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Mt.Windarra, Australia

Past Producer in Western Australia, Australia with commodities Nickel, Copper, Iron, Sulfur
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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. Host and associated rocks
  8. Nearby scientific data
  9. Geologic structures
  10. Ore body information
  11. Controls for ore emplacement
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Production statistics
  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 10079594
MRDS ID W029631
Record type Site
Current site name Mt.Windarra, Australia
Alternate or previous names North Operations

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: 122.16587, -28.49621 (WGS84)
Relative position ABOUT 270 KM NNE FROM KALGOORLIE

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Western Australia(province)

Australia(country)

Australia(continent)

Land(continent)

Geographic areas

Country State
Australia Western Australia

Comments on the location information

  • KAMBALDA IS SEPARATED FROM ST. IVES BY THE LEFROY LAKE. THE LOCATION GIVEN IS THAT OF THE FISHER MINE.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Nickel Critical Primary
Copper Primary
Iron Tertiary
Sulfur Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • MT.WINDARRA ORE RESERVES ARE CLASSIFIED METALLURGICALLY AS 70 % TALC-CARBONATE ORE, 18 % BRECCIA ORE, AND 12 % SERPENTINE.
  • IN THE MINED ORE PENTLANDITE (75 %) AND VIOLARITE (25 %) ARE CARRYING NICKEL.

Materials information

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

Analytical data

Result PYRRHOTITE: PENTLANDITE RATIO VARY FROM 1:1 IN DISSEMINATED ORE TO 20:1 IN LIMITED AREAS IN MASSIVE BRECCIA ORE. THE OVERALL RATIO IS ABOUT 3:1. THE NICKEL-COPPER RATIOS VARY BETWEEN 8:1 AND 14:3 AND INCREASE SOUTH TO NORTH. MINERAL COMPOSITION OF THE TRANSITION AND SUPERGENE ZONE ( % WEIGHT)
Result PENTLANDITE 6-8, PYRRHOTITE 20-25, PYRITE 1.5-2.5, CHALCOPYRITE 0.5-1.0, IRON OXIDES TR.-1.0, SILICATE/CARBONATE, GANGUE 60-70

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Ultramafic Intrusive Rock
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Eoarchean
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoarchean
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoarchean
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoarchean
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite
    Rock unit name Granites, Granites Gneisses Ultramafics
    Rock description Granites, Granites Gneisses Ultramafics
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Ultramafic Intrusive Rock
    Rock unit name Ultramafics, Metasediments, Granites, Gneisses
    Rock description Ultramafics, Metasediments, Granites, Gneisses
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Chemical Sediment > Iron Formation

Nearby scientific data

(1) 122.16587, -28.49621
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Yilgarn Block Of The Western Australien Shield. Large N-S Anticline. Perhaps A Domal Structure. . Large N-S Anticline. Perhaps A Domal Structure.
Type of structure Local
Structure description Footwall Contact To The Mt.Windarra Banded Iron Formation

Ore body information

  • General form GOSSAN, LENS
    Dip 0 DEG TO 88 DEG, E TO NE
    Thickness 18M
    Length 1520M
    Width 18M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Komatite Magmas Emplaced In Archean Greenstone Belts

Comments on the geologic information

  • MT. WINDARRA AND SOUTH WINDARRA SULFIDE OREBODIES LIE WITHIN AN ULTRAMAFIC COMPLEX, AT OR NEAR ITS FOOTWALL CONTACT WITH A BANDED IRON FORMATION. THE MT. WINDARRA SULFIDE ORE IS ASSOCIATED WITH AN ULTRAMAFIC UNIT COMPOSED OF SERPENTINITES AND TALC-CARBONATE ROCKS. THIS OREBODY OCCURS NEAR THE WESTERN MARGIN OF THE ULTRAMAFIC HOST, CLOSE TO THIS CONTACT WITH THE MAIN BANDED IRON FORMATION. THE DEPOSIT IS ASSOCIATED WITH A THIN BUT PERSISTANT BANDED IRON FORMATION 3 TO 45 M EAST OF THE MAIN BANDED IRON FORMATION. THIS INTERBAND OF BANDED IRON IS AN IMPORTANT HOST OF "BRECCIA" ORE, WHICH ACCOUNTS FOR SOME 19 % OF CURRENT ORE RESERVES. THE ULTRAMAFICS ARE GENERALLY CONFORMABLE WITH THE BANDED IRON FORMATION. OXIDIZED ORE OCCURS TO A DEPTH OF 40 METERS A SUPERGENE ZONE WITH VIOLARIE, PYRITE AND NICKELIFEROUS PYRITE EXSISTS FROM 40 TO 75 M BELOW THE SURFACE. THE TRANSITIONAL SULFIDES EXSISTS FROM THE BASE OF THE SUPERGENE TO VARIABLE DEPTHS DOWN TO 180 M BELOW THE SURFACE. THE VIOLARITE
  • DECREASE MARKEDLY BELOW 90 M .

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Large
Significant No
Discovery year 1969
Discoverer Ken Shirley, Poseidon Ltd. Unided Oil Development Corporation Australia Hana Ltd. Home Stake Iron Ore Company Poseidon Ltd.
Year of first production 1974

Production statistics

  • Year 1974
    Material ORE
    Description Ap_Grade: ^1.91 % Ni, 0.19 % Cu
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Ore Copper Copper 0wt-pct
    Major Ore Nickel Nickel 2wt-pct

Comments on the production information

  • G7 TO G10) PRODUCTION OF MT. WINDARRA AND SOUTH WINDARRA
  • P1, D1, AND D2: CONCENTRATE, AND NICKEL, COPPER CONTENT OF KAMBALDA-ST. IVES INCLUDING 68,604 TONNES FROM NEPEAN MINE OF METALS EXPLORATION/FREEPORT INTERNATIONAL. PRODUCTION FROM 6 MINES AT KAMBALDA AND ONE AT ST. IVES. THERE ARE DIFFERENT MINING DIVISIONS IN 1977 THEY MINE PER MONTH: SILVERLAKE 25,000 T WITH 2.2 % NI, DUNKIN 15,000 T WITH 3.2 % NI, OTTER-JUAN 28,000 T WITH 4 % NI, MCMAHON 8,000 T WITH 3 % NI, HUNT 8,000 T WITH 2.5 % NI, JAN 8,000 T WITH 2.5 % NI, EDWIN 3,000 T WITH 5-6 % NI, FISHER -- , LDNG - - , TOTAL 95,000 T PER MONTH, PRODUCTION CAPACITY ABOUT 1.15 MILLION TONNES ORE PER YEAR.

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1974
    Total resources 696000000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Nickel Ni 1.8 wt-pct Nickel Major 1974
    Copper Cu 0.19 wt-pct Copper Major 1974

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • ORE EST
  • H4) PLANNED MINING RESERVES, ABOVE 600 M BY A CUT-OFF GRADE OF 1 % NI AND MINIMUM THICKNESS OF 2 M, OREBODIES WITH 15,000 T UP TO 4 MILLION TONNES ORE CONTENT.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Overall depth 790M

Comments on the workings information

  • THE MAIN SECTION OF "A" OREBODY IS 12 TO 16 M WIDE AND APPROXIMATELY 145 M LONG.

Comments on development

  • (E/MJ. FEBR. 1974) A NEW AREA OF HIGH GRADE MINERALIZATION WAS LOCATED AT A DEPTH OF 590 M UNDER LAKE LEFROY, ON THE E FLANK OF THE KAMBALDA DOME, ABOUT 1,700 M FROM THE SILVER LAKE SHAFT. THIS DISCOVERY ADDS FURTHER SIGNIFICANCE TO TWO MINERALIZED AREAS PREVIOUSLY INTERSECTED ON THE EAST FLANK OF THE KAMBALDA DOME. DETAILED FOLLOW-UP DRILLING HAS PROGRESSED SUFFICIENTLY AT ONE OF THESE AREAS TO ESTABLISH THE PRESENTS OF A SIGNIFICANT ORE OCCURENCE (GIBBS SHOOT) CENTERED 2,000 M SE FROM THE DURKIN SHAFT. EXPLORATION DRILLING AT KAMBALDA RESULTED IN EXTENSION TO KEN, GELLETLY, FISHER, AND DURKIN SHOTTS. AT ST. IVES DRILLING ENCOUNTERED A SEPARATE AND PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN ZONE IMMEDIATELY NORTH OF JAN SHOOT. AT ST. IVES A SHAFT REACHED A DEPTH OF 183.5 M. TODAY (1977) EXPLORATION DRILLING BETWEEN 600 AND 1500 M
  • THE INITIAL PRODUCTION TARGET FROM THE MT.WINDARRA MINE IS 600,000 MTPY. THERE WILL BE TWO SLUB-STOPES IN "A" ORE BODY, ONE SLUB STOPE IN EACH OF THE "D" AND "E" OREBODIES, AND A MECHANIZED CUT-AND-FILL STOPE IN THE "D" OREBODY. THE RAISES WILL BE LOCATED NEAR THE "D" OREBODY, WHICH HAS THE GREATEST KNOWN RESERVES AT DEPTH.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    E/MJ FEBR. 1974 P.21

  • Deposit

    AUSTRALIAN MINERAL INDUSTRY, VOL. 28 NO.4 (1976)

  • Deposit

    E/MJ FEBR. 1975, P. 53, (DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT IN DETAIL.)

  • Production

    G7 TO G10) AUSTRALIAN MINERALS INDUSTRY, REVIEW 1975; D1) KIPPENBERGER 1977;

  • Reserve-Resource

    METALS SOURCEBOOK V. 2, NO. 4

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit A CONCENTRATOR WAS COMMISSIONED AT THE MT.WINDARRA SIDE IN 1974. CONCENTRATES ARE TRANSPORTED BY ROAD TO MALCOLM NEAR LEONORA, AND ARE THAN RAILED TO KALGOORLIE FOR MIXING WITH WMC CONCENTRATE PRIOR TO REFINING OR SMELTING.
Deposit AVERAGE THICKNESS ABOUT 3 M
Deposit ORE SHOOTS: FISHER, MCMAHON-GELLATY, KEN, HUNT, LUNNON, DURKIN, OTTER-JUAN. BY THE END OF 1975 WMC HAD DISCOVERED AT LEAST 15 OREBODIES IN THE KAMBALDA/ST. IVES AREA. ORE IS GENERALLY MINED BY SLOT STOPPING OR BY CUT-AND-FILL STOPPING. KAMBALDA'S CONCENTRATOR CURRENTLY HAS A CAPACITY OF 1,400,000 TONNES OF ORE PER YEAR.
Deposit MT. WINDARRA ORE IS ESSENTIALLY VERTICAL IN DIP, COMPOSED OF NORTH- TRENDING LENTICULAR SHOOTS DISPOSED ABOUT A DRAG FOLD. MID. 1970 FIVE ORE SHOTTS HAD BEEN OUTLINED WIDTH 3 TO 18 METER. AVERAGE5.5 METER

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JAN-1978 Saam, Henning G. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

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