Marra Mamba Iron Formation stratigraphy in the eastern Chichester Range,Western Australia |
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| Authors: | D F Lascelles |
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| Institution: | Centre for Strategic Mineral Studies, Department of Geology and Geophysics , University of Western Australia , Nedlands, WA, 6907, Australia |
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| Abstract: | The Marra Mamba Iron Formation is the basal member of the Hamersley Group in Western Australia and is host to major iron‐ore deposits in its upper Mt Newman Member. Previous studies have suggested that the Marra Mamba Iron Formation in the eastern Chichester Range was deposited in an isolated basin behind a barrier reef and was greatly reduced in thickness. New drilling covering a large part of the Chichester Range shows that only the lower part of the Nammuldi Member, the lowest unit of the Marra Mamba Iron Formation, remains over most of the range. However, 15 m of the Mt Newman Member, the complete MacLeod Member and the upper part of the Nammuldi Member were drilled in small north‐south synclines preserved near Mulga Downs homestead. This drilling shows that the Marra Mamba Iron Formation is similar in all respects to other occurrences in the Hamersley Province. There is no evidence of facies change or reduced thickness and therefore no evidence for a northern limit to the deposition of the Hamersley Group. Apart from the small synclines near Mulga Downs homestead, the Fortescue River alluvial deposits abutting the Chichester Range are underlain by the Roy Hill Shale Member of the Jeerinah Formation. |
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| Keywords: | Chichester Range Hamersley Group Marra Mamba Iron Formation stratigraphy Western Australia |
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