Review of Lopingian (upper Permian) stratigraphy of the Galilee Basin, Queensland, Australia

ABSTRACT

The recent increase in exploration activity in the Galilee Basin, Queensland, has highlighted inconsistencies in the usage of Lopingian (upper Permian) stratigraphic nomenclature across the basin. This study utilised peer-reviewed journal, company and government publications to evaluate the current understanding of the naming conventions in use and correlated them to nomenclature in the adjacent Bowen Basin. The prominent misinterpretation is between the stratigraphic relationship and terminology of the northern and western Betts Creek beds and its eastern and southern correlatives the Bandanna Formation and Colinlea Sandstone. The correlation between the units has been assessed from a (1) lithological, (2) sedimentological and (3) coal-seam architectural perspective. The Betts Creek beds appear similar to the Colinlea Sandstone in their lithology and sedimentological character, but increased drilling data suggest the original type-sections no longer fit the heterogeneous lithology of correlated strata bearing that nomenclature. Correlation across the Springsure Shelf into the Bowen Basin suggests that the Betts Creek beds and their subdivisions are in fact equivalent to the Bandanna Formation, the Fort Cooper Coal Measures (the Burngrove and Fair Hill formations) and the Moranbah Coal Measures. A revised stratigraphic column for the Galilee Basin has been proposed to reflect this, and to suggest that a new stratigraphic unit be introduced; the ‘Fort Cooper Coal Measures equivalent’ and its subdivisions the ‘Burngrove and Fair Hill formation equivalents.’

KEYWORDS:

• Stratigraphy
• Galilee Basin
• Bowen Basin
• Lopingian
• Betts Creek beds
• Bandanna Formation
• Peawaddy Formation
• Black Alley Shale
• Colinlea Sandstone
• Fort Cooper Coal Measures

Acknowledgements

The authors of this paper would like to thank the Australian Coal Association Research Program, grant number C22028, for funding. The GSQ assisted greatly with locating historical documents while industry provided many data points. Helpful early reviews from Dr Charlie Verdel and Mr Matthias Klawitter improved the manuscript. The Australian Stratigraphic Commission is thanked for their discussions around stratigraphy, in particular Mr Ian Withnall and Dr Paul Blake. The manuscript greatly benefited from reviews from Mr Tim Evans and an anonymous reviewer.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Australian Coal Research Program [grant number C22028].