Hydrogeochemical footprints of mineral systems of the Fortnum, Horseshoe and Peak Hill deposits in the Padbury-Bryah Basins, Capricorn Orogen

Hydrogeochemical prospecting requires an understanding of background variation of bedrock geology, hydrogeology, regolith development and anthropogenic disturbances before the signals of mineralisation can be confidently detected in groundwater chemistry.
This project describes methods for the analysis and interpretation of groundwater geochemical data, and provides examples in the Peak Hill mineral field in the Bryah-Padbury Basins- host to Au, Au-Cu, Mn and Fe deposits. After filtering for regolith, bedrock and anthropogenic effects, anomalies which are targets for additional mineralisation are identified. Results from normalised multi-element diagrams, hydrogeochemical mapping and Self-Organised Maps have led to a robust hydrogeochemical model for the region.