Barrington, Australia, and West Pailin, Cambodia, basalt fields yield remarkably similar 'metamorphic' corundums (including ruby) and 'basaltic' type blue corundums. These represent different underlying sources tapped by basaltic eruptions. The 'metamorphic' suites have high chromium/low gallium chemistry, with Ga203 contents <0.01 wt% and Cr203/Ga203 ratios above 3. The 'basaltic' suites show higher Ga203 (up to 0.04 wt%) and Cr203/Ga203 ratios below 1. The absorption spectra of blue 'metamorphic' sapphires are dominated by Fe 3+ bands in the ultraviolet (375, 387 nm) and visible region (450, 460, 469 nm). A broad Fe 2+-Ti 4+ charge transfer band lies between 550-750 nm, without significant Fe 2+-Fe 3+ charge transfer absorption toward the near infrared that is typical of blue 'basaltic' sapphires. Most absorption spectra of 'metamorphic' corundums represent a combination of Fe/Ti/Cr-bands, with variable relative intensities.

Uranium-lead isotope dating of two zircon inclusions in sapphires from the Central Province, NSW. gives ages of 35.9+ 1.9 and 33.7_+2.1 million years (Ma). These ages fall within the range of basalt potassium-argon ages of 19 to 38Ma and zircon fission track ages of 2 to 49Ma for the timing of volcanism of the Central Province, NSW. These data, combined with the observation that corundum is found associated with many alkali basaltic provinces, indicate a genetic link between the growth of large corundum crystals and the processes involved in alkali basaltic magma generation. The reported failure of experimental attempts to grow corundum from a corundum-bearing basaltic composition, and more significantly, the abundance of incompatible elements such as U, Th, Zr, Nb and Ta in inclusion minerals indicate that the crystallization process is not simple. Corundum and the other minerals found as its inclusions (zircon, columbite, thorite, uranium pyrochlore, alkali feldspar etc,) could not have crystallized from most basaltic compositions. A more complex process must occur in which crystallization takes place when there are high proportions of incompatible elements and volatiles in the melt. These crystallization products are then carried to the surface by upward movement of later magmas. The extent of this process presumably determines whether a particular basaltic province carries sufficient corundum to be worked into economic concentrations of sapphire.

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Sixteen new K-Ar dates are presented from Tasmanian and Bass Basin basalts, more than doubling the previously published number. Eight volcanic regions are described, based on boundaries established on the range of the basalt types contained in each geographic region. Volcanism occurred within the span from Eocene to Miocene (47 to 13+ Ma), but mainly within the time range Middle Eocene to Early Miocene. Alkali basalts erupted throughout this span and are interspersed with tholeiites (22-31 Ma), fractionated alkaline rocks (22-27 Ma) and rare melilite-bearing varieties (26-35 Ma).

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