Australia collided together

The island continent of Australia was once three continents which collided 1.64 billion years ago, a new study has found, prompting speculation of new mineral deposits in the outback. According to a study ... Northern, western and central Australia all belonged to different continents.



The huge forces involved in this collision produced volcanoes which actually helped create the crust of central Australia. Using a geophysical technique called "magnetotellurics" allowed the explorers to penetrate sediment along the border of the three previous continents and measure the electrical conductivity of the Earth up to hundreds of kilometers below the surface.

The study found northern Australia was more conductive than central Australia and that the boundary between the two areas extended to at least 150 kilometers (93 miles) in depth.

The findings mean there could be new mineral deposits where the former separate continents joined to form Australia. Central Australia's main minerals include copper, uranium (Olympic dam) and opals.

"Such structures play an important role in determining how fluids move under the surface and it is these fluids which often carry the metals that can concentrate into valuable mineral deposits."