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Scotia Mine, Australia

Past Producer in Western Australia, Australia with commodities Nickel, Copper, Cobalt, Iron
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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. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Ownership information
  14. Reserves and resources
  15. Workings at the site
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10079597
MRDS ID W029635
Record type Site
Current site name Scotia Mine, Australia

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: 121.26588, -30.19613 (WGS84)
Relative position 63 KM NNW OF KALGOORLIE

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Western Australia(province)

Australia(country)

Australia(continent)

Land(continent)

Geographic areas

Country State
Australia Western Australia

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Nickel Critical Primary
Copper Secondary
Cobalt Critical Secondary
Iron Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • THE OREBODY CONTAINS APPROXIMATELY 10 % SULFIDES, AT A CUT-OFF OF 1 % NI AND AN ESTIMATED AVERAGE GRADE OF 3.07 % NI AND 0.25 % CU. THE DISSEMINATED SULFIDE LAYER RANGING IN NICKEL CONTENT FROM ABOUT 1 TO 7 %, THE FOOTWALL OF MASSIVE SULFIDE UP TO TWO METERS AND AVERAGING 15 % TO 20 % NICKEL.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Limonite Ore
Magnetite Ore
Pentlandite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore

Alteration

  • (Local) Highly Metamorphosed And Metasomatized

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Tuff
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Mafic Volcanic Rock > Basalt
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite
    Rock unit name Ultramafics, Granites, Volcanics
    Rock description Ultramafics, Granites, Volcanics
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Ultramafic Intrusive Rock
    Rock unit name Metasediments, Ultramafics, Granites, Volcanics
    Rock description Metasediments, Ultramafics, Granites, Volcanics
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock

Nearby scientific data

(1) 121.26588, -30.19613
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Yilgarn Archaean Block Of The Western Australian Shield.
Type of structure Local
Structure description Kalgoorlie Greenstone Belt, The Greenstones Are Typically Tightly Foldet On A Nnw Axis And Have Been Metamorphosed To Lower Greenschist Facies.

Ore body information

  • General form LENS, WEDGE
    Strike NNE
    Dip STEEPLY WEST
    Length 150M
    Width 20M
    Depth to bottom 370M

Comments on the geologic information

  • THE YILGARN BLOCK COMPRISES ABOUT 600000 KM2 OF ARCHAEAN GRANITE AND GRANITE GNEISS AND ENCLOSE BELTS OF METAMORPHOSED SEDIMENTS AND VOLCANICS. THIS BELTS TREND NORTH-NORTHWEST AND ARE KNOWN LOCALLY AS "GREENSTONE BETS". THIS BELTS CONSIST MAINLY ALTERED BASALTIC LAWAS AND CONTAIN ALTERED INTRUSIVE AND EXTRUSIVE ULTRAMAFICS IN WHICH THE NICKEL DEPOSITS OCCUR. FRAGMENTAL VOLCANICS, CHEMICALLY DEPOSITED BANDED IRON FORMATIONS AND JASPILITES, CLASTIC SEDIMENTS, AND ACID VOLCANICS FORM SUBORDINATE UNITS IN THE BELTS.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Significant No
Discovery year 1967
Discoverer John Jones
Year of first production 1970

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Great Boulder Mines

Comments on the production information

  • PRODUCTION AT FIMISTON PLANT;

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1968
    Total resources 35000000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Nickel Ni 0.64 wt-pct Nickel Major 1968

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • 2) JUNE 1974 (PROVEN AND PROBABLE) DOWN TO 380 M. 3) LOW-GRADE ROCK DISSEMINATED MINERALIZATION

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Overall depth 350M

Comments on the workings information

  • A TYPE OF SUB-LEVEL STOPING WAS USED IN THE WIDER SECTIONS OF THE OREBODY, AND CONVENTIONAL SHRINK STOPE METHOD IN THE NARROWER SECTIONS. OPERATIONS CONTINUED SATISFACTORILY UNTIL JULI 1974, WHEN A MAJOR CAVE-IN CLOSED UPPER LEVELS OF THE MINE. WORK RESTARTED AT A DEEPER LEV (330 M), USING A DIFFERENT METHOD OF MINING

Comments on development

  • AT SCOTIA WAS A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN GREAT BOULDER AND NORTH KALGURLIE MINES UNTIL OCT. 1974. NEW OWNER GREAT BOULDER MINES. WMC. FOR SOME TIME A MAJOR SHAREHOLDER, ACQUIRED THE REMAINING SHARES IN GREAT BOULDER MINES LTD.AND IN 1976 THE COMPANY BECAME THE WHOLLY-OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF WMC. ; ECON.COM: THE DISSEMINATED MINERALIZATIONS ARE UNDER PRESENT CONDITIONS UNECONOMIC. PRODUCTION WAS SUSPENDED BECAUSE OF THE DIFFICULT MARKET AND COST SITUATION (KIPPENBERGER 1977)

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    AUSTRALIAN MINERAL INDUSTRY VOL. 28 NO 4 (1976)

  • Deposit

    CHRISTIE D.: SCOTIA NICKEL SULPHIDE DEPOSIT (ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF AUSTRALIA AND PAPUA NEW GUINEA - 1. METALS, 1975 P 121)

  • Production

    AUSTRALIAN MINERAL INDUSTRY, REVIEW 1972,1973,1974;

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit MINE WAS CLOSED AUGUST 1977
Deposit GREAT BOULDER CONVERTED ITS DISUSED GOLD TREATMENT PLANT AT FIMISTON TO A NICKEL CONCENTRATOR. IN FEBR. 1970 THE FIRST ORE WAS TRANSPORTED BY ROAD FROM SCO TIA

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JAN-1977 Saam, Henning G. (Shaffer, Glenn L.) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

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