Precambrian Research, 21 (1983) 273--297 273

Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam -- Printed in The Netherlands

THE ORIGIN OF THE IRON-FORMATION-RICH HAMERSLEY GROUP

OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA -- DEPOSITION ON A PLATFORM

R.C. MORRIS and R.C. HORWITZ

CSIRO, Institute o f Energy and Earth Resources, Division o f Mineralogy, Private Bag,
P.O., Wem bley , Western Australia 6014 (Australia)
(Received May 24,198'?.; revision accepted December 16, 1982)

ABSTRACT

Morris, R.C. and Horwitz, R.C., 1983. The origin of the iron-formation-rich Hamersley
Group of Western Australia -- deposition on a platform. Precambrian Res., 21: 273--
297.

With only minor exceptions, the 1.5 km thick sediments of the 2.5 Ga Hamersley
Group are either chemical/biological (iron-formation, chert and carbonates) or pyroclas-
tic/chemical ("shales"). Terrigenous clastics are sparse or absent. Palinspastic reconstruc-
tions indicate that the sediments were deposited on a submarine, essentially volcanogenic
platform or bank (the Fortescue Group) built on an older Archaean, sialic, northwest-
trending shelf protruding into, or marginal to, an ocean. A deep ocean basin is precluded
by the geologic setting. Deposition in a barred basin is considered unlikely in the com-
bined absence of terrigenous clastics, a defined shoreline or lateral facies changes.
Upwelling of marine bottom currents resulted in precipitation of iron, silica and other
components derived under anoxic conditions, largely from the pulsed output of a large
oceanic rift or hot spot, possibly supplemented by normal continental drainage. The cur-
rents generally persisted during sedimentation of the Hamersley Group, temporarily inter-
rupted or perhaps diverted by eustatic changes, growth of barrier reefs or the oscillating
emergence and submergence of intervening volcanic chains. Ash emissions from the latter,
combined with chemical precipitates, were largely responsible for the "shales" in the suc-
cession.

INTRODUCTION

T h e H a m e r s l e y I r o n P r o v i n c e o f Western Australia (Fig. 1) ( M a c L e o d ,

1 9 6 6 ) c o n t a i n s e x t e n s i v e b a n d e d i r o n - f o r m a t i o n s ( B I F ) a n d large s u p e r g e n e
iron ore bodies derived from them. These occur within the Hamersley Group
which, w i t h t h e u n d e r l y i n g F o r t e s c u e G r o u p ( M a c L e o d e t al., 1 9 6 3 ) , f o r m s
p a r t o f t h e Mt. B r u c e S u p e r g r o u p (de la H u n t y , 1 9 6 5 ; r e d e f i n e d , T r e n d a l l
1979). C o m p s t o n et al. (1981} h a v e suggested an age o f 2.5 G a f o r t h e
H a m e r s l e y G r o u p , a n d t h e F o r t e s c u e G r o u p m a y be as old as 2.76 G a
(R.T. Pidgeon, p e r s o n a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n , 1 9 8 2 ) . G r a v i t y d a t a (Fraser, 1 9 7 6 ) ,
i n d i c a t e t h a t , e x c e p t f o r a z o n e s o u t h w e s t o f t h e W y l o o D o m e (Fig. 1), t h e
F o r t e s c u e G r o u p rests u n c o n f o r m a b l y o n t h e buried, s o u t h e r n e x t e n s i o n o f

0301-9268/83/$03.00 © 1983 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

274

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 pp. 275--276

GEOLOGICAL MAP AND COLUMNAR REPRESENTATION

OF THE THICKENING PATTERN OF THE

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pp. 277--278

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Fig. 2. (A) Columnar representation of the pa

Note that the maximum thickening is to thq
area of the Turner Syncline. Thickness data
Horwitz (1981, Fig. 1); 10, field measureme]
and Ryan (1967); 15 and 17, MacLeod and
(~980),
(B) Diagrammatic cross-section through Mt
thickening o£ the Dales Gorge Member does 1
(and hence of depression) of the Fortescue (
Trendail and Blockley (1970, Plate 3).
 NNE
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40 50 km
I I

n of thickening of the Fortescue Group.

uthwest and not in the central outcrop
the sections were obtained from: 1--9,
11, Williams (1968); 12--14, Kriewaldt
la Hunty (1966); 16 and 18, Hickman

!ockman, to show that the maximum

coincide with the maximum thickening
lp. Data for Dales Gorge Member from
 279

the Archaean Pilbara Block (Daniels and Horwitz, 1969). The southwestern
gravity boundary to the substratum is reflected in the covering rocks by the
boundary against the Ashburton (Wyloo) Trough (Doust, 1975).
The term Hamersley Basin was first used by Trendall (1968) to refer to
the depositional basin of the Hamersley Group, and was later extended to
the depositional basin of the underlying Fortescue Group (Trendall, 1980, p.
113). T h e concept of a simple barred basin essentially limited to the present
general area of outcrop rests largely on the isopach data for the Dales Gorge
Member (Trendall and Blockley, 1970, pp. 279--283), and on the belief
(p. 280) that the "general form for the basin follows closely the general
distribution of depression during Fortescue Group t i m e . . . " . However, Hor-
witz and Smith (1978), and Horwitz (1981), indicated that the Fortescue
Group thickened towards the southwestern margin of the Hamersley Iron
Province (Figs. 2a,b), forming a shelf for the deposition of the Hamersley
Group. This concept was presented at the Fifth Australian Geological Con-
vention (Morris and Horwitz, 1981) as the basis of a model for the deposi-
tion of the Hamersley Group on an isolated platform and the present paper
is an amplification of that thesis.

THE HAMERSLEY PLATFORM

Fortescue Group

The southern extension of the Pilbara Block, the basement to the Mt.
Bruce Supergroup, had an uneven surface. Palaeogeographic reconstructions
of boundaries and abutments (Fig. 3) indicate that the Fortescue Group
mantled a ridge or palaeohigh which protruded from the east. Horwitz and
Smith (1978, Fig. 6) have s h o w n h o w thickening of individual units to the
southwest around this ridge indicates tilting of the whole substratum (or
stronger subsidence in this direction) during sedimentation. Figure 3 shows
h o w both the a b u t m e n t to the east and the thickening to the southwest per-
sisted up to the upper unit of the Fortescue Group, the Jeerinah Formation.
These features are emphasised by a dominant subaqueous facies in much of
the upper part of the Fortescue Group to the southwest. This contrasts with
the view that the dominance of this facies and maximum thickening, hence
maximum subsidence, occurred at the Turner Syncline in the centre of a
basin (Trendall, 1975b, 1980, p. 116}.
No feature has y e t been found that indicates either a basinal shallowing or
a proximity to a shore line in the far south and southwest for anything b u t
the basal unit of the Fortescue Group. In the Mt. Brockman area and partic-
ularly in the north, east and southeast of the Hamersley Platform a shoreline
facies is present. This is suggested by thinning of the members such as the
Jeerinah Formation and the development of basal clastic units (Fig. 2, d o t
symbol) which contain granitic material (Woodiana Sandstone Member), and
the presence of stromatolitic carbonates such as those of the Tumbiana For-
mation in the middle sequence of the Fortescue Group.
 280

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 281

Thus, on the data available to us, we suggest that by the beginning of

Hamersley Group times, the Fortescue Group was a submarine platform
open to an ocean to the west and southwest. Considerable uncertainty arises
in the delineation of the northern and eastern boundaries. The area may have
abutted a continental margin (the Pilbara Block proper) or even covered the
entire Archean substratum. A third alternative is that the area of deposition
of the Hamersley Group was an isolated shelf, geographically analogous to
the present Bahamas Platform.
To support the concept of such a platform we need to examine in more
detail the type of sedimentation characteristic of the Hamersley Group.

Hamersley Group

Chemical sediments
The Hamersley Group (MacLeod et al., 1963) shown in Fig. 4 has been
described in many publications and in particular by Trendall and Blockley
(1970). Apart from a thick sequence of intrusive and extrusive acid rocks
and a sequence of thick basic sills in the Weeli Wolli Iron Formation, the
Group contains five major and several minor BIF units and a major car-
bonate unit, all with Province-wide distributions. These, together with
abundant cherty or ferruginous chert horizons, can be considered as essen-
tially chemical sediments. The major BIF units show no evidence of lateral
facies changes of the type suggested by James (1954) and the lateral con-
tinuity of the strata in general, and the BIF in particular, is a notable feature
of the Hamersley Group. However, while remarkable correlations have been
made in fine laminae over distances of hundreds of kilometres (Trendall and
Blockley, 1970; Ewers and Morris, 1981), it seems likely that the exceptions
may prove to be the rule.

"Shales"
Roughly one fifth of the 1.5 km of sediments included in the 2.5 km
thick Hamersley Group are classified as shales. Unweathered samples in drill
core or mines are usually very fine grained, ranging in various shades of green
and grey and, with increasing carbon and sulphide, to black. Little is known
of the original mineralogy, though in general, the sparse X-ray data, mainly
from around the mining centres, show that the end product of weathering is
commonly kaolinite. Stilpnomelane appears to be common in unweathered
samples, particularly where the rocks are closely associated with BIF, but
other components such as chlorite, ferroan talc and micas may overshadow
this, depending on both the regional and stratigraphic position. Lamination
is highly variable, some zones showing repetitive features not unlike varying,
while at the other extreme the material is virtually devoid of structure.
Pyroclastic features have been documented in S-macrobands (see Fig. 4)
of the Dales Gorge Member (La Berge, 1966; Trendall, 1966), and Trendall
and Blockley (1970, pp. 288--290) argued that virtually all the "shales" of
282

¢
BOOLGEEDA IRON FORMATION

i tE
15
WOONGARRA VOLCANICS

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MT SYLVIA FORMATION •
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WITTENOOM DOLOMITE
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MARRA MAMBA IRON FORMATION

Modified from Fig 3 TRENDALL & BLOCKLEY (1970)

Fig. 4. Stratigraphic succession of the Hamersley Group. The Dales Gorge Member has
been divided in 33 subunits, or macrobands -- BIF 0 to BIF 16 (oxide facies BIF), inter-
calated with S1 to S16 (silicate--carbonate--chert facies BIF). Legend: BIF, black;
"shale", white; volcanics, ^ symbol; basic sills, hatched; carbonate, brick pattern; and
tuff, dot pattern.

the Hamersley Group resulted from a combination of air-fall volcanic ash

and chemical precipitation. There is no evidence that the "shales" have a
composition directly attributable to any known igneous rock type. However,
Ewers and Morris (1981} suggested that if an igneous source could be cited,
then the Zr/TiO2 ratios of shales from the Dales Gorge Member at Para-
burdoo are consistent with an andesitic origin. Since the alumina and titania
in these rocks show an invariable, sympathetic variation (Fig. 5), and since
neither c o m p o n e n t could be reasonably introduced in solution with the
normal BIF components, an extraneous source is required. In the absence of
unequivocal evidence of a terrigenous clastic contribution to rocks in the
area, a pyroclastic origin seems logical.
Despite the excellent lateral continuity of strata in the Hamersley Group,
there is no evidence that individual "shaly" members within the S-macro-
bands (Ewers and Morris, 1981), or the various equivalent aluminous hori-
zons within such units as the Mt. McRae Shale, are likely to correlate
throughout the platform area.
 283

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284

Examples of localised deposition in these "shales" are not uncommon.

For example, coarse pyroclastic debris, of up to 2 cm in the Dales Gorge
Member at Wittenoom (La Berge, 1966), does n o t appear in equivalent hori-
zons at Paraburdoo. A thick stilpnomelane band that marks the approximate
mid-point of BIF 16 in gorges around Wittenoom is attenuated at Parabur-
doo. Cases where complete S-macrobands are missing have been reported
from the Paraburdoo Range (R. McKenzie, personal communication, 1982)
though there is no certainty that this is n o t a tectonic feature. Perhaps more
significantly, the succession of the internal subdivisions of S-macrobands at
Wittenoom (Trendall and Blockley, 1970, p. 63) shows little similarity to
that at Paraburdoo (W.E. Ewers, personal communication, 1980). The data in
Table I indicate that the alumina from equivalent horizons is generally lower
at Paraburdoo than at Wittenoom.

TABLE I

Alumina in the Dales Gorge Member a

Average A1203 (%)

BIF-maerobands 0--16 at Paraburdoo 0.09

S-macrobands 1--16 at Paraburdoo 2.04
Total Dales Gorge Member at Paraburdoo 0.36
BIF-maerobands 12--16 Paraburdoo 0.13
BIF-macrobands 12--16 Wittenoom 0.20
S-macrobands 6+12--16 Paraburdoo 1.42
S-macrobands 6+12--16 Wittenoom 2.53

aExtracted from Ewers and Morris, 1981 (Tables 1 and 4).

Though the data are very sparse considering the large area involved, the
general pattern supports a northern area rather than a southern area as the
main source of the pyroclastic material.

SEQUENCE OF DEPOSITION

We have now laid the foundation for our depositional model of the
Hamersley Group -- a wide shelf or platform built of volcanogenic rocks
which, by the end of Fortescue Group times, was almost entirely marine
(Jeerinah Formation), followed by a sequence of chemical sediments period-
ically supplemented with pyroclastic material. There is no evidence o f any
terrigenous clastic contribution to the Hamersley Group except during the
final stages of deposition.

Marra Mamba Iron Formation

Clear exposures of the contact between the Jeerinah and the first Hamers-
Icy Group unit, the Marra Mamba Iron Formation, are rare, but occasional
 285

drill core intersections show an alternation of black shale with ferruginous

cherts. The latter increase in iron content in the upper member of the Marra
Mamba to form BIF. The BIF is generally markedly podded and perturba-
tion features such as small-scale truncation structures are abundant. This sug-
gests a somewhat shallower environment than for the later BIF; an environ-
ment probably normally below wave base, but affected by periodic violent
storms.
Intercalations of shaly carbonate zones up to 2 m thick, comparable to
the overlying Wittenoom Dolomite, are present in the upper BIF member
(Ewers and Morris, 1980). Some of these have been correlated in a broad
crescent from Newman through Mt. Bruce to the Brockman Syncline and
down to Kungarra Gorge (unpublished company data; Blockley, 1979). The
correlation, mainly by gamma logging in ore zones, once thought tenuous to
the south (Bourn and Jackson, 1979) is now believed to be consistent over
the main platform area (R.A. Harmsworth, personal communication, 1983).
Major sedimentary slumping in the southwest at Mr. de Courcey (Horwitz,
1978) indicates a steepening of the sea floor slope during deposition of the
uppermost beds of the Marra Mamba of this region.

Wittenoom Dolomite, Mt. Sylvia Formation and Mt. McRae Shale

No agreement has been reached on the origin of the next unit, the
Wittenoom Dolomite and its correlative of the northeastern area of the Prov-
ince, the Carrawine Dolomite. Though dominantly dolomitic in character,
a lateral facies change into limestone is known near Wittenoom, and it is pos-
sible that both units originated largely as limestones with cherty horizons.
Many geobiologists would deny the existence of pelagic carbonate-pre-
cipitating organisms during this period. One of them (Walter, 1982} has sug-
gested that stromatolites in the Carrawine Dolomite (Goode, 1981) were a
possible source of carbonate debris for a deeper water detrital carbonate
facies to the west, i.e., the Wittenoom Dolomite. However, Goode (1981}
points out that shallow-water features are rare in the Carrawine Dolomite
and suggests only local shoaling. Nevertheless, he has recognised a pelletal
cherty horizon overlying the unit toward the extreme eastern boundary
which he tentatively correlates with a shallow water equivalent of the Mt.
Sylvia/Mt. McRae Formations.
The upper part of the Wittenoom Dolomite is dominated by "shales" with
minor ferruginous chert, excellently exposed in Hamersley Gorge, 30 km
west of Wittenoom, where a thick, generally massive, carbonate-spotted unit
shows minor, fine-scale, current bedding and is demonstrably tuffaceous.
Shales, ferruginous cherts, and minor carbonates persist in the sequence until
the upper Mt. McRae Shale. This sequence contains only one significant BIF
unit, a 5--6 m thick, laterally continuous unit known as Bruno's band which
marks the top of the Mr. Sylvia Formation. Restricted outcrops of fine-
grained arenaceous equivalents of the shales occur along the Ophthalmia
286

Range. These are among the few examples known in the Hamersley sedi-
ments which show current bedding with slump structures.
An important feature of the depositional conditions during this period is
the apparent cessation of significant iron precipitation and the prominence
of carbonate with lesser chert. Shale units show considerable variations in
thickness and carbonate zones within them are generally not persistent.
The upper member of the Mt. McRae Shale consists of macrobands of BIF
or ferruginous chert alternating with shaly horizons, continuing into the
macroband alternation of the Dales Gorge Member, and from there into the
overlying Whaleback Shale Member.

The Dales Gorge Member o f the Brockman Iron Formation

The Dales Gorge Member is one of the most studied BIF units in the
world, partly because of the spectacular exposure of its thirty-three laterally
persistent macrobands, but also for its economic significance, originally re-
lated to crocidolite asbestos and now to the presently mined, high-grade
hematite deposits. Detailed descriptions of the unit were presented by Tren-
dall and Blockley (1970), together with a model for the origin of the BIF,
summarised later by Trendall {1980}. More recently Ewers and Morris
{1981) proposed a somewhat different origin.
The first hypothesis is based on the interpretation of paired laminae
(A.F. Trendall's microbands} as a varved {annual} precipitate of iron-rich and
silica-rich zones. Compaction during diagenesis of specific groups of these
microbands resulted in vertical displacement of silica, evenly from some
groups, and reprecipitation of this silica, again evenly, into others, to give
groups of laminae flmesobands} with different concentrations of iron com-
ponents. Extreme compaction resulted in high-iron mesobands now con-
sisting almost entirely of magnetite and/or hematite.
Ewers and Morris {1981) supported the "varve" concept, but argued
against Trendall's diagenetic model, partly on the grounds of chemical in-
feasibility of the silica redistribution. They suggested that variation in supply
of iron and silica, and in meteorological conditions, controlled deposition of
the mesobands. The change in style from precipitation of oxide-type BIF
macrobands to the chert--carbonate--silicate-type S-macrobands is mainly
attributed (Ewers, 1980; Ewers and Morris, 1981} to an increase in pH of the
seawater, triggered and maintained by episodic influx of pyroclastic mate-
rial. Figure 5 contains data from these studies that show, despite the appar-
ently sharp lithological boundaries of the macrobands, that the change in
conditions from oxide to S-type BIF was heralded by a gradual increase in
specific components attributable to volcanic activity, reaching a climax with
the accretion of identifiable tuffaceous material (La Berge, 1966}. A con-
siderable proportion of the ash would have been fine enough to react with
seawater and to precipitate with iron and silica already in solution, to give
 287

rise to the "shales" and silicate-rich sequences within the mixed chert,
chert--carbonate and "shale" lithologies that make up the S-macrobands.

Remaining Hamersley Group units

Apart from a current study on the geochemistry of the Joffre and Whale-
back Shale Members of the Brockman Iron Formation (McConchie, 1983),
details of the remaining units are sparse. Nevertheless sufficient evidence
exists to suggest that with the exception of the massive intrusive/extrusive
igneous phase represented by the Woongarra volcanics, these units, even
though they possess individual characteristics, conform to the general pat-
tern of BIF and "shale" alternations. With no evidence of sub-aerial deposi-
tion, it is reasonable to assume, in the absence of significant perturbation
within the BIF, that an adequate water depth was maintained by isostatic
adjustment during the entire period.

MATERIAL SUPPLY

Iron and silica

We suggest, as m a n y have done before, that the oceans offer the most
logical immediate source for iron and silica, and that UpweUing currents offer
the best transporting mechanism (Cloud, 1973; Holland, 1973; Drever,
1974). However, it seems unlikely that the ocean deeps acted as a vast
storage system (Ewers, 1980; Ewers and Morris, 1981). Our calculations to
support this assume an ocean roughly equivalent to that of today (1.3 ×
1021 1), and that the iron and silica of the Hamersley Group sediments, as-
suming an area of 105 km 2, was ~ 1 X 102° g Fe and 1.5 × 102° g 8iO2 (Tren-
dall and Blockley, 1970, p. 275). With the large figures involved, a factor of
2 either way makes little difference to the general argument. We further as-
sume a n anoxic atmosphere enabling the Fe to remain in solution in the
ferrous state at about pH 7--8. Thus, dissolving these quantities of Fe and
SiO2 into this ocean results in ~ 7 5 ppm Fe and 115 ppm SiO2. With a total
world BIF production during the Precambrian of between 10 and 100 times
this figure, we obtain ranges of 750--7500 ppm Fe and 1150--11500 ppm
SiO2 required to fit an ocean storage model.
Table II shows the range of iron suggested as likely concentrations by
recent workers in this field, and most sources {e.g., Siever, 1957} consider
~ 1 2 0 ppm silica as a maximum. Even if seriously underestimated, these
values do not support the concept of a vast reservoir periodically overturned
to give major episodes of iron-formation of the t y p e indicated by Eichler
(1976). A continuing input seems more logical.
If river systems comparable in size to those of today existed in the Pre-
cambrian, t h e y could, under anoxic conditions, have easily maintained suf-
288

TABLE II

Suggested iron content of the early Proterozoic ocean

Reference Fe (ppm)

Eugster and Chou (1973) < 1--5

Holland (1973) 3--30
Mel'nik (1973) 100--400
Drever (1974) 5--10
Ewers (1980) - 20

ficient iron and silica in the oceans for all contemporary BIF sedimentation
(e.g., Holland, 1973). Supply of this kind only would imply that the oceans
reached a generally steady-state condition and, therefore, precipitation on
average should have maintained a constant ratio of iron to silica, consistent
with the requirements of the TrendaU--Blockley model. However, the massive
carbonate deposit of the Wittenoom--Carrawine Dolomite and the abundant
low-iron cherts presumably derived from the same ocean do n o t contain sig-
nificant iron. Even the 1 m "averages" for the Dales Gorge Member (Fig. 5)
show major Fe:Si variations which increase further as the sample size de-
creases (Ewers and Morris, 1981).
The Ewers--Morris model stresses a variable input of material in which
mesobands represent periods of constant supply for as little as 2 or 3
years to many tens of years, with abrupt changes in conditions occurring
essentially synchronously across the area. If such changes were determined
mainly by a fluctuating input of material then a volcanic source offers a
more compatible mechanism. However, volcanism, though supported by
many workers (e.g., Trendall and Blockley, 1970; Goodwin, 1973; Mel'nik,
1973; Gross, 1980), was considered unlikely by Holland (1973) for the
Hamersley Group. While we agree with his rejection of local volcanism as the
iron source, we consider a distal origin distinctly possible in view of recent
evidence of the vast potential of oceanic ridge systems (Spooner, 1974;
Wolery and Sleep, 1976; Corliss et al., 1979; MacDonald et al., 1980; Spiess
et al., 1980). The data show that even with today's relatively low igneous
activity, iron and silica release is adequate to service at least one major BIF
unit at a time provided some mechanism could confine deposition to a re-
stricted area. Concentrated 'hot spot' activity rather than the dispersed ridge
systems of t o d a y (Fyfe, 1978), combined with greater igneous activity
(Kroner, 1981), if substantiated for this period, would simplify this problem.
Therefore, in our model for the Hamersley Group we envisage a signifi-
cant, b u t intermittent, contribution of iron from a relatively distant source.
Silica from the same source (not necessarily synchronously), was possibly
added to a regular precipitate from a saturated ocean (Siever, 1957), to give
rise to the banding so characteristic of these sediments. Various mechanisms
 289

of precipitation have been recently reviewed by Mel'nik (1973), Drever

(1974), Eichler (1976), Ewers (1980), Ewers and Morris (1981) and in more
detail by Ewers (1983) and will not be discussed here. We do, however, sug-
gest that the general absence of base metals within the BIF resulted from
precipitation at source of these components, probably as sulphides, and that
whatever little oxygen might have been available was scavenged by iron and
sulphur, leaving the excess iron available to be transported in solution to the
precipitation site.
The now widely held opinion espoused by Lepp and Golditch (1964),
Cloud (1973, 1980, 1983) and Mel'nik (1973), suggests that the lack of mas-
sive iron concentration in the late Proterozoic and Phanerozoic was a result
of increased biogenic production of oxygen to levels which satisfied the ex-
tant oxygen sinks and prevented further massive migration of ferrous iron in
solution. Iron deposits as well as cherts are not uncommon in these later
periods but, though locally extensive, did not reach the levels of the lower
Proterozoic; most of the significant Phanerozoic deposits consist of one or
the other component, rather than both. The hypothesis that the rise in the
level of atmospheric oxygen prevented further major development of BIF by
restricting significant transport of iron, is an attractive one; but why was
there a parallel decline in silica?
A current, strongly held view of geobiologists is that silica-secreting or-
ganisms, of the type now held largely responsible for the very low silica con-
tent of m o d e m oceans, did not exist until the Phanerozoic (Heinen and
Oehler, 1979). Spherical structures of La Berge (1973) or more complex ob-
jects such as those of Klemm (1979) found in BIF, are considered by them
to be products of silica precipitation or of the extraction methods (e.g.,
Oehler, 1976; Engel et al., 1968; M.R. Walter, personal communication,
1980).
In m o d e m organisms such as diatoms, silica uptake is apparently linked to
aerobic respiration (Lewin, 1955, and Heinen, 1967; quoted in Heinen and
Oehler, 1979), which requires the presence of free oxygen, either gaseous or
dissolved in water. It can be reasonably assumed that before the appearance
of such organisms there was a "substantial prior history of biochemical ex-
perimentation with siliceous materials" (Heinen and Oehler, 1979, p. 441),
possibly triggered by increasing atmospheric oxygen. Thus, some biochem-
ical precipitation of silica may have occurred during this period. While this
may not have depleted the oceans to the small amounts of today, it could
have depressed the general silica content of the oceans sufficiently below the
saturation level to limit the efficiency of whatever inorganic processes (e.g.,
evaporation) had previously operated. Massive local input of silica, however,
with or without iron, would allow such processes to operate to form proxi-
mal deposits such as during the late Proterozoic--early Palaeozoic period.
Therefore, if atmospheric oxygen was directly responsible for the lower
level of iron deposits after the lower Proterozoic, it may well have been in-
directly responsible for the parallel decline in major deposits of silica.
290

Pyroclastics

Table I shows how little alumina is present in the oxide-facies BIF of the
Dales Gorge Member. Trendall and Blockley (1970, p. 275) suggest a total
for the entire Hamersley Group sediments of 0.6 × 1019 g A1. If this was
largely introduced as an andesitic ash, a total input of ~ 4 × 10 ~ km ~ of ejecta
would be required. With the assumed time span of 8--24 × 10 ~ y for the
1.5 km of Hamersley Group sediments (Trendall and Blockley, 1970),
~ 1 km ~ would be required on average every 200--600 years. However, since
the shales are concentrated during much shorter intervals we estimate a
'worst' case requirement of some 4 km ~ of ash each century during the peak
of activity. The 1980 Mt. St. Helens (1 km~), 1883 Krakatoa (18 km 3) and
1815 Tambora (80 km ~) eruptions show that supply could be met b y even a
small volcanic chain.
It is unlikely that all the pyroclastics would have settled on the platform.
A wider distribution into the path of incoming currents could have helped
maintain the pH increase suggested for the precipitation of the carbonate
and silicate phases o f the sediments during the volcanic episodes (Ewers and
Morris, 1981). The distribution of ash from each eruption should follow a

.. " . • . , ,

, .: i . '
• . k~ . . . . . • " . ' ". . . " . " . .CANADA _ _ _ . . _ _ _ -' - - .---T-~. -

'" Ma i' " -' W*S. NG ON' " I . . . . .

/ ". ' :':. .... " ' "'l" " -: " " ' ' ' " " •- : " .

May Z~ ",~::.."' .'. : : : , . . : . . : . : . ' : ' . , ' :' ~~} i ~ { : f ~ . ~ ' . " . . 4 . ' . . . ! ~ . : " ~ : : ' : ' . . : ~ ' . ' . . "..'-.:.:".:.:.'-'..:";.. ' .

if . . .
// May,8 ' " ' . " . "/ ' ' .~ " .. ' " .~__~_ ~___' ..C
PACIFIC j " . " . /'" • " ' \" . '., " . • " "
] . .( . . • . 7"..._~__-.-/-~ . WYOMING

OCEAN ] OREGON ' '. ". " " ' " " ' "t. 2-70mm~

' C IDAHO " . 1 30_70mm ~

[ [ ' " " " ' I 10-30mm~

o ,
t J Modified from National Geographic J a n . 1981

Fig. 6. Distribution of ash deposits f r o m the 18 May and 25 May 1980, Mt. St. Helens
eruptions. A m o r e c o m p l i c a t e d distribution w o u l d be e x p e c t e d if deposition was into the
sea, since b o t h w i n d a n d o c e a n currents w o u l d be involved.
 291

more complex pattern than suggested by the Mt. St. Helens picture (Fig. 6),
since ocean currents would also be involved. This is supported by isopach
maps prepared for each of the 33 macrobands of the Dales Gorge Member
(Horwitz et al., 1983). These show a significant difference between the
generally simple pattern of the BIF-macrobands and a more complex nodal
pattern of the S-macrobands.

BASIN, SHELF OR PLATFORM?

The depositional environment of the 2.5 km thick Hamersley Group must

satisfy certain special conditions. These include: (1) a source of vast quanti-
ties of iron and silica which did not introduce terrigenous clastics; (2) water
deep enough to prevent formation of pelletal BIF, but shallow enough, at
times, to allow extensive carbonates to form; (3) an apparent absence of
shoreline and transgressive facies despite rapid vertical facies changes; and
(4) remarkable lateral stratigraphic continuity across at least 60 000 km 2.
A deep ocean environment is precluded on the obvious grounds of the
geological situation (Fig. 1).
An intracratonic basin (Trendall and Blockley, 1970} containing 1.5 km
of sediments deposited over 8--24 X 106 y and a further 1 km of volcanics,
without either water or wind borne terrigenous clastics, would need unique
conditions. Shoreline facies are present in both the underlying and overlying
rocks, but despite intensive exploration and mapping for over two decades
none have been recognised in the Hamersley Group. Total erosion of at least
1600 km of basin margin would be a coincidence of the highest order.
Similarly, interfingering and lateral facies changes suggested for BIF environ-
ments elsewhere cannot be demonstrated in this area. The best clustering of
modern intracratonic basins with some similarity to the physical require-
ments is the European, Middle Eastern area shown in Fig. 7. This area offers
a wide range of topographic and climatic situations, but none of these basins
fulfils the chief requirement that terrigenous clastics be absent.
A sabkha situation seems unlikely for the Hamersley Group in view of the
apparent requirement for relatively deep water for the BIF. Certainly it
would be difficult to maintain the excellent lateral continuity of the BIF
over such an extensive area if there was a constant problem of local ponding.
We can find no appropriate oceanic or shelf situation for the Hamersley
Group in the classification of the BIF sedimentary environments of Gross
(1980). Thus, we turn to the Bahamas as a geographic analogue of our
model. Drilling has indicated over 4.5 km of shallow-water carbonate sedi-
ments with no terrigenous clastics (Blatt et al., 1980}, going back to at least
the Cretaceous. This is some 5 to 10 times the period suggested for deposi-
tion of the Hamersley Group. Unlike the Bahamas, our main platform area
would generally be submerged below wave base. Hence no shoreline would
normally exist, though local shoaling and occasional emergence would be
expected.
292

Fig. 7. Modern intracratonic basins of the European--Middle Eastern area. Approximate

areas of the Hamersley and Bahamas Platforms are shown for comparison. The Hamersley
Group is free of terrigenous clastics, but each of these modern basins contains clastics
from rivers or sand storms.

THE DEPOSITIONAL MODEL

It is obviously difficult to present a valid geographical map of the area in

Hamersley times but, by way of illustration, let us take an antipodean view
of an analogous situation (Fig. 8). A volcanogenic platform (shown in black)
is envisaged on the continental shelf of the "Pilbara Block", generally isolated
from any significant land mass, but possibly connected at various times, par-
ticularly to the "north and east". A major primitive ridge system of hot
spot existed somewhere to the "west", producing pulsed outputs of a va-
riety of components, including iron, into an anoxic ocean saturated in silica.
Part of this iron may have locally precipitated as sulphide, which also sca-
venged any base metal contribution. Currents carried the excess components
intermittently to the submerged platform, upweUed and deposited their load
by some chemical mechanism. Volcanic chains, probably mostly to the
"north", added sufficient ash at erratic intervals to temporarily disrupt the
normal precipitation mechanisms, but not sufficient to overwhelm them.
Thus, both ash and chemical precipitation acted together to give rise to the
composite units called "shales". At times oscillating emergence and sub-
mergence of such chains might have affected incoming currents.
 293

cL o I:~
- ~ ~ ~ 0

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!ii!i!iii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
294

The initial chemical sedimentation of the Hamersley Group resulted in the

ferruginous cherts of the lower Marra Mamba but, b y upper Marra Mamba
times, true BIF deposition was widely established in relatively deep water,
though often disturbed by violent storm activity. Toward the later part of
this period chemical precipitation of iron and silica alternated with that of
carbonate and subordinate silica, swinging abruptly from one to the other,
until the carbonate/chert pattern of the Wittenoom Dolomite became
dominant, though sporadic volcanic eruptions continued. The abrupt
changes indicate either a temporary cessation or a diversion elsewhere of the
iron-bearing currents, since we know from evidence of pelletal iron-forma-
tions that such rocks could form in shallow water. Short-lived stromatolitic
carbonate barrier reefs, terminated by pyroclastic activity, offer one solu-
tion. Eustatic changes and adjustments in the underlying volcanogenic pile
could also have played some role.
Following deposition of the carbonates, sedimentation was dominated by
pyroclastic input, with varied b u t relatively minor quiescent periods of ferru-
ginous cherts, and carbonates, until the Brockman Iron Formation was de-
posited. Further alternation of pyroclastic and BIF continued until the em-
placement of 0.5--0.75 km of volcanic and intrusive acid rocks of the Woon-
garra Volcanics. This was followed by the Boolgeeda Iron Formation, indi-
cating that the platform maintained its isostatic balance throughout the
period.
The top of the Boolgeeda in which chemical sediments alternate with fine-
grained terrigenous clastics, finally giving way to the dominantly clastic
sequence of the Turee Creek Group, marks the end of the major BIF phase
of the area and a radical change in the depositional environment.

APOLOGIA

While we have adopted a simple approach to the model, avoiding as far as

possible the fine detail inherent in such a complex situation, the model is in
no sense simplistic. To a large extent the concept of a platform is dependent
on the absence of significant terrigenous clastics, a defined shoreline or
lateral facies changes, and a somewhat broader viewpoint could have been
presented by using the term shelf, implying a continuous gradient from an
outer shelf margin to a hypothetical shoreline.
If the Hamersley Group sediments conformed to Walther's Law that "un-
broken vertical sequences are a reflection of lateral facies" (Eriksson et al.,
1976), then some evidence of a transgressive situation should be apparent.
There is no evidence of this in the alternation of macrobands in the Dales
Gorge Member nor in the broader situation of the major BIF units and their
intercalations. If Walther's Law implies " n o r m a l " situations then the
Hamersley environment represents an abnormal situation even for BIF, and a
deeply submerged platform close to, b u t largely isolated from, a major land
mass seems more appropriate than a shelf.
 295

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are g r a t e f u l f o r c o n t r i b u t i o n s in discussion f r o m o u r colleagues in t h e

C S I R O , t h e G.S.W.A. a n d t h e m i n i n g i n d u s t r y , a n d in p a r t i c u l a r we t h a n k
W.E. Ewers. F o r i n f o r m a t i o n i n c l u d e d in a m e n d m e n t s t o Fig. 3, we a c k n o w l -
edge D.F. Blight a n d D.B. S e y m o u r o f t h e G.S.W.A., T h e G e o l o g i c a l S o c i e t y
o f F i n l a n d a n d Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. h a v e given p e r m i s s i o n t o
p u b l i s h t h e a m e n d e d Fig. 2a a n d 3, r e s p e c t i v e l y . T h e m a n u s c r i p t was im-
p r o v e d b y suggestions f r o m A.J. G a s k i n , W.E. E w e r s a n d M.J. Gole.

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