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Shallow high-resolution seismic imaging of the Three Springs talc mine, Western Australia

Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia

Lisa Vella

WMC Resources, Perth, Western Australia

Corresponding author: milo@geophy.curtin.edu.au

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

Talc, the softest mineral in the world, is a hydrated magnesium sheet silicate, formed by transformation of existing rocks under hydrothermal activity. Properties of talc—including its resistance to heat, electricity, and acids, its platyness and its insolubility—make it a very important industrial mineral. The open-cut mining of talc can therefore be an attractive and profitable industry, provided exploration and production costs are not excessive.

WMC Resources first became involved in talc exploration at Three Springs, Western Australia, in 1960. There, talc mineralization is hosted in the Proterozoic Moora Group dolomite, which unconformably overlies Archaean basement and is intruded by numerous dolerite dykes and sills. The location of the talc mineralization is closely related to the structural setting. In the late 1980s, WMC investigated the physical properties of the talc mineralization and its dolerite/dolomite contacts, and concluded that the acoustic contrasts between talc and the host rock should be sufficient to produce a reflection. However, it was recognized that there may be difficulties associated with the seismic imaging of the talc mineralization because the talc bodies are shallow, have a complex geometry, and are intersected by many faults. Such conditions could significantly scatter the seismic energy, resulting in a deteriorated image of the subsurface.

In 1993, following the results of the wireline logging, a 700-m seismic line was recorded over a known talc deposit, in order to test the applicability of seismic methods for talc exploration at Three Springs. A Betsy gun system was the energy source. Shots were fired in 1-m holes, 2.4 m apart; receiver stations were . . . [Full Text of this Article]