Cosmo Howley Mine

Producer in Northern Territory*, Australia with commodity Gold
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. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  11. Ownership information
  12. Reserves and resources
  13. Links to other databases
  14. Bibliographic references
  15. General comments
  16. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10085171
MRDS ID W700722
Record type Site
Current site name Cosmo Howley Mine
Alternate or previous names Cosmopolitan Howley

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: 131.38241, -13.53054 (WGS84)
Relative position 160 KM SE OF DARWIN.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Northern Territory*(province)

Australia(country)

Australia(continent)

Land(continent)

Geographic areas

Country State
Australia Northern Territory*

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Goethite Ore
Gold Ore
Hematite Ore
Limonite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Garnet Gangue
Graphite Gangue
Mica Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Mudstone
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Paleoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Paleoproterozoic

Nearby scientific data

(1) 131.38241, -13.53054

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Howley Anticline
Type of structure Local
Structure description Intense Faulting

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Significant No
Discovery year 1873
Production years 1892-1903

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Dominion Mining Ltd.
    First year 1988

Comments on the production information

  • THIRD QUARTER 1987 PRODUCTION WAS 5, 482 OZ AU; TOTAL ORE PRODUCED FOR THE QUARTER WAS 219,859 MT AT AN AVERAGE GRADE OF 1.6 G AU/MT.

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1987
    Total resources 2825000000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 2.66 g/mt Gold Major 1987
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1988
    Total resources 16000000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 1.7 g/mt Gold Major 1988
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1988
    Total resources 25000000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 2.5 g/mt Gold Major 1988
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1989
    Total resources 6000000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 2.54 g/mt Gold Major 1989

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • 1987 RESERVES OFFER A MINE LIFE OF 6 YEARS OF PROVEN OPEN-PIT ORE, WITH SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL FOR LONGER TERM, UNDERGROUND MINING.

Comments on development

  • GOLD WAS DISCOVERED AT COSMO HOWLEY DURING THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ADELAIDE TO DARWIN OVERLAND TELEGRAPH. WHINESE PROSPECTORS WORKED THE PROPERTY UNTIL 1906. INTERMITTENT EXPLORATION FOLLOWED. DOMINION MINING ACQUIRED 50% INTEREST IN 1985 THROUGH ITS WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY, DOMINION GOLD OPERATIONS PTY. LTD. AND BECAME SOLE OWNER IN SEPTEMBER, 1986. PRODUCTION BEGAN IN LATE 1986. ; ECON.COM: ORE PRODUCTION CAPACITY BETWEEN 500,000 AND 1,000,000 TONNES/YEAR.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    MINING MAGAZINE, JANUARY 1989, P. 47.

  • Deposit

    ENGINEERING AND MINING JOURNAL, FEBRUARY, 1988, P. 15.

  • Deposit

    ENGINEERING AND MINING JOURNAL, OCTOBER, 1987, P. 12.

  • Deposit

    ALEXANDER, K.R., KAVANAGH, M.E., AND ROLFE, G.L., 1990, COSMO HOWLEY GOLD DEPOSIT, IN HUGHES, F.E., ED., GEOLOGY OF THE MINERAL DEPOSITS OF AUSTRALIA AND PAPUA NEW GUINEA, VOLUME 1: AUSTRALASIAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY MONOGRAPH 14, P. 751-753.

  • Production

    ALEXANDER AND OTHERS, 1990.

  • Reserve-Resource

    E/MJ, 1987

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit MUCH OF THE ORE IS ASSOCIATED WITH QUARTZ VEINS, BRECCIAS AND SHEARS AND HIGHER GRADE ORE IS COMMONLY HOSTED BY IRON FORMATION ADJACENT TO DISCORDANT STRUCTURES. A SYNGENETIC COMPONENT IS PRESENT AS STRATIFORM ORE OCCURS WITHIN BANDED IRON FORMATION SOME DISTANCE FROM STRUCTURAL FEATURES.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-SEP-89 Beougher, Dee (Spanski, Gregory T.) 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.