The discovery of a 4km-diameter meteorite impact crater in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia has sparked excitement and curiosity. The site, named the "Ora Banda impact structure," is significant for several reasons. Firstly, it is one of the few impact craters on Earth whose target rocks are ancient greenstones, which are valuable to the Australian economy due to their gold content. The impact was accidentally discovered during exploration drilling for gold, and the "smoking gun" evidence for impact includes shatter cones, shocked quartz grains, and extra-terrestrial meteorite residue. What makes this discovery particularly fascinating is the presence of small nuggets of gold in the breccia deposits, suggesting that gold particles were raining back down onto the surface during the impact event. This unique geologic setting raises a deeper question: could meteorite impacts have once rained gold on Western Australia? The discovery of the Ora Banda impact structure adds to the growing list of confirmed meteorite impact craters in Australia, which range in age from a few thousand years old to 2.2 billion years old. While some craters are well preserved, most others, like Ora Banda, are older and eroded to the point that a circular crater is no longer visible. The study of these impact craters provides valuable insights into the history of our planet and the potential for extraterrestrial impacts to have shaped the Earth's surface.
