NTGS Record 2026-003 presents detailed petrographic descriptions, outcrop photographs and photomicrographs for 81 rock samples from across the Central, Nimbuwah and Litchfield domains of the Pine Creek Orogen (PCO), including key stratigraphic units from the Cosmo and Woodcutters supergroups that host some of the region’s most significant gold, uranium, graphite and polymetallic mineral systems.
Highlights include the identification of volcanic and volcaniclastic components within several stratigraphic units, evidence for widespread carbonaceous and graphitic horizons, recognition of hydrothermal alteration and silicification, and documentation of metamorphic conditions ranging from greenschist to amphibolite facies. Data in the study also provide important insights into the thermal and deformational history of the orogen.
This new record provides an important petrographic framework for interpreting stratigraphic relationships, provenance, metamorphic evolution and mineral system development across the Pine Creek Orogen. By improving understanding of the distribution, composition and history of key stratigraphic units, the study strengthens exploration models and provides valuable information to support ongoing mineral exploration in one of the Northern Territory's most prospective polymetallic mineral provinces.
Download the report GEMIS: Petrographic characterisation of outcrop samples from the Pine Creek Orogen, Northern Territory