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Olympic Dam Project

Past Producer in South Australia, Australia with commodities Copper, Uranium, Gold, Silver, REE, Barium-Barite, Fluorine-Fluorite
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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. Mineral occurrence model information
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Ore body information
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Ownership information
  14. Reserves and resources
  15. Links to other databases
  16. Bibliographic references
  17. General comments
  18. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10085038
MRDS ID W700475
Record type Site
Current site name Olympic Dam Project
Alternate or previous names Roxby Downs

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: 136.88217, -30.44623 (WGS84)
Location accuracy 1000(meters)
Relative position AT OLYMPIC DAM, 520 KM NNW OF ADELAIDE, 13 KM FROM ROXBY DOWNS IN THE FAR NORTHERN PART OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA., Est Approximate Location

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

South Australia(province)

Australia(country)

Australia(continent)

Land(continent)

Geographic areas

Country State
Australia South Australia

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Uranium Primary
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
REE Critical Tertiary
Barium-Barite Critical Tertiary
Fluorine-Fluorite Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Bastnaesite Ore
Bornite Ore
Brannerite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Cobaltite Ore
Coffinite Ore
Hematite Ore
Pitchblende Ore
Pyrite Ore
Siderite Ore
Silver Ore
Anhydrite Gangue
Barite Gangue
Carrollite Gangue
Chlorite Gangue
Florencite Gangue
Fluorite Gangue
Magnetite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Rutile Gangue
Sericite Gangue
Tourmaline Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Hematitization, Sericite-Quartz

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 195
USGS model code 29b
Deposit model name Olympic Dam Cu-U-Au

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite
    Rock unit name Roxby Downs Granite
    Rock description Roxby Downs Granite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Mesoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite
    Rock unit name Olympic Dam Breccia Complex
    Rock description Olympic Dam Breccia Complex

Nearby scientific data

(1) 136.88217, -30.44623
ListMap

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form STRATIFORM

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Large
Significant No
Discovery year 1975
Discoverer Western Mining Corp.
Year of first production 1988

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Joint Venture Western Mining Corp (51%) - Bp Group (49%)

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1988
    Total resources 45000000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Silver Ag 6 g/mt Silver Major 1988
    Copper Cu 2.5 wt-pct Copper Major 1988
    Gold Au 0.6 g/mt Gold Major 1988
    Uranium U3O8 0.0008 wt-pct Uranium Major 1988
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1988
    Total resources 2000000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Silver Ag 3.5 g/mt Silver Major 1988
    Copper Cu 1.6 wt-pct Copper Major 1988
    Gold Au 0.6 g/mt Gold Major 1988
    Uranium U3O8 0.0006 wt-pct Uranium Major 1988

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • LINE 1: TOTAL MEASURED AND INDICATED RESOURCE; LINE 2: TOTAL INFERRED RESOURCE.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    KENNEDY, A., 1988, OLYMPIC DAM PROJECT: MINING MAGAZINE, NOVEMBER, 1988, P. 330-344.

  • Deposit

    ENGINEERING AND MINING JOURNAL, JUNE, 1987, P. 9-10.

  • Deposit

    COX, D.P. 1986, DESCRIPTIVE MODEL OF OLYMPIC DAM CU-U-AU, IN COX, D.P. AND SINGER, D.A., EDS., MINERAL DEPOSIT MODELS: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1693, 379 P.

  • Deposit

    ENGINEERING AND MINING JOURNAL, DECEMBER, 1988, P. 11-12.

  • Deposit

    REEVE, J.S., CROSS, K.C., SMITH, R.N., AND ORESKES, N., 1990, IN HUGHES, F.E., ED., GEOLOGY OF THE MINERAL DEPOSITS OF AUSTRALIA AND PAPUA NEW GUINEA, VOLUME 2: AUSTRALASIAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY MONOGRAPH 14, P. 1009-1035.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THIS MINE SHOULD ADD A FURTHER 90,000 TOZ AU/YR TO AUSTRALIA'S PRODUCTION.
Deposit MINERALIZATION FOUND IN HEMATITE AND HEMATITE-QUARTZ BRECCIAS COMPLEX. TWO MAIN TYPES OF MINERALIZATION: 1) A CU-U-(AU-AG) TYPE LARGELY CONTAINED WITHIN MIXED LITHOLOGY HAMATITIC BRECCIAS AND IN HEMATITIC BRECCIAS; 2) SMALL ZONES OF GOLD ORE HOSTED BY GRANITE-RICH OR HEMATITE-RICH BRECCIAS.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-DEC-88 Paidakovich, Matthew E. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-APR-94 Orris, Greta J. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

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