New research reveals a tectonic connection between the cratons of Northern Australia and Northern China — a link forged over a billion years ago when Earth’s landmasses were arranged in ancient supercontinents. In this blog, we explore the geological evidence that ties these two regions together and what it means for reconstructing Earth's deep-time history.
A new gold discovery just outside Melbourne has confirmed visible gold within a quartz vein hosted by granite — a rare find in this region. In this blog, I share the geology behind the discovery, what makes it significant, and how this find adds to Victoria’s growing profile as a modern gold exploration hotspot.
The Kanowna Deep Lead is one of Western Australia's most remarkable geological gold discoveries — a buried ancient river channel rich in gold hidden beneath layers of sedimentary rock. In this blog, we explore how these paleo-alluvial systems formed, how they were discovered, and why they continue to be prime targets for modern gold exploration.
Over 2.6 billion years ago, a colossal asteroid slammed into what is now Western Australia, triggering the Jeerinah Impact Event. This cataclysm unleashed a 5-kilometre-high megatsunami and reshaped the ancient Pilbara landscape. In this blog, we explore the geological evidence, impact scale, and why this event is considered one of Earth’s most powerful asteroid strikes ever recorded.
Geologists have discovered the world’s oldest asteroid crater in the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia, dating back 3.47 billion years. This impact predates the previously confirmed Yarrabubba crater by over a billion years and may have shaped the early Earth's crust and atmosphere. In this blog, we break down how this discovery rewrites the timeline of asteroid impacts — and why it matters for understanding Earth's early evolution.
Who needs fire, pressure, or a $1,000 lab kit when you can wander creeks collecting orange slime? In my latest gold recovery adventure, I ditched the furnace and embraced Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans—acid-loving bacteria that quietly digest sulfides and unlock hidden gold. Sounds insane, right? It kind of is. But with no toxic fumes, no roasting, and no high-pressure drama, bioleaching might just be the future of backyard gold extraction. Here's how I went from panning to microbial mining—mud, gumboots, and all.
The discovery of Carlin-type gold deposits in Nevada didn’t just reveal a new gold province — it revolutionized our understanding of how invisible gold forms deep underground. In this post, we explore how microscopic gold in sedimentary rocks changed the game for global gold exploration and helped turn Nevada into the top gold-producing region in the U.S.
Long before Pangaea or Gondwana, the ancient supercontinent Vaalbara ruled Earth’s surface. In this blog, we explore the formation of Vaalbara over 3.3 billion years ago, the evidence found in ancient cratons like Pilbara and Kaapvaal, and what this tectonic pioneer reveals about the early evolution of Earth’s crust and life itself.
Australia’s most iconic base metal deposit lies beneath the outback town of Broken Hill. In this post, we explore the geology, origin, and global importance of the Broken Hill Silver-Lead-Zinc orebody — a rich, ancient deposit formed over 1.6 billion years ago and mined for more than a century. Discover what makes it unique, and why it remains a model for exploration worldwide.
A recent seismic swarm beneath Santorini has reignited interest in the island’s volcanic past — and its potentially explosive future. In this post, we explore the geologic triggers behind the activity, the caldera’s history of eruptions, and what these tremors might mean for residents and scientists monitoring one of the world’s most famous volcanoes.
Before the Himalayas or Andes, there was Nuna — Earth’s earliest known supercontinent — and with it, the Nuna Supermountain, a colossal range that may have stretched thousands of kilometers. In this article, we dive into the ancient tectonic forces that built this primordial mountain chain, its role in shaping early life, and how remnants of it are still visible in Australia’s geological record today.
Cape Hauy, located on the southeastern edge of Tasmania’s Tasman Peninsula, is one of Australia’s most striking geological formations. Towering dolerite cliffs plunge into the Tasman Sea, remnants of a Jurassic magma intrusion that solidified into near-perfect columns and was later sculpted by erosion and rising seas. This natural fortress of rock tells a story of Gondwana’s breakup, tectonic uplift, and marine weathering—and offers a stunning glimpse into the geological forces that have shaped Tasmania over hundreds of millions of years.
Located in northwest Queensland, the Cannington Silver-Lead-Zinc Mine is one of the most mineralogically significant and economically valuable deposits in Australia. This blog explores the geological evolution of the deposit, which formed during the Proterozoic in a volcanogenic-sedimentary setting. The Cannington deposit is hosted within high-grade metamorphic rocks and is believed to have originated from hydrothermal fluids that introduced massive sulphide mineralization—particularly galena (PbS), sphalerite (ZnS), and native silver—into structural traps and lithological contacts. Over millions of years, intense pressure and metamorphism concentrated these minerals into one of the world's richest known silver-lead-zinc systems. We break down the mineralogy, host rock context, and the tectonic processes that made this deposit globally significant.
The rocks beneath Heathcote, Victoria hold a rare geological marriage: chromium and gold occurring in close proximity, a combination that puzzles and fascinates geologists alike. This blog explores the tectonic and magmatic history behind this pairing, tracing it back to ancient ultramafic intrusions and greenstone belts that form part of Victoria’s Paleozoic accretionary complex. Chromium, hosted primarily in spinel-rich serpentinites and chromitites, was emplaced during deep mantle upwelling, while hydrothermal fluids later introduced gold into nearby fracture systems—often along shear zones or faulted contact zones between mafic and ultramafic rocks. The result is a geochemical and structural overlap where two vastly different ore types were concentrated by overlapping geological processes. Heathcote isn’t just a goldfield—it's a cross-section of Earth’s deeper plumbing.
Hidden in the rugged outback of Western Australia lies one of Earth’s most dramatic reminders of cosmic violence — the Shoemaker Crater, a massive impact site carved into the crust by an asteroid over 1.6 billion years ago. Once thought to be volcanic in origin, this ancient structure stunned scientists when unmistakable evidence of a meteorite impact was uncovered: shocked quartz, rare minerals, and telltale signs of colossal pressure. The scale of the impact that formed Shoemaker Crater rivals nuclear detonation zones, offering a sobering glimpse into the destructive power of space rocks that have shaped our planet's history. Today, it stands as both a geological curiosity and a planetary warning.
What if the Santorini caldera erupted today with the same explosive force as the Minoan eruption—a cataclysmic VEI 7 event? This blog explores a realistic simulation of that apocalyptic scenario: towering ash columns piercing the stratosphere, pyroclastic flows engulfing the island, and regional tsunamis crashing into the Aegean coastline. Air traffic across Europe would grind to a halt, global temperatures could dip from sulfate aerosols, and the Eastern Mediterranean’s geopolitical and humanitarian landscape would be thrust into chaos. From atmospheric disruption to infrastructure collapse, this eruption would become a modern disaster with ancient echoes—rivaling Tambora or Krakatoa in both scale and consequence.
Deep beneath the hills of New South Wales, Burning Mountain holds a fiery secret: it's the site of the world’s longest-burning underground coal seam fire, estimated to have been smouldering for over 6,000 years. Located near the town of Wingen, this slow-moving subterranean fire has transformed the landscape, warping the ground and emitting heat and smoke through surface vents. Once mistaken for a volcanic phenomenon, Burning Mountain is a remarkable example of how natural coal deposits can ignite and burn for millennia—without any human intervention. This blog explores the geologic origins, current movement, and global significance of one of Earth's most quietly dramatic natural features.
In 2018, deep within the Beta Hunt gold mine near Kambalda, Western Australia, miners broke into a quartz vein unlike anything they'd seen before—laden with visible gold. What they uncovered was a once-in-a-generation find: over 24,000 ounces of gold extracted from just a few cubic meters of rock, worth more than $38 million AUD at the time. The so-called "Father’s Day Vein" was a reminder that even in a thoroughly explored region, nature can still deliver jaw-dropping surprises. This blog explores the geology of Beta Hunt, the tectonic forces that created its gold-rich structures, and why this bonanza pocket stunned even the most seasoned geologists.
In 1538, after centuries of dormancy, the Earth ruptured open near the Bay of Naples to unleash one of Europe’s most remarkable volcanic events—the formation of Monte Nuovo, a brand-new volcano born in just a matter of days. This eruption within the Campi Flegrei (Phlegraean Fields) caldera reshaped the landscape, buried Roman ruins, and served as a stark reminder that this ancient supervolcano was far from dead. Though small in scale, the 1538 eruption signaled a reawakening of deep magmatic forces in one of the most dangerous volcanic regions on Earth—where the next eruption could dwarf the last. This blog explores the geologic drama behind Monte Nuovo’s sudden birth and why Campi Flegrei remains under constant scientific watch.
On the morning of September 23, 2009, residents of Sydney awoke to a surreal sight: the entire city bathed in an eerie red-orange glow. The Red Dawn dust storm, one of the most severe in Australian history, swept millions of tonnes of topsoil from the drought-stricken interior across New South Wales and into coastal cities. At its peak, the storm reduced visibility to just a few hundred meters, halted flights, and triggered air quality alerts across the east coast. More than a bizarre atmospheric event, Red Dawn was a wake-up call about land degradation, extreme weather, and Australia’s fragile relationship with its arid interior.
In the early 1960s, Australia came shockingly close to becoming the testbed for one of the most radical engineering experiments in history: using nuclear explosions to blast a harbor at Cape Keraudren in remote Western Australia. Part of the U.S.-driven Project Plowshare, this proposal aimed to demonstrate peaceful uses for nuclear weapons—by literally carving infrastructure into the landscape with atomic bombs. The Cape Keraudren plan never came to fruition, but it remains a haunting "what if" scenario in both environmental and geopolitical history. This blog unpacks the science, strategy, and controversy behind one of Australia's most startling near-misses with nuclear technology.
Asteroid 99942 Apophis is a 370-meter-wide space rock that will make one of the closest flybys of Earth ever recorded when it passes within 32,000 km of our planet in April 2029—closer than some satellites. Originally feared to be a potential impact threat, Apophis has since been ruled out for collision, but its passage offers a once-in-a-lifetime scientific opportunity to study near-Earth asteroids up close. This ancient fragment of the solar system is more than a celestial curiosity; it’s a wake-up call about planetary defense, orbital dynamics, and the unpredictable dance of cosmic objects.
Beneath the dry heart of Australia lies one of the planet’s most extraordinary geological treasures: the Great Artesian Basin. Spanning over 1.7 million square kilometers, it is the largest and deepest artesian water system in the world. This vast underground reservoir formed over 100 million years ago, as rainwater seeped through porous sandstone layers during the time of dinosaurs. Today, it continues to sustain life across arid inland Australia, feeding natural springs, supporting agriculture, and offering rare insights into ancient hydrological systems sealed beneath layers of impermeable rock. The Great Artesian Basin is not just a water source—it’s a dynamic record of geological history hidden below the outback.
The Flinders Ranges Rift Zone in South Australia is a geological marvel. A place where Earth’s crust cracked open over 500 million years ago, giving rise to a dramatic landscape of folded mountains, fault lines, and fossil-rich seabeds. Once part of an ancient ocean basin, this rift system reveals the tectonic tensions that shaped not just the ranges but the very foundation of the Australian continent. From the Ediacaran fossils of Nilpena to the towering quartzite ridges of Wilpena Pound, the Flinders Ranges offer a window into the deep-time processes that sculpted one of Earth's oldest and most dynamic terrains.
Towering 100 meters above the desert floor, Kings Canyon in Australia’s Northern Territory is a geological masterpiece carved over 400 million years. With its sheer sandstone walls, fossil-rich layers, and the breathtaking Garden of Eden at its heart, Kings Canyon offers a rare glimpse into Earth’s deep time. As you walk the iconic rim trail, each step traverses ancient seabeds and tectonic scars, revealing the powerful forces that shaped this natural wonder within the Watarrka National Park. Whether you're a geology enthusiast or a traveler craving awe-inspiring landscapes, Kings Canyon stands as one of Australia’s most profound geological and scenic treasures.
Once stretching across one-third of the Australian continent, the Eromanga Sea was a vast inland ocean that flooded the landscape during the Early Cretaceous. Beneath today’s dry outback lies the legacy of this prehistoric sea — recorded in fossils, opal-rich sediments, and the mighty Great Artesian Basin. In this post, we explore how the Eromanga Sea formed, what lived within its waters, and how it continues to shape Australia’s geology and groundwater systems today.
Once stretching across the heart of Australia, the Larapintine Sea was a vast inland ocean that existed over 500 million years ago. This ancient seaway transformed the arid outback into a thriving marine ecosystem, leaving behind fossils, sedimentary basins, and the aquifers that still support life in the desert today. Discover how tectonics, sea level rise, and early life came together to shape one of Earth’s most forgotten oceans.
Buried deep in Tasmania’s west lies one of the world’s most visually stunning minerals — crocoite. With its fiery orange-red crystals and rich geological history, crocoite has captivated collectors and geologists alike. In this video, we uncover the story of Tasmania’s legendary crocoite deposits, from their unique formation alongside chromium-rich rocks to the breathtaking specimens found in the Adelaide and Red Lead mines.
After weeks of searching, sampling, and persistence, I have finally located the true source of the rich talus gold found along the hillside.
Just a quick update on the hard rock gold deposit. I intend on releasing the video on it around mid to late May which is when my crusher will be complete.
Over the last month, I’ve been on one of the most exciting adventures of my prospecting life — a journey that, against all odds, led me to the discovery of a hidden hard rock goldfield.
