Geology of the Renison Bell Tinfield Tasmania

In the Renison Bell area of western Tas mania, a series of Lower Cambrian quartzites, shales, carbonate beds ("dolomites"), cong- lomerates, tuffs and argillites have been folded into a broad monocline whose general strike is NW-SE, plunging slightly north and dipping NE. The downwarped eastern side of the monocline is disrupted by a steep (50-800) east dipping normal fault, known as the Bassett Structure, whose throw is in excess of 500 m. A series of flat north dipping normal faults, each with a throw of approximately 50 m, further disrupts the sequence. All major faulting was pre-mineralization. A cassiterite- bearing Devonian quartz porphyry body intrudes this Cambrian sequence 2 km south of the currently operating mine. Of economic importance is the presence of three carbonate beds in the sequence. These carbonates consist of a mixture of calcite, dolomite and siderite. The No. 1 (youngest) and No. 2 carbonate beds are each approximately 15 m thick and are separated by 20 m of hematitic conglomerates and tuffs. The No. 3 (oldest) carbonate bed is approximately 5 m thick and is separated from the No. 2 horizon by 50 m of dark grey, finely laminated shales and quart- zites. Whilst the carbonates are remarkably persistent over at least 30 km2, facies changes are common and as a result of these changes, the carbonates vary considerably in