Spectral characteristics of the Gawler Range Volcanics in drill core Myall Creek RC1

Abstract

ABSTRACTTraditional core-logging methods in conjunction with spectral scanning techniques have been used to log volcanic successions of the lower Gawler Range Volcanics. The open-file drill core Myall Creek RC 1 was re-logged and scanned using HyLogger™ core scanning technologies as a part of the Geological Survey of South Australia's Southern Gawler Rangers mapping program and the Mineral System Drilling Program. Myall Creek RC 1 is one of the key stratigraphic drill cores for the region, owing to the intersection of a large section of the Gawler Range Volcanics. Spectral characterisation of the Eucarro Rhyolite revealed differential weathering of plagioclase phenocrysts, while high-resolution imagery and spectral results were used to log new basaltic flows and small flow features in the Roopena Basalt. The composition and distribution of feldspars in the unnamed lower Gawler Range Volcanic units were used to aid traditional logging of visually similar lithologies. A spectral scalar, the felsic–mafic index, was used to identify unusual features in the unnamed sequence and was found to identify iron oxides as either fracture coatings or finely disseminated in the matrix of the sample. Iron oxides were also used to identify features within lithological units, which were difficult to discern visually, especially the layers in the deepest layered ignimbrite at the end of the drill core.