Lake Cowan Goldfield, Coolgardie Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Lake Cowan Goldfield	Ore Field
Coolgardie Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

The name for this gold area 'Lake Cowan' is used by the present mining company, although the Lake Cowan salt-pan itself extends a far greater distance than what is covered by these gold mines. It encompasses a number of gold deposits from the northern shoreline of Lake Cowan north about 20 kilometres to the southern end of the St Ives Camp. The area is 20 kilometres north-east of Higginsville. At the time of writing access though was from Widgiemooltha via a confusing maze of tracks south-east.

The main area of activity is at the southern end near the Lake Cowan shoreline. Here a number of small pits occur within a 1 kilometre radius, including Josephine, Louis, Brigette, Sophia, and Atreides, as well as the Rose and Napoleon prospects. At the time of writing the mines were recently active, with ore being transported and processed at the Higginsville plant. As such exiting pits may have changed, and new pits created by the time you read this.

The above mines are in an Archaean rock enclave surrounded by the Binneringie Dyke. It is near the centre of a regional anticline between the Zuleika and Lake Lefroy Faults.

The goldfield also includes the historic Paris Mine 8 kilometres to the north, and several little known or developed prospects.


Two gossans discovered 1972 to 1974. The shoot is about 300 metres long, 60 metres wide, dipping south south-east. The ultramafic host is talc-magnesite, chlorite rock, with antigorite patches. The Footwall is metabasalt and metadiorite. Mineralisation is irregular disseminated and blebby sulphides in the basal 40 metres of the ultramafics. Grades 0.5%-2.0% Ni. Mineralisation is pyrrhotite, pyrite, pentlandite, and rare violarite. (Cameron Ni prospect).

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