On the origin of quartz in the Velkerri Fm: implications for exploration and production in the Beetaloo Sub-basin and the Si cycle in the Mesoproterozoic

The Beetaloo Sub-basin is a concealed, composite depocenter and a component of a group of intra-cratonic Paleoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic sedimentary basins collectively described as the Greater McArthur Basin. The Sub-basin hosts unconventional and conventional petroleum resources, particularly in the uppermost Roper Group where stacked play opportunities include liquids rich shale, dry gas shale and hybrid/ tight gas plays (Côté et al. 2018; Altmann et al., 2020).