Cat's Whiskers project (Cat's Whiskers Mine; Eldorado An.4), Tennant Creek, Barkly Region, Northern Territory, Australiai
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Cat's Whiskers project (Cat's Whiskers Mine; Eldorado An.4) | Project |
| Tennant Creek | Creek |
| Barkly Region | Region |
| Northern Territory | Territory |
| Australia | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
19° 41' 59'' South , 134° 12' 8'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
KΓΆppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Tennant Creek | 3,889 (2012) | 5.7km |
Mindat Locality ID:
106805
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:106805:7
GUID (UUID V4):
22e952ae-8c77-4f6b-b4b8-fc59064fbbde
Map sheets: Tennant Creek 250K Map; Tennant Creek 100K Map.
Coordinates: 416300mE, 7821300mN.
Longitude = 134.201364
Latitude = -19.701915
Cat's Whiskers is an historic gold mine, 4 kilometres south of Tennant Creek, and 2 kilometres east of the Stuart Highway. The Eldorado gold mine (mineral leases C15-C16) is 500 metres to the west.
Mining was conducted from 1938 to 1941 producing 398 tonnes of ore at 9 g/t Au. Rudolph Schmidt and John (Jack) Noble were confirmed as taking out the lease in 1934, however lost it through forfeiture two years later. Schmidt and Carl Heinrich Johann re-applied for the lease in 1941. Schmidt was heavily involved investing in the Tennant Creek Goldfield as part of the Tennant Creek Development Company Limited.
Merloo Gold Mines NL took an option over the lease in 1949. The lease was granted to Eldorado Tennant Creek Pty Ltd in 1956 for 21 years. This company was liquidated in 1972, the lease acquired by Geopeko, then 1992 Normandy Tennant Creek Pty Ltd. In 2001 Giants Reef Mining Limited acquired this company and the lease, renaming Normandy Santexco as a wholly owned subsidiary of Giants Reef Mining.
Giants Reef Mining Limited contracted Craig's Mining Services in 2004 to conduct a small underground gold mining operation, of high grade gold found on the Footwall. The source states much ancient 'rubbish' was removed from the site at this time.
The deposit contains a narrow sinuous east-west trending ironstone body of hematite, much magnetite and minor quartz, dipping 75 degrees north, plunging gently east, within a north north-west trending shear zone. The ironstone is fractured, rubbly and vuggy, with an alteration halo of chlorite-hematite and sporadic silica.
Copper and bismuth values are found, but only gold has proven economic. Gold can be high grade, but is patchy. Most recent gold was found in a small high grade area along the Footwall. The deposit is hosted by sedimentary rocks of the Warramunga Formation, including phyllite, greywacke, siltstone, sandstone and mudstone.
No infrastructure remains, but there is an adit, small pit, shaft, trench, and mullock heaps from historic workings. Nearby ironstone outcrops are culturally significant.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsMineral List
13 valid minerals.
Rock Types Recorded
Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
| β Bismuthinite Formula: Bi2S3 |
| β Bismutite Formula: (BiO)2CO3 |
| β Bornite Formula: Cu5FeS4 |
| β Chalcopyrite Formula: CuFeS2 |
| β 'Chlorite Group' |
| β Chrysocolla Formula: Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| β Cuprite Formula: Cu2O |
| β Gold Formula: Au |
| β Hematite Formula: Fe2O3 |
| β 'Limonite' |
| β Magnetite Formula: Fe2+Fe3+2O4 |
| β Malachite Formula: Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| β 'Manganese Oxides' |
| β Pyrite Formula: FeS2 |
| β Quartz Formula: SiO2 |
| β Talc Formula: Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| β | Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
| β | Bornite | 2.BA.15 | Cu5FeS4 |
| β | Chalcopyrite | 2.CB.10a | CuFeS2 |
| β | Bismuthinite | 2.DB.05 | Bi2S3 |
| β | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| β | Cuprite | 4.AA.10 | Cu2O |
| β | Magnetite | 4.BB.05 | Fe2+Fe3+2O4 |
| β | Hematite | 4.CB.05 | Fe2O3 |
| β | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| β | Malachite | 5.BA.10 | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| β | Bismutite | 5.BE.25 | (BiO)2CO3 |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| β | Talc | 9.EC.05 | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
| β | Chrysocolla | 9.ED.20 | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 Β· nH2O, x < 1 |
| Unclassified | |||
| β | 'Chlorite Group' | - | |
| β | 'Limonite' | - | |
| β | 'Manganese Oxides' | - | |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | β Chrysocolla | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| H | β Malachite | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| H | β Talc | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
| C | Carbon | |
| C | β Bismutite | (BiO)2CO3 |
| C | β Malachite | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | β Bismutite | (BiO)2CO3 |
| O | β Chrysocolla | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| O | β Cuprite | Cu2O |
| O | β Hematite | Fe2O3 |
| O | β Magnetite | Fe2+Fe23+O4 |
| O | β Malachite | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| O | β Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | β Talc | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
| Mg | Magnesium | |
| Mg | β Talc | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | β Chrysocolla | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | β Chrysocolla | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| Si | β Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | β Talc | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | β Bismuthinite | Bi2S3 |
| S | β Bornite | Cu5FeS4 |
| S | β Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| S | β Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | β Bornite | Cu5FeS4 |
| Fe | β Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Fe | β Hematite | Fe2O3 |
| Fe | β Magnetite | Fe2+Fe23+O4 |
| Fe | β Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | β Bornite | Cu5FeS4 |
| Cu | β Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Cu | β Chrysocolla | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| Cu | β Cuprite | Cu2O |
| Cu | β Malachite | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| Au | Gold | |
| Au | β Gold | Au |
| Bi | Bismuth | |
| Bi | β Bismuthinite | Bi2S3 |
| Bi | β Bismutite | (BiO)2CO3 |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
Australia
- North Australian ElementCraton
- Northern Territory
- Kalkarindji Igneous ProvinceGeologic Province
- Warramunga ProvinceGeologic Province
Australian PlateTectonic Plate
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