The Murraba Basin revisited – interpretations refined by detrital zircon data

The Murraba Basin is a poorly known component of the Centralian Superbasin that extends across the Western Australia – Northern Territory border. An earlier reconnaissance reinterpretation by some of the authors significantly changed the inferred ages and order of stratigraphic units and demonstrated many similarities to the Neoproterozoic and lower Cambrian component of the nearby, and presumably contiguous, Amadeus Basin. Further refinements are now possible with the addition of detrital zircon geochronology of siliciclastic units in the area. Detrital zircon data show that the Hidden Basin beds, previously compared to the older Birrindudu Basin, are no older than lower Tonian, and have broadly similar detrital zircon age spectra to basal components of the Centralian Superbasin, particularly the metamorphosed Yeneena Basin that is inferred to be widespread beneath the Canning Basin to the west. The relationship of the Hidden Basin beds to the nearby Munyu Sandstone and other Supersequence 1 components of the Murraba Basin remains unclear, but the beds possibly represents the transition between Murraba and Yeneena Basin. A previous redefinition of the Redcliff Pound Group assigned this upper succession of the Murraba Basin to Supersequence 3 and 4 (upper Cryogenian to lower Cambrian) and suggested deposition of at least the upper part of the group was synchronous with the Paterson Orogeny. New detrital zircon data from the middle Murraba Formation and Erica Sandstone of the Redcliff Pound Group define age components consistent with recycling of zircon grains from Tonian metasedimentary basement of the southern Canning Basin, and its ~650–600 Ma felsic intrusive rocks that were uplifted during the Paterson Orogeny.