School of Earth Sciences - Theses
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ItemThe geology, petrology and geochemistry of the granitic rocks of Victoria(University of Melbourne, 1973)In the field the granitic rocks of Victoria show a wide variety of characteristics but chemically all are related and are the result of similar processes that occurred cyclically during the Palaeozoic. The granites may be divided into two groups on the basis of whether or not primary hornblende is present in the more basic members of the suite. Rocks of the hornblende-free series concentrate mainly in central Victoria and usually contain biotite that is red-brown in colour. In the granites of the hornblende-bearing group green-brown biotite is generally present. The two different colours appear to indicate unlike oxygen fugacities in the magmas from which the micas crystallized. The rocks of the hornblende-bearing and hornblende-free provinces also vary slightly in chemistry - the most important difference being that the basic members of the first group contain slightly more Ca than those of the second having comparable silica content. The compositions of the Victorian granites is consistent with their derivation by anatexis of a mixture of basic igneous rocks and sedimentary material. The conclusion is drawn that a combination of Cambrian basalts and dolerites and Cambro-Ordovician sediments constitute the source. The explanation of the fact that two chemical trends are observed in the granites may lie in the possible existence of two chemically distinct groups in the Cambrian igneous rocks - the one having lower Ca predominating under central Victoria.