The Bowen Basin, comprising essentially Pennian and Triassic rocks, is situated in central and southern Queensland and beneafh the surface of the Great Artesian Basin, is possibly continuous with the Sydney Basin. This Bulletin is concerned mainly with the northern exposed part of the basin, its eastern, northern, and western margins, and the eastern extension of the Great Artesian Basin, the Surat Basin, which covers the southern part of the Bowen Basin.

Lower Palaeozoic rocks are found along the western margin and possibly along the eastern margin. The Anakie Metarnorphics in the west comprise schist and gneiss with widespread quartz veins and reefs. An isotopic age of 450 m.y. has been detennined. Granite associated with the metarnorphics in the Telemon Anticline has been found to have a similar age. The metamorphics near Marlborough have been assigned a Lower Palaeozoic age because of their degree of alteration and the Mount Windsor VolcaniCS in the northwestern comer of the map area are also regarded as Lower Palaeozoic.

In Devonian to Carboniferous times, sediments were deposited in three large basins: the Drummond Basin, a basin in which the Mount Rankin Beds (with the Mount Wyatt Beds at the base) were laid down, and the Yarrol Basin. Outside these basins the Theresa Creek Volcanics were deposited on the Anakie Inlier. The Campwyn Beds were fonned in what may be the northern extension of the Yarrol Basin, and the Connors Volcanics west of the Yarrol Basin. The Camboon Andesite as mapped appears to contain equivalents of the Connors Volcanics. Volcanics and sediments are found in all areas, but marine conditions have been identified only in the Mount Wyatt Beds and ir the Yarrol Basin and its possible extension occupied by the Campwyn Beds.

The Burton Coal Project mining operations currently occur in the Burton Widening Pit, a steep, opencut terrace mine with a long, narrow working area. Forecasts indicate the highwall will be approximately 240 metres deep when operations reach the bottom of the pit. The pit’s complex geology and footprint demand meticulous planning to ensure highwall stability and prevent vehicle congestion.

Mining in the Burton Widening Pit targets the Permian-age Burton seam; an 11m thick coalescence of the Leichhardt and Vermont seams. Waste material consists of backfilled spoil on the western lowwall side of the pit and fresh overburden on the eastern highwall side. The mining method utilises a fleet of hydraulic excavators and rear dump trucks to develop the pit in a north to south direction.