Andreas Zametzer

Open Access in #Geology led by @bribeiro.bsky.social "Microstructural and geochemical response of muscovite to impact metamorphism" from the 2.3 Ga Yarrabubba impact structure
Check out the beautiful science and images - doi.org/10.1130/G538...
@geochronchris.bsky.social @andizametzer.bsky.social

Forging Earth’s Hotspots: Proterozoic melts that powered giant ore systems

Today, we’re stepping back 1.6 billion years into the heart of Proterozoic Australia — to uncover the fiery processes behind some of the world’s most famous ore systems.

www.cfigs.com.au/discovery

This black and white image shows five images of crystals in grey/black on a black background. They have some triangular structures and some rectangular, with cracks and "blobs". They are some of the zircon minerals analysed in this study – their isotopic composition reveal the age of the carbonatites, and their cryptic internal structure attest to their complex geological history. Grain sizes range from 0.1 to 1 mm. Photo: Dröllner M et al., Geological Magazine (2025). DOI: 10.1017/S0016756825100204

Photo shows researcher Dr Maximilian Dröllner in the field in the sunshine in a dry-looking, brown/orange surrounding landscape. His arm rests on another rare rock (known as orbicular granite) which is large and light grey with repeating but different roundish patterns in different shades of mostly darker gray.

Ancient rocks reveal critical metal origin and continent-breaking forces

Researchers found niobium-rich carbonatites were formed over 800 million years ago, rising from deep in the Earth via crust fractures: www.uni-goettingen.de/en/3240.html?id=7909

#GeologicalMagazine: doi.org/10.1017/S001...

Giant lithium-rich pegmatites in Archean cratons form by remelting refertilised roots of greenstone belts - Communications Earth & Environment Melting of sanukitoid-infused basement beneath greenstone roots produced lithium-rich granites and lithium-pegmatite in the Australian Archean Cratons, according to an analysis of geochemical and isot...

~80% of the world’s hard-rock #lithium comes from #Archean #pegmatite whose formation is not fully understood. Work by Smithies et al. shows the importance of crustal boundaries and hydrous mantle-derived magma from deep metasomatized lithospheric domains. #openaccess
doi.org/10.1038/s432...

Ever wondered how many grains you need to analyse for a representative detrital mineral study? We're putting out some new suggestions and numbers whilst addressing possible sources of bias such as mount heterogeneity:
doi.org/10.1016/j.ep...

Brand-new study on carbonatites in the central Australian Aileron Province. The carbonatites were emplaced at ca. 830 Ma when the Rodinia Supercontinent started breaking apart and host the critical mineral Niobium (Nb).
doi.org/10.1017/S001...

Studies of heavy minerals have been challenging to perform at scale. We've gleaned some interesting new understanding from continental-scale HM analysis from Australia but with implications for sediment routing studies globally.

#openaccess in @natcomms.nature.com in collaboration with the #JDLC and #GSWA. Understanding ancient incipient crust formation through a melt-bearing amphibolite from the Sylvania Inlier of the Pilbara Craton, WA. doi.org/10.1038/s414...

YouTube video by Curtin University World’s oldest impact crater found, rewriting Earth’s ancient history

Old rocks and even more ancient Earth history from down under. youtu.be/y1BiUYWwf_A?...

Giant glaciers pulverised Earth’s ancient rocks, setting the stage for complex life Hundreds of millions of years ago, rocks crushed under kilometres of ice injected vital nutrients into Earth’s oceans.

Rocks from 700 million years ago hold the clues. From glaciers bulldozing landscapes to meltwater rivers flushing chemical elements into the oceans = it’s a story of how land, sea, and sky are all geochemically connected. theconversation.com/giant-glacie...

A Paleoarchaean impact crater in the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia - Nature Communications Shatter cones in rocks in the Pilbara craton provide unequivocal evidence for oldest known impact crater on Earth, which struck 3.5 billion years ago.

Boom! Earth's (currently) oldest crater right in the centre of the Pilbara Craton. 3.5 Billion Years old. Hummm.... implications for life. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Earth’s oldest impact crater was just found in Australia – exactly where geologists hoped it would be The crater dates back 3.5 billion years, making it the oldest known by more than a billion years.

Boom theconversation.com/earths-oldes...

This is figure 2, which shows field photographs of rocks on the flanks of the North Pole Dome.

Shatter cones in rocks in the Pilbara craton, in Western Australia, provide evidence for oldest known impact crater on Earth, which struck 3.5 billion years ago, according to a paper in Nature Communications. https://go.nature.com/3DrWafY ⚒️ 🧪