Getting the Most Out of Existing Exploration Data: A New Interpretation of the Mt Magnet Gold Camp, Western Australia

Abstract

The Mt Magnet is one of Western Australia’s oldest gold mining districts with numerous mine workings and extensive past exploration. The extent of historic exploration has made developing new exploration concepts and targets increasing difficult. The aim of the study was to better understand the subsurface architecture of the region as well as identify previously unrecognised geological units which are considered prospective for gold mineralisation, namely banded iron formations or porphyry granite bodies. To achieve this aim a regional 3D geological model was constructed using geological interpretations and a constrained gravity inversion. The geological model was refined using the gravity inversion to create a model consistent with both geophysics and geological understandings. Ultimately from this work greater confidence was provided for drill targets in areas where previous exploration had not effectively tested these areas.