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  • The writer spent the period May 31st to June 4th, 1952, with geological parties lead by K.A. Townley and J.F. Ivanac respectively in the Mt. Isa District, Queensland. At this time E.K. Carter had carried out one week's mapping in the south of Mt. Isa township, and had traced the Mt. Isa shale and dolomitic shale for about 12 miles south of the mine. He had shown that the Templeton granite was concordant and that it was younger in age than the Mt. Isa sediments. The writer, after considering the work carried out by E.K. Carter and a study of the photographs of the region and of the geology of Mt. Isa Mines, came to the conclusions listed herein. Observations and recommendations are discussed.

  • During the period 19th November to 22nd November, 1952, severe earth tremors were felt in the Gunning District, and, less severely, over a considerable portion of south-eastern New South Wales. As officers of the Bureau of Mineral Resources, Canberra, the writers were detailed to investigate the tremors.

  • The Giralia Structure is an eroded, doubly-lunging anticline about 60 miles in length and 10 miles in maximum width. It is situated between Exmouth Gulf and the Lyndon River near the coast in the North West Division of Western Australia. In this investigation micropalaeontology has been applied to help in elucidating the surface stratigraphy of the eroded Giralia Anticline. The chronology, correlation and palaeo-ecology of the exposed sediments must be considered in evaluation their oil-possibilities. To this end examination of microfossils, principally foraminifera, aids materially in recognizing unconformities, structural conditions and facies changes, in dating and correlating strata and in interpreting ancient depositional conditions. The samples studied were collected by a field party of the Bureau of Mineral Resources during the winter months of 1950 and 1951. Additional samples were collected by the writer in visits to the area in July 1950 and July 1952.

  • Gravity surveys were conducted of the Gippsland Lakes district during 1949 and 1951. Both surveys showed an anomaly immediately to the north of Lake Wellington, the magnetic anomaly being a little displaced to the north-west of the gravity anomaly. The size and nature of the magnetic anomaly suggested that it might be due to rocks with higher than normal magnetic susceptibility in the basement complex. The gravity anomaly might be due to a buried hill in the Jurassic or basement, perhaps associated with the same feature which is responsible for the magnetic anomaly. Such a buried hill could result in a geological structure favourable to the accumulation of oil being present in the overlying Tertiary rocks, and in order to test whether or not a favourable structure existed a seismic reflection survey was undertaken by the Bureau. This report deals with the results of the seismic survey. Two north-south traverses and one running east-west and crossing the other two were surveyed.

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  • During 1951, Mr. E.P. George, a resident of Maldon, reported that he had discovered areas in the Maldon gold field which showed definite radioactivity on a portable Geiger counter. Samples submitted by him from time to time were tested in the laboratory, and showed slight radioactivity. Although the results gave no indication of the presence of a deposit of commercial value, the opportunity was taken of the presence of a geophysical field party in the Woodend district to pay a brief visit to Maldon, so that the activity present could be recorded on the Bureau's instruments. The party comprised two geophysicists, who spent half a day in the area.

  • A total of 25 rotary cored holes were drilled by the Bureau in Portion 49, Parish of Wallarah, County Northumberland, 2 miles south of Swansea. Approximately 1400 ft. of "test and define" drilling proved a possible 200,000 tons of coal suitable to be open cut under an average overburden of 6/1 ratio. The initial drilling programme showed a rolling seam. After surveying, further holes were drilled to locate the displacement which is 10 to 15 ft. in the S.W. corner of the area. No other obstacles are known which would hinder immediate working of the area. The lower split of the Wallarah Seam was tested in three holes but was found to be too thin to warrant further prospecting. The geology of the area is discussed in this report, and the results of the drilling programme are shown in the accompanying graphic and bore logs.

  • The first airborne scintillometer surveys to be carried out by the Geophysical Section of the Bureau have now been completed. In this work the Shoran radar positioning system was also used for the first time. Detailed surveys were made over an area of about one thousand square miles surrounding the Rum Jungle granite and one of about twenty square miles in the Edith River district. In addition, flights were made over several other known granite masses in the northern part of the Northern Territory and along both sides of the railway line from Batchelor to Katherine. In addition to the Dakota aircraft, an Auster aircraft was chartered for some experimental low-level flights over areas of special interest selected on the basis of indications discovered during the survey by the Dakota. Instruments and methods used in the course of the surveys, results, and conclusions are discussed.

  • In October, 1951, geologists G.F. Joklik and S.A. Tomich from the Harts range party of the Commonwealth Bureau of Mineral Resources inspected the section along the Ross River in the Fergusson Ranges fifty miles east of Alice Springs. They collected fossils from several localities discovered by C.T. Madigan, who had regarded the high fossiliferous horizon as basal Larapintine. He describes the rocks as 'worm-eaten quartzite, with moulds suggesting Isoarca' and remarks that 'no good fossils were found'. It is this bed that has yielded the Upper Cambrian fossils. Fossils collected in the deeper horizon generally confirm Madigan's observations. The results of this investigation are recorded and discussed in this report.

  • The existence of wolfram in the deposit has been known since about 1915, and mining was carried out intermittently from that time until about 1938. It was not until June, 1951, when the deposit was visited by us, that the existence of scheelite in important quantity in the known ore was established. During this visit, also, a study of the structure of the deposit convinced us that, although only a little ore was exposed, considerable quantities of non-outcropping ore might be found. As magnetite is one of the gangue-minerals, a request was made for a magnetic survey. This survey was carried out by the Geophysical Section. Subsequent diamond drilling by Tungsten Consolidated Limited has shown that substantial bodies of scheelite and wolfram ore exist in the area under the structural conditions originally postulated; these conditions are outlined below. The geology of the deposits and the results of combined geological, geophysical, and diamond drilling investigations are discussed.