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The Pilbara Craton is an old and stable part of the continental lithosphere located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The Pilbara Craton is one of only two pristine Archaean 3.8–2.7 Ga (billion years ago) crusts identified on the Earth, along with the Kaapvaal Craton in South Africa .
Iron ore is currently recovered from several areas in the Yilgarn Craton, although it is a much smaller set of mines than those in the Pilbara Craton. Iron ore is mined at Koolyanobbing, north of Kalgoorlie from hematite weathered banded iron formation , at Mount Gibson, Weld Range and Jack Hills in the Western Gneiss Terrane from hematite ...
The cratons appear to have been assembled to form the greater Australian landmass in the late Archaean to Mesoproterozoic, ~2400 Ma to 1,600 Ma. Chiefly the Glenburgh Orogeny is partly responsible for the assembly of the West Australian landmass by joining the Yilgarn and Pilbara cratons. The Glenburgh Orogeny is exposed in the rocks of the ...
The Eastern Pilbara Craton is geologically significant due to its age and the types of lithology found within it. Within the Eastern Pilbara Craton there are 2 distinct lithologic divisions: (1), early Earth crust (3.8–3.53 Ga); (2), intrusive granitic domes along with greenstone belts (3.53–3.23 Ga). [3]
Nevertheless, the oldest cratons on Earth include the Kaapvaal Craton, the Western Gneiss Terrane of the Yilgarn Craton (~2.9 – >3.2 Ga), the Pilbara Craton (~3.4 Ga), and portions of the Canadian Shield (~2.4 – >3.6 Ga). Parts of Dharwar Craton in India are greater than 3.0 Ga.
The Capricorn orogeny was an orogenic event in what is now Western Australia, following the collision of the Pilbara Craton and the Glenburgh Terrane with the Yilgarn Craton during the Glenburgh orogeny. Spanning one billion years, the Capricorn orogeny is marked by widespread deformation and intracratonal reworking.
The Archean rocks from the Pilbara craton contain some of the first evidence of life, primitive cyanobacterial mats known as stromatolites. Soft-bodied organisms from the Ediacaran collectively known as the Ediacaran biota are found in sandstone around the Flinders Ranges in South Australia, notably at a site known as Wilpena Pound.
Pilbara Craton, Western Australia; Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia (4.4 Ga) North America. North American cratons and basement rocks North American Craton