Paratoo copper mine, Yunta, Olary Province, South Australia, Australia

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Paratoo SI 5401
Record of Mines - Summary Card No:198 states:

"Location: 2 1/2 ml from. Paratoo R.S."
"Geology: Lode: quartz, malachite, azurite, iron oxide. Country rock: dolomite, sandstone."
"Workings: No. 1 vertical shaft 70 ft. No. 2 vertical shaft 70 ft. Over 12 shafts. Open cuts."
"Production: Pre 1900. Over 10 tons 20%.
1912-1967 357 tons (1966/6 160 tons 4%-5%)"

"History: The Paratoo copper deposit was discovered in 1888 when it was worked by a syndicate up to 1890. Two shafts were sunk during this period and several parcels of ore were despatched to Port Adelaide for treatment. The mine was reopened in 1899 for a short period and some good ore was raised. The Paratoo Mine was on section 135.
It was reworked from 1912 to 1926 during which time about 200 tons of ore was raised. Four mineral claims (No. 4806-9, 5320/1) were taken up in 1965 by Electro Winning P/L on this mine and others adjoining and large scale mining was commenced and was carried on for a number of years."

An old, rather small copper mine 30 km to the west of Yunta. Paratoo was known for very little other than sparse samples of copper minerals.
In 1998, a local collector, Mr. J. Toma, brought samples of an unknown blue mineral to Dr. Allan Pring at the South Australian Museum for identification. Studies by Pring & Kolitsch found it to be a then new species, which was later approved and named decrespignyite-(Y).
Since then further studies have identified to date numerous REE minerals including another TL species, paratooite-(La).
Many believe this locality still has the ability to produce yet more unusual and rare minerals, possibly even more TL species.
Hence, this locality is now known for a highly unusual assemblage of secondary REE and Cu-REE carbonate minerals.

Previously this mine was listed as North Mt. Lofty Ranges. However, in order to keep consistently and order, including listings in popular (South Australian) publications, it is now listed as Olary Province.
Please contact me if you have any questions regarding this change.
Mark Willoughby.

References

-Paratoo SI 5401, Record of Mines - Summary Card No:198
- K. Wallwork, U. Kolitsch, A. Pring and L. Nasdala (2002): Decrespignyite-(Y), a new copper yttrium rare earth carbonate chloride hydrate from Paratoo, South Australia. Mineralogical Magazine, 66, 181-188.
- Pring, A., Wallwork, K., Brugger, J., Kolitsch, U. (2006): Paratooite-(La), a new lanthanum-dominant rare-earth copper carbonate from Paratoo, South Australia. Mineralogical Magazine, 70, 131-138.
- Brugger, J., Ogierman, J., Pring, A., Waldron, H., Kolitsch, U. (2006): Origin of the secondary REE-minerals at the Paratoo copper deposit near Yunta, South Australia. Mineralogical Magazine, 70, 609-627.

Mineral List

Actinolite Albite Analcime Anorthite var: Labradorite 'Apatite' Azurite Baryte Bastnäsite-(Ce) Bastnäsite-(La) Brannerite Britholite-(Ce) Calcioancylite-(Nd) Calcite

Caysichite-(Y) Celestine Chabazite-Na Chalcopyrite 'Chlorite Group' Chrysocolla Coffinite Connellite Cuprite Decrespignyite-(Y) (TL) Digenite Dolomite Donnayite-(Y)

Epidote Gypsum Hematite Ilmenite Kamphaugite-(Y) Kaolinite 'K Feldspar' Magnetite Malachite Monazite-(Ce) Muscovite var: Sericite Nontronite

Paratooite-(La) (TL) Pseudomalachite Pyrite Quartz var: Chalcedony Siderite Synchysite-(Ce) Tengerite-(Y) Tenorite Törnebohmite-(La) Uraninite Xenotime-(Y) Zoisite

52 entries listed. 46 valid minerals. 2 type localities (valid minerals).