Pipalyatjara Mines, Mount Davies Area, South Australia, Australia

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Also known as Pipalyatjara lease

"Five mineral claims have been taken up by Pipalyatjara Mining Enterprises. After discussions with MESA, applications for conversion of one claim at a time to a mineral lease commencing in the area considered to have the best potential and be environmentally acceptable have been lodged. ML 5951 was granted in February 1996.
Exploration trenching in late 1995 and early 1996 provided good, saleable chrysoprase which was stockpiled on site while awaiting official notification of the lease being granted.
Chrysoprase and chalcedony observed in 1994 and during trenching in 1995 occurred as homogeneous, translucent white to pale green seam material up to 30 mm thick. Reports from elders that a 5 m trench at this locality previously intersected good quality darker green chrysoprase
encouraged this site to be selected for mining. An open cut worked from February through to May has revealed a 0.1-0.5 m wide,near-vertical vein of chrysoprase associated with a fault zone. This has yielded almost 10 t of good quality carving grade opaque chrysoprase, which was also found in two other trenches ~10 and 20 m from the open cut. The vein has been
followed to a depth of 25 m and shows no indications of thinning.
Monitoring, mapping and photography are planned to record the geology and occurrence during mining. Additional data will assist in locating other deposits in the Mount Davies area."

References

Gemstones - South Australian Chrysoprase, MESA Journal 2, July, 1996.

Mineral List

'Chrysoprase'

1 entry listed.