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Plant Clues and Terrain Tools: A greener path to bauxite discovery

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  • Plants predict ore: Banksia grandis and other species reliably indicate bauxite presence or absence, offering a natural, low-impact exploration method.
  • Topography tells a story: Bauxite deposits are linked to well-drained upper hillsides, away from valleys and waterlogged terrain.
  • Flora + terrain = best model: Combining plant distribution with topographic data boosted model accuracy, outperforming standalone methods.

Trotter, L., Wardell-Johnson, G., Grigg, A., Luxton, S. & Robinson, T.P. (2024). Capitalising on the Floristic Survey as a Non-Destructive Line of Evidence for Mineral Potential Modelling: A Case Study of Bauxite in South-Western Australia. Land, 13(12), 1995. https://doi.org/10.3390/land13121995.

Environmental Geoscience
Geoinformatics and Geocomputing
Resource Geoscience

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Bioclimate Envelope Modelling
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Machine Learning & AI for Geological Materials

Ancient carbonatites reveal central Australia's hidden critical metal potential

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  • Aileron Province carbonatites formed about 830–820 million years ago during Rodinia rifting, using pre‑existing deep crustal corridors—prime pathways for melt ascent.
  • Isotopes of strontium, neodymium and hafnium point to a moderately depleted mantle source, with little to no recycled sediment involvement during magma generation and ascent.
  • The critical metal niobium is hosted by primary pyrochlore; apatite indicates alteration about 720–650 million years ago and later exhumation near 250 million years ago, with limited niobium remobilisation.

Dröllner, M., Kirkland, C.L., Olierook, H.K.H., Zametzer, A., Ribeiro, B.V., Kaempf, J., Danišík, M., Ware, B., Rankenburg, K., Kelsey, D.E., Turnbull, R., Fielding, I.O.H., Smithies, R.H., Parker, P., Wray, S., Dunn, A. & Vinnicombe, K. (2025). Multimethod geochronology and isotope geochemistry of carbonatites in the Aileron Province, central Australia. Geological Magazine, 162(e33), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0016756825100204.

Geochronology
Resource Geoscience
Geochemistry

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Lu–Hf Geochronology
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Rb–Sr Geochronology
Rb–Sr Geochronology
(U–Th)/He Thermochronology
(U–Th)/He Thermochronology
U–Pb Geochronology
U–Pb Geochronology

Rethinking CubeSat Navigation: High-precision, low-cost orbit & attitude control with antenna arrays

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  • An orbital accuracy of 4.1 cm was achieved using a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) antenna array—nearly three times better than traditional single-antenna CubeSat methods.
  • Accurate satellite orientation with antenna arrays emphasizes the cost‑effectiveness of this approach compared with expensive star trackers.
  • The observation residuals in orbit estimations were halved, demonstrating smoother and more reliable GNSS observation residuals.

Allahvirdi-Zadeh, A. & El-Mowafy, A. (2024). Array-aided precise orbit and attitude determination of CubeSats using GNSS. NAVIGATION, 71(3). https://doi.org/10.33012/navi.651.

Geoinformatics and Geocomputing
Geomatic Engineering

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Positioning and Navigation Solutions
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Satellite Systems Engineering
Satellite Systems Engineering

Zircon Signals: Tracing sediment pathways to high-grade mineral sands

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  • Zircon diversity correlates with mineral grades, suggesting higher resistant heavy mineral enrichment from prolonged sediment mixing and recycling.
  • Two distinct sediment systems identified, with richer eastern Eucla sands sourced predominantly from multi-cycle reworking of Musgrave, Madura, and Coompana provinces.
  • Novel proxies of sediment maturity form part of an array of relevant tools for heavy mineral prospectivity.

Gartmair, G., Barham, M. & Kirkland, C.L. (2022). Detrital Zircon Perspectives on Heavy Mineral Sand Systems, Eucla Basin, Australia. Economic Geology, 117(2), 383–399. https://doi.org/10.5382/econgeo.4871.

Also see: https://heavymineralsandtoolbox.github.io/

Geochronology
Regolith and Sedimentology
Resource Geoscience

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Particle Analysis
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Unlocking Carbonate Complexity: Digital imaging powers accurate rock property prediction

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  • A robust velocity-porosity relationship provides upper-bound estimates of carbonate elastic properties across scales.
  • Unresolved micritic phases critically influence permeability and stiffness — digital segmentation must integrate this heterogeneity.
  • Combining lab measurements with digital rock physics improves permeability and velocity predictions, despite imaging resolution limits.

Saenger, E.H., Vialle, S., Lebedev, M., Uribe, D., Osorno, M., Duda, M. & Steeb, H. (2016). Digital carbonate rock physics. Solid Earth, 7(4), 1185–1197. https://doi.org/10.5194/se-7-1185-2016.

Geophysics

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Microstructural analysis
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Diamonds from a Broken Supercontinent: Argyle’s rift-driven origins revealed

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  • Argyle formed during lithospheric extension linked to the breakup of supercontinent Nuna, enabling deep mantle melts to reach the surface through ancient rift zones.
  • New geochronology reveals the Argyle lamproite was emplaced between 1311 ± 9 Ma and 1257 ± 15 Ma—older than previously thought.
  • Argyle’s location in a Paleoproterozoic orogen—not an Archean craton—reshapes where and how we explore for economic diamond deposits.

Olierook, H.K.H., Fougerouse, D., Doucet, L.S., Liu, Y., Rayner, M.J., Danišík, M., Condon, D.J., McInnes, B.I.A., Lynton Jaques, A., Evans, N.J., McDonald, B.J., Li, Z.-X., Kirkland, C.L., Mayers, C. & Wingate, M.T.D. (2023). Emplacement of the Argyle diamond deposit into an ancient rift zone triggered by supercontinent breakup. Nature Communications, 14, 5274. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40904-8.

Geochronology
Resource Geoscience

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U–Pb Geochronology
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(U–Th)/He Thermochronology

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