Coppin Gap Cu-Mo deposit (Spinifex Ridge), Bamboo Creek District, East Pilbara Shire, Western Australia, Australia
Latitude & Longitude (WGS84): | 20° 53' 25'' South , 120° 6' 14'' East |
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Latitude & Longitude (decimal): | -20.89033,120.10404 |
GeoHash: | G#: qsm3jj10g |
Locality type: | Deposit |
KΓΆppen climate type: | BWh : Hot deserts climate |
Porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit.
The name for this project has changed from Coppin Gap to Spinifex Ridge. The writer proposes this was done as a public relations exercise by the mining company, to shield it from criticism it is mining in a nature reserve, next to Coppin Gap, a local scenic attraction. All mines in Western Australia must meet strict environmental standards.
The area is 50 kilometres north-east of Marble Bar.
The mineralisation is hosted by the Warrawoona Greenstone Belt, of calc-alkaline quartz dacitic porphyries and grandodiorite. The ore zone forms a cap around the apex of a south dipping branch of a granodiorite intrusion in the greenstone belt. Molybdenum shows here at a grade in excess of 0.15%, 0.09% Cu and 1.7 g/t Ag in a JORC resource of 500 tonnes.
The country rock shows magnesian basalts, basalt/dolerites, and mixed felsic/balsitic volcanics, and an adjacent komatiitic flow. Spinifex Ridge represents the worlds oldest known porphyry related mineral deposit.
The mineralisation shows multiphase structurally controlled and randomly orientated veins, with sulphides, silica, carbonates, and sericite alteration. Chalcopyrite is found here, in greasy grey quartz veins, in an alteration zone. The mineralised zone is stockwork quartz, and quartz-carbonate veins, with variable amounts of molybdenite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, pyrite, scheelite, and minor sphalerite, galena, arsenopyrite, tetrahedrite, stibnite, native copper.
Moly Metals Ltd has explored the area, and proposed open pit mining, producing 23 000 tpa of molybdenum concentrate and 48 000 tpa of copper concentrate, with a 10 year mine life. At present the deposit is viewed as uneconomic (2012).
Several small prospects have been identified east of this exploration area, containing Mo, Cu, Au, Pb and W.
Moly Mines Ltd is actively mining iron ore from several open pits, 500 metres west of the molybdenum project. Mining started in November 2010, but is only expected to last till 2016.
Mineral List
19 valid minerals.
Rock Types Recorded
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramRegional Geology
This geological map and associated information on rock units at or nearby to the coordinates given for this locality is based on relatively small scale geological maps provided by various national Geological Surveys. This does not necessarily represent the complete geology at this locality but it gives a background for the region in which it is found.
Click on geological units on the map for more information. Click here to view full-screen map on Macrostrat.org
Paleoarchean 3200 - 3600 Ma ID: 3191854 | Archean volcanic rocks Age: Paleoarchean (3200 - 3600 Ma) Comments: Pilbara Craton Lithology: Mafic-ultramafic volcanic rocks Reference: Chorlton, L.B. Generalized geology of the world: bedrock domains and major faults in GIS format: a small-scale world geology map with an extended geological attribute database. doi: 10.4095/223767. Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 5529. [154] |
Paleoarchean 3200 - 3600 Ma ID: 750632 | Kelly Group Age: Paleoarchean (3200 - 3600 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Kelly Group Description: Felsic tuffaceous sandstone, quartz sandstone, siltstone, shale, chert, banded iron formation, schist, tuff, conglomerate, rhyolite, basalt, serpentinised peridotite; local dolerite sills; intrusive porphyry and microgranite; metamorphosed Comments: sedimentary; igneous volcanic; synthesis of multiple published descriptions Lithology: Sedimentary; igneous volcanic Reference: Raymond, O.L., Liu, S., Gallagher, R., Zhang, W., Highet, L.M. Surface Geology of Australia 1:1 million scale dataset 2012 edition. Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia). [5] |
Data and map coding provided by Macrostrat.org, used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
References
External Links
http://metalbank.com.au/projects/spinifex-ridge-east-project/
http://www.molymines.com
http://steelguru.com/raw_materials_news/MolyMines_announces_resource_increase_at_Spinifex_Ri