URL: https://geoscience.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/cr132315
This data package contains results of geochemical analyses documenting multi element geochemistry of major phosphorite deposits formed along the eastern margin of the Cambrian Georgina Basin in north-west Queensland, with an emphasis on rare earth elements (REE). The results presented in this report were obtained by the Geological Survey of Queensland (GSQ) as part of a program of systematic geochemical characterisation of Queensland's major mineral deposits, undertaken under the 5-year New Economy Minerals Initiative (NEMI), commenced in 2019.
Marine phosphorite deposits in general and those in the Georgina Basin in particular are known to contain elevated concentrations of REE (lanthanides) and Y, making them a potential major future source of global REE supply. However, there is a shortage of consistent high-quality publicly available information on REE and Y endowment of known phosphorite deposits in north-west Queensland, the deficiency this report aims to address.
Although phosphorite occurrences are documented along the entire eastern margin of the Georgina Basin, phosphate-bearing units are typically thicker in the central and southern parts of the basin, containing the largest identified phosphorite deposits. Consequently, this project focused on deposits in that area and did not characterise phosphorite accumulations in the north of the basin.
Top sections of most of the identified phosphorite deposits in the region are variably affected by surface weathering and this study also investigated effects of weathering on REE endowment of phosphorites.