The ca 1600–1580 Ma time interval is recognised as a significant period of magmatism, deformation and mineralisation throughout eastern Proterozoic Australia. Within the northern Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, this period was associated with the emplacement of multiple phases of the Tickera Granite, an intensely foliated quartz alkali-feldspar syenite, a leucotonalite and an alkali-feldspar granite. These granites belong to the broader Hiltaba Suite that was emplaced at shallow crustal levels throughout the Gawler Craton. Geochemical and isotopic analysis suggests these granite phases were derived from a heterogeneous source region. The syenite and alkali-feldspar granite were derived from similar source regions, likely the underlying ca 1850 Ma Donington Suite and/or the ca 1750 Ma Wallaroo Group metasediments with some contamination from an Archean basement. The leucotonalite is sourced from a similar but more mafic/lower crustal source. Phases of the Tickera Granite were emplaced synchronously with deformation that resulted in development of a prominent northeast-trending structural grain throughout the Yorke Peninsula region. This fabric is associated with composite events resulting from folding, shearing and faulting within the region. The intense deformation and intrusion of granites within this period resulted in mineralisation throughout the region, as seen in Wheal Hughes and Poona mines. The Yorke Peninsula shares a common geological history with the Curnamona Province, which was deformed during the ca 1600–1585 Ma Olarian Orogeny, and resulted in development of early isoclinal and recumbent folds overprinted by an upright fold generation, a dominant northeast-trending structural grain, mineralisation, and spatially and temporally related intrusions. This suggests correlation of parts of the Gawler Craton with the Curnamona Province, and that the Olarian Orogeny also affected the southeastern Gawler Craton.

Zircon from spatially and temporally distinct igneous rock units across the Gawler Craton, Australia, show subtle differences in trace and rare earth element ratios. These igneous suites range in composition from granite, rhyolite to gabbro and originate from the ca 2450 Ma Sleaford Complex, the ca 1850 Ma Donington Suite, the ca 1633–1608 Ma St Peter Suite, the ca 1595–1587 Ma Gawler Range Volcanics and the ca 1595–1575 Ma Hiltaba Suite granites. The geochemical characterisation of zircon is carried out on relatively unaltered samples in order to establish primary signatures and to understand the processes controlling the geochemical signatures of the igneous suites. A range of zircon morphologies and internal textures that are preserved in these igneous suites infer the geological history of the host rock, including metamorphism and multiple episodes of zircon saturation suggesting a complex magma evolution. Despite differences in whole-rock geochemistry between igneous suites, zircon largely overlaps geochemically. However, subtle differences in Th/U, U/Hf and (Nb + Ta)/P ratios are evident between the Donington Suite, Gawler Range Volcanics and Hiltaba Suite. This is likely due to the tectonic setting, composition of the crystallising magma and timing of zircon crystallisation in the magma evolution. The subtle geochemical differences in zircon show the potential of using these ratios to aid in provenance studies with large populations of zircon that are of similar age. However, as the dataset is limited and focused only on unaltered samples, further work needs to be undertaken to look at the altered counterparts of these igneous suites.

Geochemical exploration criteria for relatively light rare earth element (LREE)-enriched iron oxide–copper–gold (IOCG) deposits have been tested and are applicable across multiple Proterozoic terranes in eastern Australia. The criteria were established using monazite from E1 (Cloncurry District, Queensland) and compared to existing data from Prominent Hill and Carrapateena (Gawler Craton, South Australia) and are effective in rare earth element (REE)-rich deposits. The criteria use La, Ce and Nd chemistry in combination with Th and Y, where La + Ce > 65 wt%, Nd < 12.5 wt%, and Y and Th are both <1 wt%. However, the criteria are not as effective in REE-poor deposits such as Osborne and SWAN (Cloncurry District). For these deposits, other trends in the monazite REEs, such as changing Y and Dy contents, are better to use, which can discriminate between mineralization-associated hydrothermal monazite that formed at low temperatures (low Y and Dy) from metamorphic monazite that formed at high temperatures and are not associated with mineralization (high Y and Dy). In metamorphosed terranes like the Cloncurry District, where metamorphism is well constrained, chemical and temperature information using monazite chemistry can give information on the formation conditions of monazite, potentially hinting at a nearby IOCG system.

Zircon is a refractory mineral that is able to crystallize within hydrothermal, igneous and metamorphic environments, resulting in extreme variability in its external morphology, internal textures and chemistry. The chemistry of zircon is sensitive to its source rock type and crystallisation environment. Zircon has a tendency to incorporate a range of minor and trace elements, largely determined by its crystal structure and changes in temperature, pressure and composition. Internal textures of zircon can be used to indicate the type of crystallisation environment, as well as the environment(s) to which it was subjected following crystallisation. Given the complexity of zircon textures and the uncertainty associated with interpreting isotopic ages, trace element analysis is becoming widely applied as another line of evidence for more confident petrogenic interpretation. Here we present geochemical and morphological data from zircon from the Gawler Craton, South Australia. This area preserves a complex geological history dating back to the late Archean and preserves multiple igneous units that each have their own unique geochemical characteristics and are associated with iron oxide-copper-gold mineralisation. We show that zircon will preserve chemistry reflective of its host rock, and possibly of alteration associated with mineralisation.