Exploring one of the world’s richest goldfields
The goldfields in the Kalgoorli region of Western Australia are one of the richest mineral fields to exist in Australia. It has an extremely ancient origin and a polyphase tectonic history. An ancient subduction event 2.8 billion years ago formed volcanic arcs and later tectonic events included rifting, accretion and orogenies.
The ancient archeon rocks were metamorphosed to a phase known as a greenschist facies and they get their name from the green color due to certain minerals that exist in the rocks. The goldfields were formed from hot metamorphic fluids which released gold-laden hydrothermal fluids into the many fault lines that exist in the region.
The ancient volcanic arc and the accompanying archeon sedimentary rocks were uplifted into a tremendous mountain range during orogenic events.
This mountain range was highly eroded throughout time, leading to the vast deposition of gold and this explains why so many people find massive gold nuggets with metal detectors in the surrounding region as erosion has more or less erased the one towering mountain peaks that existed here. Kalgoorli is a booming mining town, and this isn’t expected to slow down anytime soon.
