Rum Jungle
Rum Jungle (EL 26094, EL26091, EL26322) — Pine Creek Region, Northern Territory
Location:
The Rum Jungle, Cameron Downs, Harrison Dam and Adelaide River Projects are situated in the Pine Creek Region, Northern Territory, within a 30km radius of Batchelor, near Litchfield National Park and approximately 70km south-southwest of Darwin. Between 1954 and 1971 the Rum Jungle uranium field produced more than 6,000 t U3O8.
Brief geological description:
The Archaean Rum Jungle Complex comprises schist, orthogneiss, banded iron formation and granite, and is exposed in two domal inliers. The Rum Jungle Complex is unconformably overlain by a sedimentary succession comprising the Manton, Mount Partridge, South Alligator and Finniss River Groups. Dolerite and gabbro sills and plugs of the Zamu Dolerite intruded these sediments. Multiple folding and faulting events affected the region from 1880 to 1760 Ma. Early northwest-directed thrusts were overprinted by tight to isoclinal north-trending folds, accompanied by upper greenschist facies metamorphism. Open folding and kinking was the distal expression of granite emplacement to the east and southeast.
Retrograde lower greenschist facies metamorphism accompanied regional-scale, northwest-trending strike-slip faulting. Haematite-quartzite breccia, siltstone and sandstone of the Geolsec Formation were deposited around the Waterhouse Dome, and unconformably overlie dolostones of the Mount Partridge Group. Tolmer Group marine sandstone overlies the Finniss River Group. Uranium and polymetallic base metal mineralisation occurs in Mount Partridge group sediments around the margins of the Archaean domes and is associated with faults.
Expected styles of mineralisation:
The project areas are prospective for unconformity-related uranium and gold and base metal deposits.
Exploration model:
The project areas cover a series of unconformity surfaces. Uranium deposits may occur at, below or above these unconformities. EL26091 and EL26094 show high uranium responses on gamma-ray spectrometric imagery that are closed to the identified unconformity surfaces. These areas warrant immediate testing.
