Early rocks to reveal their ages (BBC) {and map ancient continents}

[eppur_se_muova]

By Jennifer Carpenter
Science reporter

A new technique has been helping scientists piece together how the Earth's continents were arranged 2.5 billion years ago.

The novel method allows scientists to recover rare minerals from rocks.

By analysing the composition of these minerals, researchers can precisely date ancient volcanic rocks for the first time.

By aligning rocks that have a similar age and orientation, the early landmasses can be pieced together.

This will aid the discovery of rocks rich in ore and oil deposits, say the scientists. The approach has already shown that Canada once bordered Zimbabwe, helping the mining industry identify new areas for exploration.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8080126.stm

[Sinistrous]

1. I would love to see the sequence of movements since the time

Canada bordered Zimbabwe, given that present day Zimbabwe does not have a coastline.