In a major discovery, Australia has unearthed a gigantic iron ore deposit in Hamersley, which is being touted as largest iron ore reserve on the planet. According to reports, the mega deposit is estimated contain 55 billion metric tons of high-grade iron ore, valued at over USD 5.7 trillion.
How the iron ore deposit was formed?
As per a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the origin of the massive iron ore deposit found in western Australia date as far back as 1.4 billion years when the Columbia or ‘Nuna’ supercontinent broke up, resulting in a tectonic upheaval.
The estimated age of the deposit has challenged prevailing scientific theories and stunned scientists as current geological models state that the richest iron ore deposits on Earth were formed around 2.2 to 2.0 billion years ago, during what is called the ‘Great Oxidation Event’.
For ages, humans have mined these ancient hematite and magnetite-rich rock layers for iron ore, which formed due to slow atmospheric oxidation.
Why scientists are astonished?
However, a new study by geologists from the University of Colorado and the University of Western Australia have challenged the existing theory.
As per the study’s lead author, Liam Courtney-Davis, their data, which used uranium-lead dating of iron oxide, has determined that the main ore-forming event occurred between 1.4 and 1.1 billion years ago, which is 1 billion years later than previously estimated.
According to researchers, the mineralization likely occurred due to tectonic collisions during the realignment of continents.
“This wasn’t a slow chemical process that unfolded over eons. It was a tectonically induced surge, linked to a dramatic reorganization of the Earth’s crust, said ” Courtney-Davis.
On the other hand, rising oceans and flooding caused by climate change stand to impact 1.5 million Australians by 2050, a landmark report warned Monday ahead of the country’s releasing its emission reduction targets this week.
The long-awaited national climate risk assessment found that rising temperatures will have “cascading, compounding, concurrent” impacts on life in Australia, home to more than 27 million people.
“We are living climate change now. It’s no longer a forecast, a projection or prediction — it is a live reality, and it’s too late to avoid any impacts,” Climate Minister Chris Bowen said.
The report, prepared independently for the government, found that 1.5 million people living in coastal areas will be at risk of sea level rise by 2050.
By 2090, about three million people will be at risk from rising oceans.
Losses in Australian property values are estimated to soar to Aus$611 billion (US$406 billion) by 2050 and could increase to $770 billion by 2090.
Should the temperatures increase by 3C, heat-related deaths could soar by over 400 percent in the country’s most-populated city of Sydney, the report said.
One of the world’s biggest fossil fuel exporters, Australia has been criticised for treating climate action as a political and economic liability.
The centre-left Labor government has stepped up efforts in recent years to bring down emissions and roll out renewable energy.
Monday’s report comes as Australia is set to release its next round of emissions reduction targets in the coming week, a key obligation under the landmark Paris climate agreement.
Many hope the sun-kissed country will reveal more ambitious targets.