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#victoria #bendigo #golddiscovery
Deep in the heart of Victoria, a geological enigma lies hidden beneath the landscape—the Heathcote Greenstone Belt. This ancient formation holds a rare and unexpected combination of gold and chromium, a pairing found nowhere else in the state. In this video, we explore the science behind this unique mineralization, diving into the tectonic forces, volcanic activity, and deep-earth processes that created it. From its origins in a Cambrian backarc basin to the collision of Tasmania with Victoria, the Heathcote region tells a story of subduction, rifting, and mineral enrichment that has fascinated geologists for decades.

The Heathcote Greenstone Belt is part of the larger Lachlan Fold Belt, a region shaped by immense geological forces over half a billion years. It represents a relic of an ancient ocean basin that existed along the eastern margin of what is now Australia. During the Cambrian period, a subduction zone off the coast of the growing continent generated a volcanic arc, which in turn created a backarc basin—a spreading center where new oceanic crust was formed. This basin, now preserved as the Heathcote Greenstone Belt, was an environment of intense volcanic activity, hydrothermal circulation, and deep-sea sedimentation. Over time, chromium-rich boninitic magmas erupted onto the seafloor, interacting with hydrothermal fluids to form deposits of chromite while also creating the ideal geochemical conditions for later gold mineralization.

As tectonic forces continued to shape the region, the quiet spreading of the backarc basin was violently interrupted by the collision of Tasmania with Victoria around 450 million years ago. This collision, part of the Benambran Orogeny, caused massive crustal compression, folding, and faulting that deformed the once-horizontal layers of oceanic crust. The entire region was thrust upwards, bringing deep-sea volcanic rocks and sediments onto land, where they were subjected to low-grade metamorphism. These processes further concentrated mineralization, reworking gold deposits through hydrothermal activity and allowing them to accumulate in structurally controlled zones.

One of the most intriguing aspects of this geological story is the possibility that Tasmania's collision with Victoria may have physically separated the original volcanic arc from its backarc basin. If this theory is correct, the volcanic arc that once fed the Heathcote basin may now be buried beneath the eastern Lachlan Fold Belt, lost beneath thick layers of younger sedimentary cover. The evidence for this lies in the distribution of Cambrian greenstone belts, which are preserved in distinct, fault-bounded blocks across Victoria. The Heathcote Belt remains one of the most well-preserved examples of a backarc basin, while the location of its associated volcanic arc remains an open question for geologists.

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Studies Used To Construct This Video:
Cambrian greenstone belts in Victoria: Marginal sea-crust slices in the Lachlan Fold Belt of southeastern Australia:


The association boninite low‐ti andesite‐tholeiite in the heathcote greenstone belt, Victoria; ensimatic setting for the early lachlan fold belt:


Copper occurrences in the Heathcote Greenstone belt


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🌏 About OzGeology
OzGeology is an Australian-based YouTube channel that specializes in creating high-quality documentaries on Earth sciences and natural disasters. The content is designed to be easy to digest and covers a wide range of topics, not only focusing on geology but occasionally exploring other scientific areas as well.

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