EGRU Research Students

Tegan Beveridge

Bentonite Tephrostratigraphy and High-Precision Geochronology of Richly Fossiliferous Upper Cretaceous Continental Strata in the Western Interior Basin, North America

Supervisor: Eric Roberts

Alex Brown

Supervisor: Carl Spandler

Pieter Creus

Structural Paragenesis of Dugald River Zn-Pb-Ag Mine

Dugald River has a robust digital dataset to which an Integrated 3D modelling approach will be applied to develop a structural and mineral paragenesis for this world-class deposit. Custom scripts are to be developed to automatically extract lithological and structural data from Structure-from-Motion captures. A 3D fabric model of the deposit will be developed from the geometrical 3D model and combined into a properties block model to aid in mine design.

Supervisor: Ioan Sanislav

Alex Edgar

This project aims to investigate the potential of scapolite chemistry to vector towards Cu/Au/REE/U mineralisation in the Mary Kathleen Domain. Skarn alteration and associated mineral deposits in the Mary Kathleen Domain, focusing on differentiating "early" and "late" skarn by field relationships, characterising skarn alteration geochemically, deriving P-T conditions of skarn formation and undertaking U-Pb geochronology of skarn garnet will also be studied.

Supervisor: Ioan Sanislav / Paul Dirks

Elliot Folley

Supervisor: Eric Roberts / Espen Knutsen

Samara French

Kelly Heilbronn

Avish Kumar

Geochemical Investigation of Early Explosive Carbonatite Volcanism ~25 Ma in the Rukwa Rift, Western Branch of the East African Rift System, Southwestern Tanzania.

This project utilises traditional mineralogy and petrography, element and isotope (Sm-Nd, Lu-Hf and Rb-Sr) geochemistry, and experimental petrology, to investigate a previously undescribed episode of carbonatite magmatism in the East African Rift. The results of this work offer insights into the evolution of alkaline-carbonatite magmas and explosive volcanism; liquid immiscibility and element partitioning within these systems; and the physical and isotopic evolution of the lithospheric mantle in continental rift zones.
Supervisor: Carl Spandler

Truong Le
Geological Characteristics, Genesis and Ore Controlling Factors of the Tick Hill Au Deposit, Dajarra District, NW Queensland, Australia

Supervisor: Paul Dirks/ Ioan Sanislav

Leah Lynham

Supervisor: Espen Knutsen / Paul Dirks

Grace Manestar

The goal of the project is to focus on describing and identifying fluid inclusion assemblages in order to (1) identify which fluid is related to gold mineralisation, and (2) determine the physico-chemical conditions of gold mineralisation.

Supervisor: Jan Huizenga

Sutthida Noptalung

Supervisor: Paul Dirks / Ioan Sanislav

Theresa Orr

This study aims to reconstruct the paleoclimate and paleoenvironment for selected paleosols in Cretaceous (~100Ma), Oligocene (~25Ma) and Mio-Pliocene (~3Ma) fossiliferous strata in the Rukwa Rift. The findings will determine atmospheric CO2 concentrations, temperatures and precipitation regimes, and the timing of uplift, rifting and volcanic periods in the region. The project ultimately aims to determine the climatic, ecological and environmental changes over the 100Ma period.

Supervisor: Eric Roberts / Michael Bird

Alex Parker

Supervisor: Jan Huizenga / Ioan Sanislav

Caleb Puszkiewicz

Supervisor: Jan Huizenga / Paul Dirks

Jess Robbins

Supervisor: Eric Roberts / Paul Dirks

Earthquake Hazard Mapping and Modelling to Support Queensland’s Rail Infrastructure

On the 18^th August 2016, the Bowen region experienced a magnitude 5.8 earthquake; this earthquake caused disruptions to Queensland Rail’s operations. This project aims to synthesise existing seismological, geological, geomorphological, infrastructure and historical datasets to provide insights into the distribution, magnitude and potential impacts of earthquake activity in Queensland, with special reference to rail system infrastructure.

Supervisor: James Daniell / Paul Dirks

Joshua Spence

Supervisor: Paul Dirks / Ioan Sanislav

Kathleen Vowles
Provenance, Sedimentology and Geomorphology of Coastal Dune Fields in Queensland

This research project aims to systematically sample (both onshore and offshore, using grab samples and sediment cores) and analyse the sediments of voluminous quartzose coastal dune deposits along the north-eastern Australian coastline. Remote and poorly understood coastal dune fields including those of Cape York, Jardine River National Park, Heathlands Regional Park, Shelburne, Temple Bay, Barrow Point, Cape Flattery, Cape Bedford, Hinchinbrook Island, Russell Island, Whitsunday Islands, Cape Manifold, Byfield National Park, Curtis Island, Fraser Island, Rainbow Beach, Cooloola, Moreton Island, North Stradbroke Island and South Stradbroke Island form the crux of this research (Fig. 1). The sediment source(s) (provenance) of these dune fields are primarily unknown. Furthermore, the sedimentology of these coastal dunes, how they form, and where they form is also poorly documented. Unravelling the sedimentary provenance of these dunes through an array of investigative techniques is critical to answering these questions and has wide-ranging implications for our understanding of the Holocene paleoclimate and palaeoenvironment of north-eastern Australia.

Supervisor: Eric Roberts

Michal Wenderlich

Supervisor: Eric Roberts / James Daniell

Jella Wiersma

Christopher Yule

Seismic Stratigraphy and Mafic Volcanics of the Canning Basin

The Canning Basin is a frontier basin that has onshore and offshore components in the Northwest Shelf of Western Australia. The offshore stratigraphy is understudied so I developed a 3D model of the onshore-offshore transition made of more than 10,000km of seismic data and 25 wells. Analyzing this data revealed several mafic volcanic units, so I acquired geochemical data to determine their composition and origins which may have implications for the Canning Basins' geological history and petroleum prospectivity.

Daniel Wall

The alteration paragenesis, trace element and isotope composition of pyrite associated with the Pb-Zn-Cu mineralisation at Mt Isa deposit.

Supervisor: Ioan Sanislav