ridge (3), Tongan Trench (4) and Central Asian proto-rift (5).
1. Chixculub Impact structure enlargement and definition.
Thia series of images shows the stages by which Cixculub structure has been found and then enlarged 20.000 times from the large scale structureless colour contour 4000 scale seismic tomographic image in the top right to the 200m scale image in the centre left. As far as I can ascertain this is the first time this has been achieved.
2.African rift verification.
The seismic tomographic plan at 200 km depth and the seismic tomographic section have been aligned with many structural geology features matching up exactly verifying the EagleEye processing methodology.
3. Mid Atlantic ridge to Outer Core.
Note the subvertical structures extending from the core to the surface under Iceland. This answers the question of the mechanism of the plate margins tectonics. Everywhere I have modeled them they extend to the core subvertically and are crossed by flatter structures from the core to the surface. This brittle tectonic activity suggests they are not plumes and no viscious mantle exists in their locality.
4. Tonga Trench and plumes. (as above).
The Tonga Trench is a subvertical structure extending from the core to the surface. This answers the question of the mechanism of the Pacific/Australia plate margin’s tectonics. Everywhere I have modeled them the margins extend subvertically to the core and are crossed by flatter structures from the core to the surface. This brittle tectonic activity suggests they are not plumes and no viscous mantle exists in their locality.
5. African rift northern extension (left) And central Asian Proto-rift (right-centre).
The the above two subvertical structures extend from the core to the surface. Everywhere I have modeled the rifts and plate margins they extend subvertically to the core and are crossed by flatter structures from the core to the surface. This brittle tectonic activity suggests they are not plumes and no viscous mantle exists in their locality.
Both of these rift structures extend from about 60 degrees S to 60 degrees N and appear to transect the African and Indian collision zones. The southern extension of the Central Asian proto-rift are the strong 85 and 90 degree ridges in the Indian Ocean.
Global Mineralisation and Exploration Targeting Systems.
Poster 1. Global Mineralisation Systems.
1. Global mineralisation system.
Figure 1. Global mineralisation system Watchorn hypothesis.
Global structural geology knowledge is a precursor to understanding global mineralising and exploration targeting systems
The result of the Pacific Ring of Fire subduction tectonic activity is the cutting off and digestion of this blue, cooler (blue arrows), subducted descending material (~2,500 °C) by the Outer Core (~ 4,500°C) which has differential movement to the mantle.
Calculation of the volume of this Pacific Ring of Fire material added to the core suggests that the continents should rise orders of magnitude greater than is observed. Why does this not happen and what happens to the excess material?
This newly melted material adds to the volume of the liquid Outer Core which becomes pressurised and exerts an immense upward force on the overlying mantle, lithosphere and crust. This causes the Earth to fractionally expand creating an Earthwide extensional regime which creates, and opens the subvertical structures like Mid Atlantic Ridge, Plate Margins’ and cracks the subduction zones themselves.
The pressure can be relieved up these available weak zones and superheated fluids and magma (red arrows), containing heavy minerals from the core, now have a path to the Earth’s surface.
Paradigm change.
The sub vertical fault zones have been observed all over the Earth and the strongest always come up under Mineralised districts. Thus, documenting and following them is a new way of targeting the best mineralised areas.
2. Outer Core hotspots suggest the source of heat for mineralised fluid and magma transport.
Figure 2. Earth Seismic tomography at 2,800 km depth showing deep and surface hotspots. The global mineralisation driver!
This seismic tomography plan is 2,800 km deep, just above the outer mantle Outer Core contact. It shows the hot areas (slow seismic waves) above the Outer Core.
These hot areas are larger than the continent of Africa, one occurs in the Pacific and the other under Africa.
As described on the Earth Evolution poster I believe the Pacific hotspot is where Theia impacted earth and the hotspot under Africa, which is on the opposite side of Earth from the Pacific impact, is the bulge pushed out from the impact. These may be farfield structures through which heat flows.
There is a ~70% correlation between the hotspots at 2,800 km depth and the hotspots on the surface. This suggests that the heat travels vertically, or radially, up from the Outer Core to the surface.
3. Where do the minerals from the core distribute at the surface?
Figure 3. Current distribution of oceanic mineralisation at surface.
This figure shows mineralised vents on the ocean floor. They closely follow the plate margins/suture zones and the subduction zones. In my webinar on the Earth’s evolution (topic of poster session 1 at 6ias, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snu8En442Js ) I have shown that these plate margins, and rifts are subvertical and extend to the Outer Core.
These mineralised vents give us a strong clue as to where the heavy minerals that we mine come from!?
They certainly do not come from the Crust or Lithosphere. Minerals heavier than iron cannot be formed on Earth. The heavy minerals must have originated in outer space and specifically from neutron star collisions. Temperatures over 10 billion °C are required before these heavy minerals are formed. The Core of Earth is only approximately 6,000°C.
Most of these minerals will have come from the original formation of Earth from cosmic dust. The post Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) impacts will have only provided a very small percentage of the heavy minerals on Earth.
This suggests that the heavy minerals on Earth have come from the core. My research has shown that large vertical fractures originating from the core exist under all major mineral fields. This is shown by the pattern of minerals coming up Plate Margins and Extensional Ridge zones seen in the above plan. What drives this system?
4. North America EagleEye enhanced gravity showing mines, rings and structural geology.
Figure 4. North America EagleEye enhanced gravity showing mines, rings and structural geology.
This figure shows the cut-out area of North America from the Potato Earth gravity lower-left (the real shape of planet earth – 3D Animation HD https://vimeo.com/213210796). This figure shows no structural geology. We must focus it. When you enhance the potato earth gravity, rings and linear structures can be seen.
When it is structurally enhanced it shows three major ring structures all of which are known to be impact structures. C is the Cleveland ring impact structure, S is the Slate Island ring structure in Lake Superior and M is roughly where the Beaverhead impact structure is located. That these clear ring structures all relate to known impacts means these
EagleEye structures are real.
The insert on the right-hand side shows the Lunar Mares which are roughly the same scale as the smaller rings on the North American continent. They correlate in number, density, and morphology (Grieve and Pilkington 1996, French 1998, French and Koeberl 2010).
Gravity data note. Most geoscientists do not use gravity very much as it is generally believed that gravity can only be a very general guide unless you have detailed micro gravity. We have now seen that even Earth-scale gravity, properly enhanced, can be a very powerful geological tool.
The diamond mines (white circles) follow the NNW linear and occur where this linear intersects the NW and the SE of the large 3,000 km diameter ring M. As there is such a strong correlation between the rings, linears and mines we can use these as an exploration targeting tool.
5. European metal mine correlation with EagleEye optimised Landsat structural geology.
Figure 5. EagleEye enhanced Landsat plan of Europe showing all mines and major linears.
The area of Europe is possibly 30% deep ocean and sea. The background geology for this plan is an EagleEye enhanced Landsat plan from Google Earth, so it includes submarine topography. Landsat (Googlr Earth) is a fantastic database for finding geological structure if looked at on a large scale.
The topography, different colours in the geography and vegetation give good structural detail on land and the very detailed topography of the ocean floor given on Google Earth from side-scanning radar gives an excellent undersea structural coverage over the whole European area.
At first glance the mines appear to be sitting in around the dark structurally complex areas as they occur all over the world. This makes sense as they are generally found associated with faults.
However, do all the mines follow the same structures or is there a pattern for each metal that we can use for determining their origin and for exploration targeting on a grand scale?
by liquid flow.
6. Mineralisation paths – South America Seismic Tomographic section 26 °S.
Figure 6. Mineralisation paths – South America Seismic Tomographic section 26 °S.
This figure shows a similar section to the previous one under South America at 5 °S. Once again it shows the strong radial structures from the Outer Core terminating under the strongest mines in South America. The blue cooler oceanic crust is plunging straight into the Outer Core as huge icefall type blocks. They are cleanly cut off by the Outer Core. Elsewhere above the Outer Core there are heated (red) rocks.
7. Exploration targeting using seismic tomography at 75 km depth.
Figure 7. Yilgarn Craton suggested chronology and Seismic tomo plan and section 30S
This is a complicated seismic tomography plan and cross-section is a plan in cross-section. It shows the area from the Indian Ocean to nearly the Western Australian border, about 1,500 km. The cross-section covers the same area and extends down to 300 km depth.
The cross-section clearly shows the sub vertical structures up which the mineralisation has come. The strongest structure is under the Norseman Wiluna mineralised trend.
The biggest difference between the research I am doing and most of the current research is, the much larger scale which I look at the geology.
The little brownish cross-section in the centre right of the cross-section is the scale that most people examine to observe how mineralisation forms. At least this is the scale of most that is reported in the literature.
And there is nothing wrong with this research as is seen in the blow up of the section from Leonora to Gruyere. The flower structures and the anti-forms mineralisation traps are clearly seen.
However, these are only the very final traps for the mineralisation coming up from deeper areas of earth.
In terms of exploration targeting the larger plans will give larger targets along the favourable structures that I have seen.
Poster 2. Global Mineralisation Exploration Targeting Systems.
6ias Poster 2. Exploration targeting examples
8. Yilgarn Radiometric Metallogenic districts.
Figure 8. Yilgarn Radiometric Metallogenic districts.
The Yilgarn wide GRS have conspicuous radiometric signatures which may form the basis for using the GRS as a basis for metallogenic districts. This should lead to targeting for the specific associated minerals within these areas. The variation in the GRSs radiometrics may suggest impacts of varying composition, and age, as proposed by Voosen in 2018.
9. Exploration Targeting using radiometrics.
Figure 9. NE Yilgarn Gruyere – Tropicana Radiometric targeting.
The above plan shows mineralisation targeting using radiometrics in the north eastern Yilgarn Gruyere – Tropicana area.
These are big deposits with possibly 20 million ounces gold between them. It would be good to find another couple! Where do you start?
I noticed that both Gruyere and Tropicana had a fluoro pink radiometric signature and so I searched around the giant ring structures for similar radiometric anomalies. There were many!
It would be interesting to compare these exploration targeting areas with the 300 km depth seismic tomography target areas.
This plan shows the seismic tomography at 300 km depth. The brown colour represents slower seismic waves possibly more altered, hotter lithologies and the grey blue colour represents faster waves, possibly cooler, more original cratonic material.
The exploration targeting regime which has been used for the last 30 years is to target the edges of the Graton.
This plan updates and refines that old technique. Using EagleEye enhancement, one could follow these intra-cratonic boundaries from the surface to the Outer Core. I have picked the 300 km depth because the boundaries seem clearer at this depth
This boundary should be the highest P/T change area and would be the preferred site for mineral deposition. They are the areas within the orange shapes. EagleEye can define these areas much more clearly than current systems.
The lighter point areas within each colour regime are higher heat flow areas. So, one can target high heat flow areas within the brown or grey rock.
It was noticed that most of the big mines occurred on, or near, these light areas suggesting a connection.
10. Yilgarn Seismic tomography, 300 km depth. hotspot exploration targeting.
Figure 10. Yilgarn Seismic tomography, 300 km depth. hotspot exploration targeting.
This plan shows the seismic tomography at 300 km depth. The brown colour represents slower seismic waves possibly more altered, hotter lithologies and the grey blue colour represents faster waves, possibly cooler, more original cratonic material.
The exploration targeting regime which has been used for the last 30 years is to target the edges of the Graton.
This plan updates and refines that old technique. Using EagleEye enhancement, one could follow these intra-cratonic boundaries from the surface to the Outer Core. I have picked the 300 km depth because the boundaries seem clearer at this depth
This boundary should be the highest P/T change area and would be the preferred site for mineral deposition. They are the areas within the orange shapes. EagleEye can define these areas much more clearly than current systems.
The lighter point areas within each colour regime are higher heat flow areas. So, one can target high heat flow areas within the brown or grey rock.
It was noticed that most of the big mines occurred on, or near, these light areas suggesting a connection.
The figure above was optimised to define the high heat flow (white) areas. The orange circles represent targets.
The original of this plan was done in 2018 and since that time many of these areas have been pegged, often by my colleagues. Good examples of this are the Gruyere area and the recent pegging across the centre of the wheatbelt. All the big new deposits (stars) including Julimar have been found since I first put out this this plan and they all lie within the orange lines.
So, even though it is a plan at 300 km depth it appears that the targets are realistic. Most have not been drilled. It also suggests that the movement of hot fluids and mineralisation is vertical at least up from 300 km depth.
The top right plan showing the heat sources at the Outer Core and their respective positions at the surface which confirms my conclusion that the superheated fluids travel vertically.
11. Gold mines geological setting and exploration targeting.
Figure 11. EagleEye enhanced Landsat plan of Europe showing gold mines.
Almost all the gold mines are closely associated with the dark strong tectonic areas as they are everywhere on Earth.
They are also associated with the intersections of linears and rings. Exploration targets (orange circles) are along major dark linears, and where intersecting rings and linears focus gold mineralising fluids.
12. Silver lead zinc mines geological setting and exploration targeting.
Figure 12. EagleEye enhanced Landsat plan of Europe showing silver lead zinc mines.
Contrary to gold and copper, silver lead zinc mines lie almost exclusively on the lighter coloured areas but are still adjacent to the dark strong tectonic areas.
This was a big surprise and needs a lot more research!
There must be a huge difference between the deposition of silver lead zinc mineralisation and gold and copper deposits.
So, look in the light areas away from the strongest tectonic areas for silver lead zinc exploration targeting!
13. Are there minerals districts in the Yilgarn craton that seem to have a specific near surface ring source?
Figure 13. Barrambie ring uranium vanadium occurrence and targeting.
While I believe that most mineralisation has emanated from the Outer Core there may be areas where surface activity, including meteorite impacts, have provided minerals that have formed economic deposits.
This figure shows the 500 km diameter Barrambie ring structure near Sandstone. Nearly all the Yilgarn craton’s vanadium and uranium deposits lie within the inner ring of this structure.
If these minerals had come from the Outer Core, then these minerals should not just be in this tight area.
Thus, it is suggested that the Barrambie impactor may have provided the vanadium and uranium enrichment.
14. Pilbara exploration targeting using South Africa’s Witwatersrand as a template.
Figure 14. Shaw and Mt Flora ring structures Witwatersrand type targets.
There has been a lot of alluvial gold found on the unconformable Fortescue basin boundary recently. Why?
The above figure illustrates Pilbara exploration targeting using South Africa’s Witwatersrand basin placed as a template on the Archaean craton/Fortescue Group boundary. This may explain the gold in the Fortescue which originated in the Archaean and is transported to the younger basin.
There is a strong unconformable boundary between the Archaean, greater than 3 billion years old cratonic basement, and the 2.6 billion year old Fortescue group sedimentary basin deposited on top.
I overlaid the Witwatersrand basin onto the edge of the Fortescue basin as they are of similar scale.
The newly discovered mines and deposits following the unconformable contact on the Shaw ring structure’s northern margin (orange crescent) have the same characteristics as the alluvial/eluvial gold deposits of the Witwatersrand.
The Mount Flora ring structure to the west has a similar northern unconformable contact with which would be worth exploring for gold (orange crescent).
The white crescent on the southern side of the Mount Flora and Shaw ring structures would also be good for gold except that they are covered by quite a few kilometres of Fortescue and Hamersley Basin sediments. However, large volumes of fluid will be coming through these particular arcs (white crescents) and so they would be worth exploring for iron mineralisation in the right environment and also for all the minerals, such as copper, silver, lead, zinc and copper whose mineralising fluids can travel, from beneath, through a lot of sediment. Although not right on these arcs the Paulsons, Abra and Karlawinda mines might be examples?
Targeting for all minerals would involve looking where large cross cutting structures cut these ring structures and then honing in on the high heat flow areas represented by the structures at 300 km.
15. Carlin Bingham Canyon mineralisation and exploration targeting.
Figure 15. Goldstrike, Carlin, Bingham Canyon seismic tomography 300 km depth Targeting.
This figure, from the seismic tomography at 300 km depth, is of the more local Carlin/Bingham Canyon area and although a preliminary structural geology plan it clearly shows the ENE, WNW, NW and EW linear structures.
The biggest mines lie on the intersection of these structures and are on the dark tectonically active areas.
The Carlin field is renowned as a dome and basin structural area and that is exactly the pattern one would get with this set of intersecting linears. Remember, we are down 300 km and these structures must propagate to the surface. I have not checked to see if they have the same trend at the surface.
The most obvious ring structure is to the centre-right and extends from the top-right through the centre and down to the bottom centre. It is about 500 km in diameter. In the top centre-left is a very distinct small ring about 120 km in diameter.
There are also strong ENE structures with what looks like crenulation cleavage between them.
Carlin, Gold Strike and Bingham Canyon mines are associated with at these ring structures and NNW, WNW and ENE structures which form the basis for the dome and basin structures.
The orange circles are my first pass targeting areas based on the above structural elements.
Is there a better way of finding out the detailed structure to refine the targeting?
The ring structures are clearer in the small insert at the bottom-right. These ring structures can be seen more clearly on the small-scale plans than large-scale plans where the structures are too much in your face.
If this was a microscope slide, diamond drill core, an underground mine face map or surface field map, then it could only be described as brittle to semi-brittle structural geology.
However, we are down at 300 km depth in the middle of what is currently considered the mobile mantle? It is not mobile, otherwise these almost perfect rings and linear structures would not still exist.
Are there other ways of finding out the detailed structure to refine the targeting?
16. Global seismic tomography at 200 km showing exploration targeting of diamond mines.
Figure 16. Global seismic tomography at 200 km depth showing Diamond exploration targets.
This plan of the global seismic tomography at 200 km depth shows rings and linear structures. The diamond mines are plotted as blue/white circles.
It is seen in this plan that the NNW diamond line that extends through North America is of similar orientation to the ones in South America and Africa. There is also one that extends through Russia to India. These are quite strong, continuous, linear structures at this 200 km depth.
WNW, NE and EW structures are also important in diamond tectonics.
So, this plan uses those intersecting linears as a basis for the orange ellipse diamond targeting areas. The targets are outside the mined areas.
EagleEye Structural geology and Exploration Targeting System. Extra poster.
Poster 3. Poster showing the ability of EagleEye system to get detailed real structural geology from very regional data images.
6ias Poster 3. Exploration targeting EagleEye enlargement capability.
1. Continental scale magnetics image.
This continental scale magnetics image was used to get detailed magnetic images of three well known mineral districts.
2. EagleEye structurally enhanced continental scale magnetics image.
This EagleEye structurally enhanced image shows the broad structural geology at continental scale.
3. EagleEye structurally enhanced Pilbara/Yilgarn scale magnetics image.
This EagleEye structurally enhanced image shows the more detailed structural geology at craton scale.
4. EagleEye structurally enhanced Yilgarn scale magnetics image.
This EagleEye horizontal derivative and edge effect enhanced image shows the more detailed structural geology at Yilgarn craton scale.
5. EagleEye structurally enhanced Western Yilgarn scale magnetics image. Julimar discovery structural geology.
This image shows the structural geology of the Julimar and Boddington areas (right side). As far as I can research these structures duplicate the published structures for the areas (left side). Remember, they are got from the fuzzy Australian magnetics image (centre)!
6. EagleEye structurally enhanced Yilgarn scale TMI magnetics image.
This EagleEye structurally enhanced image shows more detailed structural geology at Eastern Yilgarn craton scale.
7 and 8. EagleEye structurally enhanced Eastern Yilgarn scale TMI magnetics images.
These images have been used as the base for the Kalgoorlie (10) and Norseman (13 and 14) mineral fields.
9. EagleEye structurally enhanced Eastern Yilgarn scale TMI magnetics image.
This EagleEye structurally enhanced image on the left side shows the more detailed structural geology of the 10 km x 10 km area Kalgoorlie Superpit area (yellow pit outline). Note the structural geology detail increases with each enlargement! The actual corresponding geology is in the right side of the image at the same scale.
10. EagleEye structurally enhanced Kalgoorlie Superpit scale TMI magnetics image.
This EagleEye structurally enhanced image on the right side shows the more detailed structural geology of the 0.5km x 0.8km area southern Kalgoorlie Superpit area (yellow pit outline). Note the structural geology detail increases with each enlargement! The actual corresponding orebody geology is in the left side of the image at the same scale.
Thus it is possible, using EagleEye, to get detailed images of the Superpit ore bodies down to a 200 metres scale. This is an enlargement of 20,000 times from the original plan and yet there is much finer detail at this scale than in the original image! Have a careful look!
This is extremely valuable for geological mapping and exploration targeting when looking for new Kalgoorlie Golden Miles.
11. EagleEye structurally enhanced Norseman area scale TMI magnetics image.
This EagleEye structurally enhanced image on the left side shows the more detailed structural geology of the 80 km x 90 km Norseman area (yellow pit outline). Note the structural geology detail increases with each enlargement! The actual corresponding geology is on the left side of the image at the same scale. The geology is almost exactly correct.
12. EagleEye structurally enhanced Norseman Northfield magnetics image.
This EagleEye structurally enhanced image on the right side shows the more detailed structural geology of the Norseman Northfield area. The corresponding orebody geology is in the left side of the image at the same scale. The outline geology and main NS lodes systems are clearly seen.
Most of this area is under deep salt lake alluvial sediments and thus if the EagleEye system was widely used it would increase our geological and mineralisation knowledge with a resultant increased ore discovery rate.
The EagleEye system has the potential to save billions of dollars in geophysical surveying and gives an invaluable aid to good geological mapping thus saving costly field mapping.
13. EagleEye structurally enhanced Norseman Mainfield magnetics image.
This EagleEye structurally enhanced image on the right side shows the more detailed EagleEye structural geology of the 4km x 2km area southern Norseman Mainfield area (lodes and faults shown). Note the structural geology detail increases with each enlargement! The actual corresponding orebody geology is in the left side of the image at the same scale.
Thus it is possible, using EagleEye, to get detailed images of the Norseman ore bodies down to a 1km scale. This is an enlargement of 4,000 times from the original plan and yet there is much finer detail at this scale than in the original image!
This is extremely valuable for geological mapping and exploration targeting when looking for new Norseman deposits.
14. EagleEye structurally enhanced North Royal open-pit scale TMI magnetics image.
This EagleEye structurally enhanced image on the left side shows the more detailed structural geology of the 0.5km x 0.8km area North Royal open-pit area (yellow lode outlines). Note the structural geology detail increases with each enlargement! The actual corresponding orebody and local geology is in the right side of the image at the same scale.
Thus it is possible, using EagleEye, to get detailed images of the Norseman ore bodies down to a 200 metres scale. This is an enlargement of 20,000 times from the original Australia wide magnetic plan and yet there is much finer detail at this scale than in the original image!
This is extremely valuable for geological mapping and exploration targeting when looking for new mineral fields.
The EagleEye system has the potential to save billions of dollars in geophysical surveying and gives an invaluable aid to good geological mapping thus saving costly field mapping.
Poster 4. Poster showing the EagleEye system of Exploration Targeting using surface to core structural geology plans and sections.
Conclusion.
There is a world of real structural geology to access down to the core.
This geology changes the whole concept of global tectonics.
The new system of global tectonics and the observing of subvertical, massive breaks from the core to the surface that correlate with the massive mineral fields of the world suggest that they may be fluid pathways for metals which aids exploration targeting.
It is relatively easy to produce seismic tomographic sections and plans to build up 3D models of areas around mineral fields which can also be used for exploration targeting.
I have shown new, or little reported, methods of exploration targeting using radiometrics, Landsat and seismic tomography which can be used in conjunction with the tried and trusted targeting criteria currently used.
The EagleEye system can generate good verifiable regional and even mine scale structural geology plans from continental scale fuzzy images. This facet of EagleEye has the potential to save billions of dollars in geophysical surveying and should be an invaluable aid to good geological mapping thus saving costly field mapping.
Cheers and happy researching and exploring!
Bob