Alford's Mine (Mountain Camp), Wakamarina Goldfield (Canvastown), Marlborough Region, South Island, New Zealand
| Latitude & Longitude (WGS84): | 41° 20' 35'' South , 173° 39' 15'' East |
|---|---|
| Latitude & Longitude (decimal): | -41.34316,173.65439 |
| KΓΆppen climate type: | Cfb : Temperate oceanic climate |
The lode was discovered in 1914 by A.V. Nelson who was looking for gold, and paid little attention to the scheelite found. However, with the increase in scheelite prices, he returned two years later with Alford (surname), and found enough scheelite (and minor gold) to encourage mining. For some reason Alford got credited with the mine name. Its alternative Mountain Camp, relates to the mine being near Mountain Camp Creek.
To 1917, around 1000 kg of scheelite was removed, although no gold was extracted.
The lode occupies a D4 normal fault, enveloped by mylonitic sheared schist, but oblique to the schistosity. The quartz lode dips north-east, is 200-500 mms thick, and grades into quartz stringers. The lode occupies a transition zone between pumpellyite grade quartoze semischist in the lower levels, into Wakamarina Quartzite nearer the surface. Thin metabasites are interlayered.
Away from the lode is quartz-chlorite-illite-albite-epidote lenses, with pumpellyite, stilpnomelane, and sparse scheelite.
The lode is 97% quartz, sparse sulphides, minor but common dispersed scheelite and calcite, with sparse albite and vermicular chlorite near the lode margins. Pyrite is the dominant sulphide, with sparse pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite near the margins of the lode. The quartz contains microscopic fluid inclusions.
Mineral List
11 valid minerals.
Regional 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
| Jurassic - Late Paleozoic 145 - 358.9 Ma ID: 3185633 | Paleozoic-Mesozoic crystalline metamorphic rocks Age: Phanerozoic (145 - 358.9 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Haast Schist Lithology: Pelitic and semipelitic schist; greenschist grade metasedimentary/metavolcanic schist 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] |
| Rhaetian - Artinskian 201.3 - 290.1 Ma ID: 1317200 | Undifferentiated Caples Terrane TZIIA semischist Age: Phanerozoic (201.3 - 290.1 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Caples Group Description: Weakly foliated sandstone and siltstone-derived semischist. Comments: Basement (Eastern Province) metamorphic rocks. Age based on absolute age calculated from stratigraphic age range Lithology: Major:: {semischist} Reference: Heron, D.W. . Geology Map of New Zealand 1:250 000. GNS Science Geological Map 1. [13] |
| Triassic 201.3 - 252.17 Ma ID: 1312222 | Caples Group TZIIA semischist Age: Triassic (201.3 - 252.17 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Caples Group Description: Semischistose (TZIIA) volcaniclastic sandstone, siltstone, mudstone and conglomerate. Comments: Eastern Province (Caples Terrane) Rocks Lithology: Semischist Reference: Edbrooke, S.W., Heron, D.W., Forsyth, P.J., Jongens, R. (compilers). Geology Map of New Zealand 1:1 000 000. GNS Science Geological Map 2. [12] |
Data and map coding provided by Macrostrat.org, used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
References
