New data on the age of mineralisation in the Rocky Cape Group

A research team, including Ralph Bottrill and Grace Cumming from MRT, has published new age dates for mineralisation in the Rocky Cape Group.

Samples from the Spion Kop, Strickland, Silver Reward and Murrays Reward mineralisation were dated using galena, monazite, and xenotime. The results indicate that primary mineralisation formed at approximately 1350 Ma. This suggests that the mineralisation is possibly syn-sedimentary and is of similar age to major Zn-Pb and Cu-Co sediment-hosted deposits in the US-Canadian Belt-Purcell Basin. This finding supports the proposed link between northwest Tasmania and North America at that time and suggest the Rocky Cape Block has the potential to host similar sediment-hosted ore deposits.

The paper is available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.precamres.2024.107619