Assessment of base-metal prospectivity in sedimentary basins based on the association between hydrocarbon and metalliferous brine migration

Full report title: Assessment of base-metal prospectivity in sedimentary basins based on the association between hydrocarbon and metalliferous brine migration: A feasibility study based on the Fitzroy Trough/Lennard Shelf, Western Australia

Summary

This was a pilot study on sedimentary rocks of the Fitzroy Trough and Lennard Shelf in the Canning Basin, with the objective of understanding how hydrocarbon and metalliferous fluid migration are related in depositional basins.

Specifically, the aim was to find out if sandstones in the vicinity of the Cadjebut Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) deposit had acted as aquifers for both hydrocarbons and metalliferous brines.

A major conclusion is that fluid flow in the Fitzroy Trough and probably the Barbwire Terrace was along stratigraphic horizons.

Upon reaching the Lennard Shelf, the fluids flowed along structural pathways, sometimes into porous horizons.

It is uncertain if the hydrocarbons pre-dated or post-dated the metalliferous brines.

The study suggests that hydrocarbons and metalliferous brines were focussed along structural conduits, and it led to a better understanding of the architecture of the hydrothermal system that produced the MVT deposits on the Lennard Shelf.

Keywords: hydrocarbon migration, fluid migration, structural conduits, migration pathways, Canning Basin, Lennard Shelf