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Misima Gold Deposit

Producer in Papua New Guinea with commodities Gold, Silver, Copper
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Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Materials information
  7. Alteration
  8. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Geologic structures
  11. Ore body information
  12. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Ownership information
  15. Reserves and resources
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10055078
MRDS ID RE00014
Record type Site
Current site name Misima Gold Deposit
Alternate or previous names Umuna, Gold Mines of Papua, And Kulumalia

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: 152.8054, -10.66169 (WGS84)
Relative position ON MISIMA ISLAND IN THE LOUISIADE ARCHIPELAGO, 190 KM EAST OF THE PNG MAINLAND, AND 5 KM NW OF THE TOWN OF BWAGAOIA.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Papua New Guinea(country)

Geographic areas

Country
Papua New Guinea

Comments on the location information

  • SITUATED IN MILNE BAY PROVINCE, APPROXIMATELY 600 KM EAST OF THE NATIONAL CAPITAL OF PORT MORESBY AND 920 KM NE OF CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
Copper Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Gold Ore
Malachite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Silver Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Barite Gangue
Limonite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Chlorite, Epidote, Clinozoisite, Sericite, Smectite, Deep Oxidation.

Analytical data

Result ANOMALOUS MN, BA, AS, SB, BI, FE, CD, ZN AS WELL AS PRECIOUS & BASE METALS. GOLD SHOWED CORRELATION WITH AG & BASE METALS, BUT LESS SO WITH MN &AS.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
    Rock unit name Boiou (Intrusive) Microgranodiorite
    Rock description Boiou (Intrusive) Microgranodiorite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pleistocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metavolcanic Rock > Mafic Metamorphic Rock > Greenstone
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist
    Rock unit name Sisa Association
    Rock description Sisa Association
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Volcanic Breccia (Agglomerate)

Nearby scientific data

(1) 152.8054, -10.66169
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Ridge System, Gentle Folding.
Type of structure Local
Structure description Stockwork Veins And Breccia Matrix.

Ore body information

  • General form STEEP VEINS, BRECCIA

Controls for ore emplacement

  • W Dipping, Nnw Striking Fault Zone, Fracturing In Host Rock (Intensity And Type).

Comments on the geologic information

  • GOLD IS ASSOCIATED WITH INTENSE QUARTZ VEINING, PARALLEL AND CONJUGATE TO THE COMPLEX UMUNA FAULT ZONE WHICH IS 100-300 M WIDE WITH A 3 KM STRIKE LENGTH. NO GROSS CHANGES IN GOLD CONTENT ARE RECOGNIZED BETWEEN OXIDIZED, TRANSISTIONAL AND FRESH ROCK. SUB-ECONOMIC PORPHYRY COPPER IN DISTRICT.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Significant No
Year of first production 1888
Production years PRIOR TO 1911 ALLUVIAL WORKINGS; UNDERGROUND WORKINGS THROUGH 1942; 1988 TO PRESENT, OPEN PIT.

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Misima Mines Proprietary Ltd., A Subsidiary Of Placer Dome.

Comments on the production information

  • AVERAGE ANNUAL PRODUCTION OVER A TEN YEAR LIFE IS PROJECTED TO BE 210,000 OZS.AU AND 2,100,000 OZS. AG. DURING 1990, THE PLANT PROCESSED 16,400 TONS PER DAY, 1991 PRODUCTION IS SCHEDULED TO DECLINE BY ABOUT 40%.

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1988
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 1.38 g/mt Gold Major 1988
    Silver Ag 21 g/mt Silver Major 1988
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1990
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 1.35 g/mt Gold Major 1990
    Silver Ag 20 g/mt Silver Major 1990

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • TEN YEAR MINE LIFE.

Comments on the workings information

  • OPEN PIT UTILIZING CIP PLANT, RATE FOF 15,000 TONNES PER DAY. (GRAY, MATT, 1990) 72,000,000 TONNES OF WASTE AND LOW GRADE MATERIAL WILL BE REMOVED IN 5 STAGES FOR AN OVERALL STRIP RATIO OF 1.28:1. INCOMPETENT MINE WASTE TO BE DISPOSED OF IN THE OCEAN. WORK FORCE WILL PEAK AT 413. ( PLACER DOME, 1988 REPORT)

Comments on development

  • PLACER DEVELOPMENT FIRST EXAMINED THE MISIMA AREA IN THE 1930'S AND AGAIN IN THE 1960'S. A PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC EVALUATION WAS COMPLETED IN 1982 AND AN UPDATE EVALUATION IN 1984. CONSTRUCTION BEGAN IN 1988 WITH A CAPITAL COST BUDGET OF $261,000,000 (CANADIAN). FIRST GOLD POURED MAY, 1989. ; ECON.COM: 2,865 KG AU THOUGHT TO HAVE BEEN PRODUCED FROM ALLUVIAL WORKINGS PRIOR TO 1911; UNDERGROUND MINING THROUGH 1942 YIELDED 429,000 TONNES OF ORE AVERAGING 10 GRAMS AU/TONNE. (PLACER DOME, 1988). TOTAL RECORDED PRODUCTION FOR 1904 - 1951 WAS 6,804 KG AU. (CLARK,ET. AL., 1990) PLACER DOME PRODUCTION FOR THE FIRST 2 YEARS OF OPERATION IS SCHEDULED TO BE 400,000 OZS. GOLD AND 2.6 MILLION OZS. AG PER ANNUM. (GRAY, MATT, 1990).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit INTENSE OXIDATION HAS ECONOMICALLY IMPROVED THE MILLING OF OXIDIZED ORE AND ENHANCED GOLD RECOVERY. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 4 OTHER SRC
Deposit THE DEPOSIT CONSISTS OF THREE MAIN AREAS OF MINERALIZATION; UMUNA, GOLD MINES OF PAPUA, AND KULUMALIA. CHARACTERIZED BY VERY DEEP WEATHERING WITH OXIDE ORE FORMING THE MAJORITY OF MILLFEED. GOLD IS FOUND IN VEINS, BRECCIA MATRIX, AND AS DISSEMINATIONS IN HIGHLY FRACTURED METAMORPHIC AND INTRUSIVE ROCKS.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-NOV-1991 Moyer, Lorre A. (Marcus, S.M.) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

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